When Beatrice and Benedick are alone together for the first time since hearing that each other loves the other, and promising to themselves to requite the other’s love, it is in the chapel, on the day of the marriage of Claudio and Hero, in Act IV Scene I. Claudio having been deceived by Don John in Act II Scene II, (for the second time in the play), believes that Hero has been unfaithful, for there was a man at her window. Therefore, Claudio publicly humiliates Hero and casts her away, backed up by Don John and a slightly incredulous Don Pedro, and walks out of the wedding, immediately followed by Don Pedro and Don John. However, Benedick stays behind. Benedick was not deceived by Don John, for he was talking with Leonato, and therefore is not sure about whether or not Hero is a virgin. The Friar then comes up with a very cunning plan which meant keeping Hero ‘dead’ until Claudio apologises, and begs for forgiveness. Leonato then asks him to marry his ‘niece’, who is the spitting image of Hero and then Hero will be ‘alive’ again when he marries her even though she is pretending to be Leonato’s niece.
When Benedick and Beatrice are left alone in the chapel after the humiliation of Hero, it is for the first time since they were deceived by their friends. Benedick is sitting on the fence with reference to his position of Hero’s innocence, and Beatrice is very much certain that Hero is innocent. Each thinks that the other loves them, and therefore Benedick actually says something respectable to Beatrice, and calls her “... Lady Beatrice ...”. Beatrice does not want to be comforted by Benedick, she wants to concentrate her feelings solely on Hero.
In this scene, Beatrice attacks the forced subservience of the female role in her society. In fact, at the time that Shakespeare was alive, women very much had to play a subservient role in society. She attacks it so much for many reasons, among the facts that she is most definitely not the stereotypical woman of her day, for, as I have just mentioned, they were meant to, and in some cases forced to accept a role of passiveness in social circles especially when men were present. Some of her stringer outbursts make full use of the type of speech known as the tricolon. Tricolons indicate much passion, emotion and anger, particularly inn Shakespeare’s writing, for example “Sweet Hero! She is wronged, she is slandered, she is undone.” Additionally, slightly earlier on in this scene, Beatrice uses the tricolon to take her anger out on Claudio – “... that hath slandered, scorned, dishonoured ...”
Before this, somewhat earlier in the scene, Benedick says to Beatrice that she loves him, and that he loves her, and swears that he will “... make him eat it [Benedick’s sword] that says I love you not ...” Then Beatrice asks him if he is serious and Benedick replies using the word “thee”, which is far more intimate than ‘you’. Beatrice then takes advantage of Benedick’s vulnerability and, in the heat of the moment, she asks him to “... Kill Claudio ...” This, when spoken, sounds as if it is alliterated, which creates extra tension and effect. This could also be interpreted as Beatrice manipulating Benedick,. or that she is simply risking her own happiness for Hero’s honour and innocence. It is most likely , given her afore-described grief and unhappiness that she is risking her own happiness for Hero’s innocence and honour. This line is an ultimatum for Benedick – to chose between his love for Beatrice , and his faithfulness to the male contingent/brotherhood, (ie; Claudio, Don Pedro, and Don John) in society. This, for Benedick, is the big test.
When Benedick rejects this, Beatrice then says that if he doesn’t do it, then he obviously doesn’t love her, and the relationship that they started only a few minutes before, at the beginning of the scene, will be completely destroyed. This reaction them further provokes even more outbursts on Hero’s part, using many tricolons, as afore-mentioned. Further more, she wishes she were a man, so that she would be able to avenge Claudio, and she also says that she “... would eat his heart in the market place ...” which means that she wants to take his pride away in public. Beatrice also gets very angry when Benedick tells her to listen, and she then replies back in her normal fashion, as in Act I Scene I, saying “... Talk with a man out at a window! A proper saying! ...”, and a rough translation into modern English would be ‘you believe that trumped up, stupid argument’. Then Benedick tries to get a word or so in, quite possibly to try and either reason with her or perhaps to apologise to Beatrice and say that he would re-think his answer. However, Beatrice doesn’t let him, and she then has another outburst about Claudio’s harassment and public humiliation of Hero using more tricolons to show the full extent of her fury. Then, Beatrice slanders men, saying that once men were real men, and small furry creatures from Alpha Centauri were real small, furry creatures from Alpha Centauri (Hitch-Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams). However, now, she says, men’s valour has melted into curtseys and all flowery, effeminate actions, and that men are now “... only tongue ...”, which means that men say things, but never do them – They are all talk.
In the end, however, Beatrice wins, and Benedick surrenders, with a parting speech in most eloquent language that said ‘don’t judge me by what I say, but think of me when you hear that I’ve done what I’ve said I’m going to do.
In conclusion, Act IV Scene I is a turning point in the play for many reasons and things – (i) Beatrice and Benedick finally admit they love each other, (ii) there is no real ‘merry war’ between the during this exchange, and (iii) Act IV Scene I is the point in the play where wordplay mutates into swordplay – Benedick promises to challenge Claudio, and does it, instead of just saying it. Benedick has to chose between words and actions, and men and women, and chooses actions and women, which is most unusual if you compare him to Don Pedro or Claudio, who would have probably chosen words and men. Also, Act IV Scene I is an unusual point in the play for Beatrice, because she is not Lady Disdain, (scornful and arrogant), but she is selfless and passionate, and Benedick, too, appears to lose some, (or all), of his vanity. This scene can be interpreted as the undoing of Don John, Don Pedro and Claudio, for it was Don Pedro’s idea to deceive Benedick and Beatrice into thinking that one loved the other, and in this scene, they have formed an ‘alliance’, and Claudio will now be challenged as a result of this. For Don John, it is unlucky, because the truth is uncovered about his malicious deceptions, and it is Benedick who will think of some fit punishment for him: “... leave him ‘till tomorrow. I’ll think of some punishment for him.. Until then, let us dance! ...”, and it is quite possible that this is because he is full of happiness that he will be married to Beatrice very soon.
Richard Moore, CJK 4/3 U8 27.01.04