Previous
Benedick
Leonato’s niece, an extremely witty and strong-willed young woman. Beatrice has a “merry war,” of wits and insults with Benedick, whom she hates. Like Benedick, Beatrice never wants to marry. All the same, she is tricked by Hero and Ursula into falling in love with and marrying Benedick by the end of the play.
Beatrice Quotes in Much Ado About Nothing
The Much Ado About Nothing quotes below are all either spoken by Beatrice or refer to Beatrice. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Act 1, Scene 1
Quotes
“There is a kind of merry war betwixt Signior Benedick and her; they never meet but there’s a skirmish of wit between them.”
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Related Literary Devices:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Act 2, Scene 1
Quotes
“He that hath a beard is more than a youth, and he that hath no beard is less than a man; and he that is more than a youth is not for me; and he that is less than a man, I am not for him.”
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Act 4, Scene 1
Quotes
“O! that I were a man for his sake, or that I had any friend would be a man for my sake! But manhood is melted into courtesies, valour into compliment, and men are only turned into tongue, and trim ones too: he is now as valiant as Hercules, that only tells a lie and swears it. I cannot be a man with wishing, therefore I will die a woman with grieving.”
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Act 5, Scene 4
Quotes
“…get thee a wife, get thee a wife: there is no staff more reverent than one tipped with horn.”
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire Much Ado About Nothing LitChart as a printable PDF.
Beatrice Quotes in Much Ado About Nothing
The Much Ado About Nothing quotes below are all either spoken by Beatrice or refer to Beatrice. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Act 1, Scene 1
Quotes
“There is a kind of merry war betwixt Signior Benedick and her; they never meet but there’s a skirmish of wit between them.”
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Related Literary Devices:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Act 2, Scene 1
Quotes
“He that hath a beard is more than a youth, and he that hath no beard is less than a man; and he that is more than a youth is not for me; and he that is less than a man, I am not for him.”
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Act 4, Scene 1
Quotes
“O! that I were a man for his sake, or that I had any friend would be a man for my sake! But manhood is melted into courtesies, valour into compliment, and men are only turned into tongue, and trim ones too: he is now as valiant as Hercules, that only tells a lie and swears it. I cannot be a man with wishing, therefore I will die a woman with grieving.”
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Act 5, Scene 4
Quotes
“…get thee a wife, get thee a wife: there is no staff more reverent than one tipped with horn.”
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
