re: Benedick, what makes him partly also occurs a bit earlier than that - he's the only man at the wedding party not to jump immediately to the conclusion Hero is guilty, which even her father does at first, instead doing the sensible thing and first asking Beatrice whether she and Hero didn't share a room, and working from an "innocent till proven guilty" and not a "guilty till proven innocent" assumption re: Hero. Until this point you could wonder whether Benedick was indeed worthy of Beatrice, beyond having a quick wit, and whether he's mature enough for a real relationship. But that's where he starts showing he's a good man.
I am absolutely envious you'll see DT & CT in this play!
It's my favourite scene from the play, too: Beatrice's line "Kill Claudio!" gives me the chills every time, and her outburst "If I were a man, I'd eat his heart in the marketplace!" is both oddly cheering and utterly heart-wrenching. Also, I quite like that it brings her together with Benedick (as these two are my Shakespearean OTP) and highlights her affection for her cousin. I can't wait to see Tennant & Tate doing this particular dialogue!
I completely agree with your assessment on the importance of that scene for Benedick, too. I once showed this film version to a bunch of friends, none of whom has either seen it before nor read the play. They started out eye-rolling at him and sort of not taking him seriously. After that bit, everyone liked him all of a sudden (and the Claudio Hate-o-Meter had gone up to 11 :D).
Claudio is lucky because Bertram (from All's Well That Ends Well) exists, as this means he's not my most loathed Shakespearean Youth Not Meant To Be A Villain. Otherwise...
Also, I quite like that it brings her together with Benedick (as these two are my Shakespearean OTP) and highlights her affection for her cousin. I can't wait to see Tennant & Tate doing this particular dialogue!
And I so envy you for having the chance to. Also, yes, that's another great aspect of the scene!
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Your mood picture is so fitting! I can't believe I'll be seeing them as Beatrice and Benedick in June. :D
I hope you don't mind I'm friending you since I love your post on The Good Wife and others shows...
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I am absolutely envious you'll see DT & CT in this play!
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... you know about Da Ponte, of course?
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Given that Isaac Nathan was the son of a Kantor, I assume he played the melody for Byron in advance so he'd know how to tailor the verse to it...
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There are many melodies for Lekha Dodi; I meant the words, whose symbolism is very close.
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I completely agree with your assessment on the importance of that scene for Benedick, too. I once showed this film version to a bunch of friends, none of whom has either seen it before nor read the play. They started out eye-rolling at him and sort of not taking him seriously. After that bit, everyone liked him all of a sudden (and the Claudio Hate-o-Meter had gone up to 11 :D).
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Also, I quite like that it brings her together with Benedick (as these two are my Shakespearean OTP) and highlights her affection for her cousin. I can't wait to see Tennant & Tate doing this particular dialogue!
And I so envy you for having the chance to. Also, yes, that's another great aspect of the scene!
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