Much Ado About Nothing Benedick Quotes

It’s poetic justice that Benedick means to deride Claudio with this speech, but knowing what we know about Benedick a few acts from now, Benedick could very well be describing himself.

This seems to be Benedick’s first time being in true love. And, like so many lovers before him, he’s convinced it’s a unique feeling than no one else has ever felt.

Benedick’s abrupt admission that he loves Beatrice (which is way more straightforward than we would’ve expected) is prompted by Beatrice’s need… of a man to challenge Claudio. Beatrice is looking for a man to do the task, so perhaps Benedick offers his love as proof that he’d do any task for her. Either that, or he’s just awkward and has an inappropriate sense of timing.

What does it mean for Beatrice to be so willing to walk away from Benedick? If she’s willing to give up her love for him so quickly, is her love actually serious? Perhaps her devotion to her cousin is more important to Beatrice, and she’s willing to sacrifice loving Benedick for it. 

Or maybe Beatrice is just testing Benedick’s loyalty by bluffing—that’s quite a risk to take. Whatever the reasons behind this weird exchange, these two are not conventional lovers, as the last four minutes have basically been: "My cousin is practically dead!" "That sucks! I love you!" "I love you too!" "Will you kill your best friend?" "Yeah right!" "You suck. Bye!" 

Benedick admits that he doesn’t talk the talk of all the Casanovas, but we think this is actually to his credit. He doesn’t love Beatrice in a formal way, with all the pomp and circumstance. 

This automatically sets him up in contrast to Claudio, who loves Hero by the book. Claudio is always formal—getting Don Pedro to woo her, getting her father’s permission to marry, and involving the public in her denunciation. By contrast, Beatrice and Benedick operate and love each other privately and informally. "Festival terms," which Benedick refers to, seem to be the unnecessary bells and whistles of love. The presence of these niceties doesn’t necessarily mean love is true.

From this little banter, which is pretty adorable, we get a hint that Benedick and Beatrice will be able to maintain their witty sparks despite being in love. (Love doesn’t make saps out of everyone.) Their wit is not a product of their mutual hatred; it survives their love and is used as an expression of love, which means it’s just a part of who they are.

Benedick and Beatrice come so close to walking away from each other here. Is their pride or their fear stronger than their love for each other? How does this make us feel about the potential longevity of their relationship, in contrast to a couple like Claudio and Hero?

Claudio has been transformed from a lover into a victim. Though he’s proven strong in battle, he’s weak in love, and gives Hero up too easily to Don Pedro.

Benedick lists of all of the terrible transformations that men undergo when in love, but it’s important to note that he doesn’t speak of the positive things love actually brings to the table. Men aren’t just transformed for the worse—they actually are giving some things up willingly, because love brings them so much more. Benedick doesn’t believe a transformation like that could ever happen to him, but it’s likely because he only sees the bad effects of love, not any of its benefits.

Benedick notes that people change, and uses it as a defense against his former hatred of marriage and claim that he would never have any other opinion on the matter. He’s simply changed his mind about his ability to change, which is perfectly respectable.

Benedick has been transformed by love. Though he’s certainly the wittiest in his group of friends, and can usually handle as much heckling as he dishes out, he now slinks off with the gentle Leonato. Basically, in the initial stages of love, he’s become more soft, dull, and serious.

This is a monumental transformation for Benedick during the wedding scene where Hero has just fainted after being publicly denounced. As Don Pedro, Don John, and Claudio storm out, Benedick surprisingly stays behind and even inquires after Hero. While this is an obvious indication that Benedick’s allegiances may have changed, it seems there is some deeper transformation at work (perhaps regarding his love for Beatrice, but perhaps also his sense of justice).

This is a decisive move for Benedick; as it is the moment when he explicitly breaks company with Don Pedro shows a public transformation in his allegiance.

Benedick admits that he has a thing against the entire female gender and tends to go on anti-women tirades. However, he notes that he’s capable of "simple, true judgment" of particular women, which isn’t necessarily touched by his general woman-hating spiel. It’s interesting that he has two different lenses through which he can view women, while probably only one through which he views men.

Benedick lists off the qualities of an ideal woman; he says he can’t be tempted to love any woman unless she has all of womankind’s best qualities wrapped up into one. The woman Benedick dreams of is an idealized (and unrealistic) version of women. He must think pretty highly of himself to believe he deserves such a woman. Also, it’s interesting here that he doesn’t seem to be against the idea of marrying, so long as he’d by wedding a perfect girl. (Thankfully, he grows up and marries Beatrice).

Benedick is not so much Captain Modesty. Still, he seems to take a bit of pride in rejecting all of the women that love him. It seems he takes pride not only in the fact that numerous women have fallen in love with him, but also that he has an impenetrable heart.

Ironically, it seems that Benedick’s hurt pride will inspire him to not seem prideful, and eventually maybe even lead him to put aside his pride and love Beatrice.

Benedick trusts that Leonato, as an old and respected man, wouldn’t be in on this conversation if it were a trick. Respect comes with age... though maybe age shouldn’t always be trusted.

Benedick exhibits real maturity in his thinking. Here, he admits that he might seem like a hypocrite, but has decided that his love is more important than his ideological consistency.