Valiant Dust
When Leonato encourages Beatrice to marry, she vehemently rejects the prospect, asking, "Would it not grieve a woman to be overmastered with a piece of valiant dust?" (2.1). Here, Beatrice uses a metaphor to compare men to "dust," a term that both refers to the biblical notion that all bodies eventually return to the ground. However, this is also an insult lodged at men – Beatrice perceives marriage as a means of making women subservient to mere "dust," emphasizing her desire to maintain her relative autonomy.
Men's Tongues
Beatrice delivers a number of speeches in the play about her hatred and disrespect for men, and in one of these speeches she laments how masculinity has declined due to pomp and ceremony. She says, "But manhood is melted into curtsies, valor into compliment, and men are only turned into tongue, and trim ones, too" (4.1). Here, Beatrice asserts that men have become tongues, using a metaphor to suggest that flattery and words have replaced substance in terms of courting and romantic pursuit.
Claudio's Reputation
When audiences are first introduced to Claudio, it is through the words of a messenger rather through an encounter with Claudio himself. The messenger says, "He hath borne himself beyond the promise of his age, doing in the figure of a lamb the feats of a lion" (1.1). Here, the messenger uses a simile to compare Claudio's military prowess at such a young age to a lamb who defeats a lion. Of course, audiences will soon learn that Claudio is still young and immature with regard to love and marriage, despite his wartime exploits.
Taming the Bull
As one of the more experienced characters in the play, Don Pedro offers insight into the nature of youth and wildness. He says, "In time the savage bull doth bear the yoke" (1.1). Here, Don Pedro uses a metaphor to compare young lovers (specifically men) to wild animals who will eventually be "tamed" with time. The image of the yoke – a large attachment placed on the necks of oxen, cattle, or horses in order to pull a cart – was a common one in early modern English when talking about subservience and submission.
Benedick's Transformation
When it becomes clear that Benedick's position on marriage has changed, he admits to having railed against the concept previously. He asks if this is such a terrible thing, saying, "A man loves the meat in his youth that he cannot endure in his age" (2.3). Here, Benedick uses the metaphor of the appetite to emphasize how one's tastes for things changes as they age.
