Benedick Character Profile

General Information

Name: Benedick Mountanto.

Age: 35.

Nationality: Italian.

Social Status as a child: Benedick was a popular kid and always craved attention.

Economic Status as a child: Rich and spoiled.

Social Status as an adult: He has some close friends always a clown, seen as immature.

Economic Status: Rich and spoiled.

Occupation: A soldier under Don Pedro.

Other Actors who have played Benedick

Many other characters have played Benedick and I will look at how they approached the character before I approach the character in order to get a better knowledge of this character.

Kenneth Branagh played the character in Much Ado About Nothing (1992):

I felt Branagh played the character in a very cowardly way when approaching Benedick and also in a pompous way, this may have been due to the well spoken English accent of Branagh. I feel that Branagh plays this character well, I enjoyed his delivery of Benedick's monologue when professing his love towards Beatrice, which I in fact will be playing when adapting this Shakespearian play. Branagh would change the tone of different lines to give a whole new meaning to the character. In the video below I think its brilliant at 4:57, after Benedick has said 'I will horribly be in love with her, I may by chance have some odd quips and remnants of wit broken on me', in this short space of time the mood of the place dynamically changes to show how Benedick is so excited to hear Beatrice's love to him, to questioning himself.

Damien Lewis played Benedick in Much Ado About Nothing (2005):

I felt Lewis played the Benedick in a much more flirtatious manner, when confronted with Beatrice. I feel throughout this adpatation Bendick is shown to have a love towards Beatrice but only reveals so when finding out about Beatrice's love. This Modern adaptation shows Benedick as a cocky news anchor who believes in himself to have a winning personality. This is much like the cockiness shown in the Branagh adaptation. I enjoyed this modern interpretation as it helped me to bring this character that was born in the Elizabethan era to a present time. Along with the modern language I also got a better understand for Benedick's view on Beatrice relaying his thoughts on her.










David Tennant played Benedick in Much Ado About Nothing (2011):

Another modern adaptation of Much Ado About Nothing is a staged version that I recently saw on Digital Theatre, it contained David Tennant and Catherine Tate. I love the comedic way Tennant plays this character and I thoroughly enjoyed the difference between when we first see Benedick to when we find out later on that he is in love.



I think I will mostly model my character after Branagh's version but as its the funniest in my opinion while still staying faithful to the meaning of the script. I will however only look at things Branagh has done as I want to bring a fresh interpretation to Benedick.

Scenes

Throughout Much Ado About Nothing, Benedick appears in many scenes, I will be splitting the part of Benedick with Lewis who is in the Act 1 Scene 1. I appear in Act 2 Scene 3 and Matt appears in Act 4 Scene 1. Within these scenes we first see how Benedick is completely against Beatrice in Act 1 Scene 1 as he is insulting her 'what my dear lady disdain! are you yet living?' This translates to 'look its my dear lady disdain! aren't you dead yet?' This shows how Benedick is so sick of Beatrice that he tells her that she is irrelevant. There is then a argument between Benedick and Beatrice where they continue to throw insults at each other. 

After this is my scene where at the start I am against the idea of Beatrice and then by the end I profess my love for her. In my first monologue I am against Claudio even though he is my best friend as he is in love and I profess against it. I think the reason Benedick is so against love at the start is because he was bullied as a kid as being spoilt. I think Benedick also has had bad relationships from the past that he views woman as all the same. 

I'm going to go into depth into my monologues to understand what my character wants and the meaning behind each thought:

'I do much wonder that one man, seeing how much another man is a fool when he dedicated his behaviours to love, will, after he hath laughed at such shallow follies in others, become the arguments of his own scorn by falling in love; and such a man is Claudio'.

In this line Benedick mocks Claudio and says how he is wrong that he has fallen in love and that he is a fool for doing the thing he once despised. This is funny as this is what Benedick does later on in the scene.

'I have known when there was no music with him but the drum and the fife, and know he had rather hear the tabor and the pipe'.

For this thought Benedick misses his old friend and is saying how he has changed. I think I will deliver this line as if I believe the tabor and pipe are terrible by saying them in a higher and fairy type voice which isn't seen as manly.

'I have known when he would of walked ten miles afoot to see a good armour, and know he lies ten nights awake carving the fashion of a new doublet'.

