Student Question
Why do Beatrice and Benedick marry each other in Much Ado About Nothing's final scene?
Quick answer:
Beatrice and Benedick marry in the final scene after being confronted with evidence of their mutual love in the form of sonnets. Initially, they humorously deny their feelings, claiming they marry out of pity and persuasion to "save" each other from illness. These playful exchanges reflect their witty and combative relationship throughout the play, ultimately revealing their deep affection and making their union an amusing yet inevitable conclusion.
Typical of both Beatrice's and Benedick's character traits to show disdain
for each other and to mock each other, even in this final scene, at first they
publicly deny that they love each other. However, both Claudio and Hero present
sonnets that they have taken, both written by Beatrice and Benedick, telling of
their love for each other.
Since they have been publicly presented with evidence of their love for each
other they can't likely keep denying it. However, their confession of love,
proposal, and acceptance of proposal have very amusing twists that are also
characteristic of the two members of the couple. Â
Benedick declares that he will have Beatrice for his wife but only because he pities her, as we see in his line, "Come, I will have thee; but by this light, I take thee for pity" (V.iv.97). He is claiming that he pities her because Leonato,...
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Don Pedro, and Claudio have declared that Beatrice was almost ill from unrequited love over Benedick. Therefore, Benedick is claiming he is taking her as his wife out of charity because he pities her condition.
Likewise, Beatrice says that the only reason why she is accepting Benedick's
offer of marriage is that both he and others are persuading her to. Also, she
says that she is accepting him to save his life because Hero and Ursula both
proclaimed that Benedick was ready to die over his unrequited love for
Beatrice, as we see from her line, "I yield upon great persuasion, and partly
to save your life, for I was told you were in a consumption" (98-100).
Hence the reason that both Beatrice and Benedick give for marrying is to save
each other from illness and death. These lines add a great deal of amusement to
the final scene of the play because we know that they are spoken in jest. The
truth is that both characters have been very fond of each other for quite some
time and it is inevitable that they should unite by the end of the play.