"Truly the lady
fathers herself.—Be happy, lady, for you are like
an honorable father."
At the beginning of the play, Don Pedro praises Hero by comparing her to her father, establishing her reputation as the daughter of the well-respected Leonato. This quotation foreshadows the unfortunate destruction of Hero's image, when her father (the source of her upstanding reputation) denounces her after Don John's deception plot proves successful.
"Do you question me, as an honest man
should do, for my simple true judgment? Or would
you have me speak after my custom, as being a
professed tyrant to their sex?"
This quotation emphasizes the play's focus on gender and how it dictates certain characters' expectations of one another. Here, Benedick admits that he has two ways of seeing women – both as "tyrant," likely implying that he is generally misogynistic, and as someone who can execute "simple true judgment" of particular women. This double vision apparently only applies to Benedick's perception of women, as he demonstrates that he has only one way of viewing men.
"Well, as time shall try.
In time the savage bull doth bear the yoke."
Don Pedro is one of few older characters who demonstrates wisdom and patience throughout the play, rather than becoming susceptible to ruined pride or immature notions of love. Here, he wisely explains that time is the catalyst for maturity, noting that even the "savage bull" can be tamed (a "yoke" refers to an attachment place on the necks of oxen or horses to pull a cart; it was frequently used as a metaphor for subservience). This quotation prompts the audience to consider whether Don Pedro's assertion will prove true by the end of the play.
"Would it not grieve a woman to be
overmastered with a piece of valiant dust? To make
an account of her life to a clod of wayward marl?
No, uncle, I'll none. Adam's sons are my brethren,
and truly I hold it a sin to match in my kinred."
In this quotation, Beatrice lambasts the concept of marriage from a gendered perspective. She says that marriage makes women subservient to "dust," an insult to men, of course, but also a reference to the notion that everyone on earth eventually dies. Furthering the sentiment, Beatrice argues that if all of Adam's sons are her brothers, she would be committing incest by marrying one of them. Here, Beatrice cleverly uses the Bible as a defense against he rejection of marriage, while peppering her opinion with a few insults about men in general.
"I should think this a gull but that the
white-bearded fellow speaks it. Knavery cannot,
sure, hide himself in such reverence."
When Benedick is deciding whether to trust those around him, he notes that he would doubt their honesty if not for the endorsement of the "white-bearded fellow" Leonato. He asserts that "knavery" has no place within Leonato's "reverent" exterior, directly associating honesty with old age. While the play presents the older characters as wiser and more patient than the younger ones, it also encourages the audience to see the folly in assuming that age renders one incapable of manipulation (especially the kind used for fun).
"Well, every one can master a grief but he
that has it."
In this quotation, Benedick perceives himself as unique in his feelings of true love. Here, he not only admits his enamored state but also showcases his ongoing immaturity, as he thinks that he is the only person who has ever felt this way. In many ways, Benedick's character is an ironic representation of the self-centered experience of love, in which one cannot think beyond his immediate circumstances.
"If I see anything tonight why I should not
marry her, tomorrow in the congregation, where I
should wed, there will I shame her."
This quotation highlights Claudio's maliciousness that emerges from his ruined pride. Instead of simply calling off his wedding to Hero when he learns that she (allegedly) cheated on him, he decides to publicly shame her at the altar. These remarks emphasize how Claudio and other characters perceive reputation as more important than private feelings or one's true character.
"Sweet Hero, now thy image doth appear
In the rare semblance that I loved it first."
At the end of the play, Claudio tells Hero that his love for her has been restored. He conveys this message by essentially saying that her image has returned to the beautiful one he experienced when he first met her. This quotation suggests that Claudio's love for Hero is perhaps not so true as one would hope: it is, instead, dependent on Hero's reputation and the "image" that others have of her.
"No, I was not born under a rhyming
planet, nor cannot woo in festival terms."
In this quotation, Benedick admits that he is not as suave as other men who are able to woo women with rhymes or "festival terms," a reference to formalities in the courting process. This sets Benedick up in contrast to Claudio, who pursues Hero according to rules, procedures, and ceremonies. Benedick's love for Beatrice, by contrast, is informal and seemingly more true, given the absence of pomp and circumstance.
"Done to death by slanderous tongues
Was the Hero that here lies.
Death, in guerdon of her wrongs,
Gives her fame which never dies.
So the life that died with shame
Lives in death with glorious fame."
When Claudio still believes Hero to be dead, he composes this epitaph for her. Interestingly, his epitaph reveals what elements of his beloved were most important to him: the epitaph restores Hero's reputation, but does not mention anything about their love or their relationship.