Much like the line before, Benedick still is annoyed that Claudio isn't a man like he is and is staying up to play with clothes instead of wear armour into war.

'He was wont to speak plain and to the purpose, like an honest man and a soldier, and now is he turned orthography; his words are a fantastical banquet, just so many strange dishes'. 

Benedick at this point keeps harping on about how Claudio is now a completely different man, and saying how he is dishonest, this also shows how being in love is this strange thing and fantastical thing that is a mystery. 

'May I be so converted to see with these eyes?'

At this point Benedick wonders if he will ever fall in love foreshadowing his second monologue.

'I cannot tell; I think not'.

He is being very one minded at this time and is not thinking towards the future, he truly believes that he will never fall in love. 

'I will not be sworn but love may transform me to an oyster; but I'll take my oath on it till he hath made an oyster of me, he shall never make me such a fool'.

Benedick swears how he will never be made a fool and will never fall in love, as he has seen Claudio fall for that trap. 

'One woman is fair, yet I am well, another is wise, yet I am well, another is virtuous, but till all graces come into one woman, one woman shall not come into my grace'.

I will only ever love a woman if she is perfect otherwise I do not want her near me is what Benedick is going along the lines of. This is the first bit of hypocrisy in this scene that we see from Benedick as he just said how he would never love any woman. For the delivery of this I will say 'yet I am well', in a different way each time to give a comedic element to the scene which Shakespeare most likely envisioned. 

'Rich she shall be, that's certain; wise, or I'll none; virtuous, or I'll never cheapen her; fair, or I'll never look on her; mild, or come not near me; noble, or not I for an angel; of good discourse, an excellent musician, and her hair shall be of what colour it pleases God'.

In this thought Benedick is describing his perfect woman, for this part of the scene I will use emotional memory to really capture the love that Benedick has towards a special woman that Shakespeare would have wanted. I will picture someone who I fancy myself and who I believe near to be perfect to think about while delivering this line. 

'Ha!'

At this point Benedick can hear that Claudio, Don Pedro and Leonato are approaching.

'The Prince and Monsieur Love!'

Benedick mocks Claudio by calling him 'Monsieur Love', I will deliver this in a way where I will elongate the word 'love' to humiliate him.

'I will hid me in the arbour'

The final line of the monologue points to how I will hide away from the men coming.

In the second monologue, Benedicks view of Love completely changes. We can see at the end of the first monologue that Benedicks view on love starts to change as he says he will fall for a woman that is perfect which I think is out of the ordinary for Benedick and he starts to think him and Beatrice may have love. The thought for the first monologue is that Claudio is a fool for falling in love. His view of love however completely changes and he hears from Don Pedro, Leonato and Claudio that Beatrice loves him. Thus turning into a hypocrite and a fool himself. In the second monologue he triess to comprehend his actions for being a hypocrite, 'doth not the appetite alter?' 'When I said I'd die a bachelor, I never thought I'd live till I where married'

Relationships

Claudio

Claudio is Benedicks best friend. They have been friends for a long time and both were under Don Pedro in war. Benedick and Claudios friendship is proven when in the first scene Claudio goes straight to Benedick before anyone else to talk about how he has a love for Hero. Their friendship is also proven as Benedick is so annoyed when he hears that Claudio loves Hero that he calls him a fool however he still sticks by him. Benedick is also the best man when its Claudios wedding which shows there friendship, however Bendick is willing to kill Claudio when Beatrice asks Benedick to in a later scene, 'Kill Claudio'. 

Beatrice

Benedick and Beatrice have a very juxtaposed relationship throughout the play. At the start of Much Ado, Benedick and Beatrice fight and say how they hate each other 'Well you are a rare parrot teacher'. These type of arguing between the two is funny as later on in the play they are in love. Later on Benedicks thoughts on Beatrice start to change as Benedick is led to believe that Beatrice likes him, as Leonato, Don Pedro and Claudio play a trick on Benedick, 'I should think this a gull, but Leonato speaks it'. Benedick has a feeling that he might be getting tricked but he hears Leonato speak so and is shocked as Leonato is a much more mature character. 

Throughout this play Benedicks feelings towards love changes throughout, I'm looking forward to playing this character as I feel like a detective tryin to work out how Benedick is feeling at given moments.