REVISE – O that I were a man!

The first part of T20 from your textbook (lines 1-29) has been rewritten using a more modern idiom but the four blocks (A-D) in which it has been divided are in the wrong order. Reorder the four parts of the conversation. Write the correct numbers (1-4) in the gaps.

BLOCK A ________
BENEDICK I swear on my life, Beatrice, you love me.
BEATRICE Don't swear and then break your promise.
BENEDICK I swear on my life that you love me, and I'll make anyone who says I don't love you eat their words.
BEATRICE You won't go back on your word?
BENEDICK No way! I swear, I love you.

BLOCK B ________
BENEDICK Beatrice, have you been crying this whole time?
BEATRICE Yeah, and I'm going to cry some more.
BENEDICK I don't want to see you upset.
BEATRICE You don't have to worry about it. I'm doing it freely.
BENEDICK I truly believe your cousin was wronged.
BEATRICE I'd do anything for the guy who could make things right for her.
BENEDICK Is there any way I can help?
BEATRICE There's always a way, but not with you.

BLOCK C ________
BEATRICE Oh God, forgive me!
BENEDICK What did I do, my sweet Beatrice?
BEATRICE You interrupted me at a perfect moment. I was about to say I love you too.
BENEDICK Say it with all your heart.
BEATRICE I love you so much, I don't have any heart left to say it.

BLOCK D ________
BENEDICK Could a man do it?
BEATRICE It's a man's job, but not yours.
BENEDICK I love you more than anything in the world. Isn't that crazy?
BEATRICE As crazy as the things I don't understand. I could say I love you most too, but don't believe me, even though I'm not lying. I'm not denying anything, but I'm not admitting anything either. I just feel so bad for my cousin.

Match the three quotations taken from the passage to the ideas Beatrice wants to express about Messina's society. Write the correct letters (A-C) in the gaps.

1 BEATRICE O that I were a man! What, bear her in hand until they come to take hands, and then, with public accusation, uncovered slander, unmitigated rancour – O God, that I were a man! I would eat his heart in the market-place. ________
2 BEATRICE But manhood is melted into curtsies, valour into compliment, and men are only turned into tongue, and trim ones too. ________
3 BEATRICE I cannot be a man with wishing, therefore I will die a woman with grieving. ________

A Beatrice is suggesting that true masculinity no longer exists and has been replaced with superficiality and empty displays of gallantry.
B Knowing her wish is impossible, she realises she can't do anything else but be a woman and be sad at the dishonour of Hero.
C Beatrice cries out against the social limitations placed upon women. She desires the power and agency that were denied to her simply because of her gender.

Complete the text with the expressions given. Then use the answers from STEPS 3 and 4 to integrate the text with examples of Beatrice's wit and her remarks on gender issues. You can use the final text as revision material for your test.

Beatrice is a truly ________ character; her sharp wit is not just playful or a way to tease, but, rather, an attribute of her ________.
First, her wit is a key tool in her ________. She uses it to mask her true feelings for Benedick, creating an impression of indifference and, sometimes even open ________. This act of masking her true feelings adds a layer of complexity to their romantic pursuit as both characters seem to refuse the ________ of marriage.
Beatrice also uses her wit to analyse the ________ of the world around her. She ________ the values of courtly life and manhood as well as affirming the ________ faced by women. Her witty observations offer an ________ into human behaviour.
Finally, while she initially dismisses Benedick's attempts to help, Beatrice ultimately uses her wit to call on his ________ and persuade him into action.

Both Benedick and Beatrice use sharp wit in this dialogue: one takes the lead in their verbal battles and the other follows. Read the witty remarks taken from the passage and decide which character takes the lead.

1 You have no reason; I do it freely. (line 4) ________
2 It is a man's office, but not yours. (line 11) ________
3 Do not swear and eat it. (line 18) ________
4 With no sauce that can be devised to it. (line 22) ________
5 I love you with so much of my heart that none is left to protest. (lines 28-29) ________