Harry Naylor
Much Ado About Nothing Act 4 Scene 1
This exchange between Benedick and Beatrice comes just after the shocking revelations revealed in the church scene for the wedding between Hero and Claudio, where Claudio has shamed Hero, as he believes she has cheated on him. This is important, as both of these characters are friends with Benedick and Beatrice, so this exchange is likely to include their feelings. This is also the first exchange since the two have been deceived that the other loves them, during act II and III. This is also likely to play a big role in the couples’s discussion. As Beatrice inevitably uses this deceived love to the test as she asks a large question of Benedick, leaving him torn between this love, his honour, and his friends. This scene also seems very important on the whole, as it cumulates in the potential for more bloodshed in the play, as Benedick goes off for revenge, but not for himself, for Beatrice. This makes the scene a pivotal point, as it appears Benedick has indeed chosen love over friendship.
In this exchange between Benedick and Beatrice, a series of issues and emotions occurs, including their love for each other. “I do love nothing in the world so well as you.” However, as usual, the two skate around the subject in the typical way of the two characters. They slowly admit their feelings, and it comes across to the audience in a gentle way. “I will not desire that.” Benedick says, as he embarks on soothing Beatrice on his way to showing his real feelings. Then the tone takes an abrupt change, as Beatrice exclaims “Kill Claudio” as her anger boils over at the revelation of her dear friend Hero, having wronged Claudio, but Beatrice knows is not true, and wants revenge, against Claudio, however this is ironic, as the audience know that it is Don John that has committed the villainy. At first, Benedick believes this is the old Beatrice talking, in her usual jovial manner, as he replies “Ha! Not for the wide world.” But as the exchange develops, her replies become more serious; “You dare easier be friends with me than fight with mine enemy.” Then Benedick realises that this is not the Beatrice he is used to, but a woman scorned, and out for revenge. This point is further reinforced when Beatrice makes other comments such as “I would eat his heart in the marketplace” which exaggerates her need for revenge, and her sense of powerlessness at not being a man, and taking this revenge that Hero decerves for being wronged so terribly. This also vividly suggests such a public horror, similar to that Hero has suffered at the hands of Claudio, which has driven Beatrice to say these horrifying things. The whole exchange, on the whole, also seems to explore the positions of men and women in the society they live in, such as the emasculation of men, and how Beatrice longs to be a man, so she can take the revenge herself. “O god then I were a man! I would eat his heart in the marketplace.” The exchange also examines the issue of honour, as some would believe Benedick makes the right decision to challenge Claudio, because it seems the honourable thing to do, as the scene portrays Don Pedro and Claudio as dishonourable, but this is only because of the deception by Don John. The matter of family honour is also portrayed in the scene, as Hero is Beatrice’s cousin, so she feels she had been dishonoured by Claudio, hence her hunger for revenge. The exchange as a whole is an immediate and extreme test of the couples newly confessed love, where love and honour conquer over friendship.
