Much ado about nothing is, in my opinion, William Shakespeare's best comedy. The play has many interesting characters; especially Benedick and Beatrice. These two characters provide a great portion of the humor in this particular play. Beatrice and Benedick are alike in many ways, as well as very different.
Both of these characters have issues with so called "wooing- the opposite sex. Benedick is a willful war that just got out of war and says that he will never marry. He says,""I may chance have some odd quirks and remains of wit broken on me, because I have rail'd so long against marriage."" (2.3.235-7) Although by this point, Benedick is changing his mind about marriage, this still emphasizes his previous views on women and marriage. Beatrice also feels the same way that Benedick does about marriage. She seems as if she is more open to marriage than Benedick, but has given up because she has been unable to "woo- the man of her choice. Beatrice says, "I thank God and my cold blood, I am your humor for that: I rather hear my dog bark at a crow than a man swears he loves me."" (1.1.130-2) I think that she only says this to match wits with Benedick.
The two characters also seem similar in there attitudes. Both of there humor is very witty and sometimes sarcastic. A good example is when Beatrice is about to enter and Benedick says, "Will your Grace command me any service to the worlds end? I will go on the slightest arrand now to the Antipodes that you can devise to send me on; I will fetch you a toothpick now from the furthest inch of Asia, bring you the length of Prestor John's foot, fetch you a hair off the great Cham's beard, do you any embassage to the Pigmies, rather than hold three words' conference with this harpy. You have no employment for me?- In the opening seen of the play, Beatrice says some pretty mean harsh words to Benedick in the first act in the play. They are so harsh that Leonato says, "Thou will never get thee a husband if thou be so shrewd of thy tongue.
