Question

In Much Ado About Nothing, Beatrice and Benedick are “tricked” into falling in love. How does it happen, and why is it so easy?

Accepted Answer

I would argue that the reason it is so easy is because they actually have very warm feelings for each other before the plot takes place. The game of wits between them is in fact a form of courtship. This is suggested later in the play when Benedick says, "We are too wise to woo peacefully."
Don Pedro and his friends plot to bring the couple together by making each of them believe the other is secretly infatuated with them. I think it is typical of human nature to warm to people we believe care for us. Additionally, it leads them to bring down their wits and be sincere with each other.
Once they start to treat each other kindly they become more convinced that what they have heard is true. This snowballs into what Don Pedro calls "a mountain of affection." The game of wits comes down and they can be honest about their affection.

Answer

It's easy because Beatrice and Benedick have a history; they're also very similar in their personalities and behaviors.
At the beginning of the play, Leonato says of Beatrice:

There is akind of merry war betwixt Signior Benedick and her:they never meet but there's a skirmish of witbetween them.

They are each already occupying the other's thoughts. They have a past that involves each other and are familiar enough with each other to have what seems like a friendly feud between them. Every time they're around each other, they have arguments that make up the "merry war" to which Leonato refers. This means that they have some kind of fire between them.
This connection and the kind of fiery relationship they have makes it easy for the men and women they know to convince each that the other is in love with them. That heat is already there; they just have to lose their fear that the other might not care for them to open themselves to the possibility.

Much Ado About Nothing

In Much Ado About Nothing, Beatrice and Benedick are “tricked” into falling in love. How does it happen, and why is it so easy?

Expert Answers

Unlock This Answer Now

Related Questions

How does Shakespeare present Beatrice and Benedick's relationship throughout Much Ado About Nothing?

How do Don Pedro, Leonato, and Claudio trick Benedick into loving Beatrice?

How does Shakespeare contrast the characters Beatrice and Benedick in Much Ado About Nothing ?

How do the two couples—Claudio and Hero and Benedick and Beatrice—compare in Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing?

Comment on Beatrice's view on marriage in Much Ado About Nothing.