In Act II, scene iii of Much Ado About Nothing, Benedick says in his soliloquy:
May I be so converted and see with
these eyes? I cannot tell; I think not: I will not
be sworn, but love may transform me to an oyster; but
I'll take my oath on it, till he have made an oyster
of me, he shall never make me such a fool.
Benedick is speaking of Claudio, who is a romantic fool in Benedick's eyes. Benedick is asking the rhetorical question, "Will I be changed like him, and see the world through a lover’s eyes? I don’t think so."
The irony, of course, is that he will very soon be "converted" by Don Pedro, Claudio, and Leonato, not by his eyes, but by his ears: he will overhear their conversation about how much Beatrice loves him. He will immediately become a romantic like Claudio.
Later in the scene,...
(The entire section contains 448 words.)
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