Much Ado about Nothing is a comedy play set in a patriarchal time written by Shakespeare. It is based on deception, allusion and finally reconciliation. Don John causes and spread lies that the rest of the characters have to sort out but like most Shakespearean plays, it all end well. The nefarious character has been captured and the non-culpable characters have been righted. Benedick acts very obnoxious and whimsical in the first two scenes by being very immature and narcissistic whereas Beatrice acts very manipulative and witty. However in Act 4 Benedick acts completely different.
Firstly Benedick is shown to be more mature in Act 4 scene 1:
'Surely I do believe your fair cousin is wronged'
Here Benedick is trying to calm down Beatrice and for once is agreeing that Beatrice's cousin has been 'wronged'. This is very strange because throughout the play Benedick 'skirmish of wit' with Beatrice has involved him acting harshly but now he is acting as a manly figure, by trying to figure out what is happening and he is starting to convince Beatrice that Hero is innocent and that she should not “weep”. Another example is when Benedict asked Beatrice 'Is Claudio thine enemy'. Here, we can see that Benedick is more mature as he is making Beatrice see and act clearly because Benedick has to make sure what she is doing and that she doesn't react irrationally by asking Beatrice if Claudio is an 'enemy'. By calming and maturely he has started earning the love that Beatrice deserves. After he takes on the task to challenge Claudio, he acted very mature by telling to Beatrice to 'go comfort your cousin’; this is very affective because he uses an imperative. By doing this he is taking a leadership stance, his maturity is also displayed in his caring attitude as he directs Beatrice to look after Hero, who has been emotionally hurt by Claudio words. In contrast to this earlier in the play Benedick was a very immature buffoon by saying 'if signor Leonato be her father, she would not have his head on her shoulders'. Here Benedick is acting immature by insulting Leonato by saying Hero is not his daughter, this is a worse in Shakespearean times because you could not tell who was the father, so Benedick has insulted Leonato.
This is very different from Act 4 scene 1 because he takes leadership and tries to work out what is really happening and who is to blame. In the 1993 version, Branagh adds to Benedick's presentation as being more mature through his reactions when Beatrice was crying. He raised his arms and held her back so Beatrice can calm down. This shows an increase of maturity as he takes on the role to calm Beatrice down to stop her acting drastically and the she will listen to him.
Secondly, Beatrice is frustrating with her role is demonstrated in Act 4 scene 1:
'O God […] I would eat his heart in the market place'
Here Beatrice is using vengeful diatribe towards Claudio when she states that she would 'eat his heart'. This shows that Beatrice wants to get revenge from Claudio for being so nasty to hero and so she sees him as evil. Beatrice wants to complete this horrible task in the 'market place' so everyone can watch of what has become of the Claudio. Beatrice is showed to be frustrated with her by saying ' I cannot be a man with wishing; therefore I will die a woman with grieving'. Here we can see that Beatrice feels upset but she is helpless because she can't do anything about it because 'she will never be a 'man with wishing'. A man, like Benedick is very important to Beatrice because she wants vengeance for what Claudio has done but she needs Benedick to fulfil this task because being a woman she can only 'grieve'. She will never be a woman she will try and manipulate Benedick into duelling Claudio by stating 'Ah, how much might the man deserve of me that would right her'. Here Beatrice is trying to manipulate Benedick into duelling Claudio cannot do it herself so she needs convince Benedick into the man that will deserve