Enemies to Lovers: But were they ever enemies?

    This blog post seeks to analyze the changing representation of Beatrice and Benedick throughout different adaptations of Shakespeare's play Much Ado About Nothing. The sources being used for this analysis include Shakespeare's original play, the 2012 film adaptation directed by Joss Whedon, and the 2019 Shakespeare in the Park adaptation directed by Kenny Leon. The scene being analyzed is Beatrice and Benedick's first interaction upon his return from war. It takes place in Act I, Scene I of the play. As each adaptation interprets this scene differently, viewers understanding of how Beatrice and Benedick feel about each other before the events of the play unfold changes drastically. 

The "move aside" 

    Before Beatrice and Benedick reunite in Shakespeare's original play, a stage direction is given between lines 110 and 111. This direction states "Leonato and the Prince move aside" (Shakespeare 1.1.110). While a reader is free to imagine what this "move aside" might look like, the film adaptations of the play take it upon themselves to interpret this for viewers. Each adaptation does so in a vastly different way, and the choice they make directly affects viewers' understanding of the scene. 

    In Kenny Leon's 2019 Shakespeare in the Park adaptation, the "move aside" isn't really all that far aside. The soldiers move to one side of the stage and the friends of Beatrice to the other. While Beatrice and Benedick take center stage, all the other characters are still in plain sight and are even acknowledged by the two throughout the scene. The publicness of their debate turns a conversation into a performance. Everyone around them appears highly entertained, as if watching a show. By making the "move aside" still public, the film frames Beatrice and Benedick's first conversation with each other in the play as a purely performative moment. 

    Joss Whedon's 2012 adaptation interprets "move aside" very differently. In this scene, Beatrice and Benedick are enclosed in a sort of private patio. No one else is in this area with them, instead they are on the other side of the wall, completely cut-off from view. The effect this has on the scene is that Beatrice and Benedick's banter is entirely for them. They aren't trying to amuse others, but instead share quips meant only for the other. The privateness of their encounter adds a sense of intimacy to the scene that the other adaptation does not have. 

    The contrast between public and private in the two film adaptations is quite severe. It has the effect of changing how viewers understand the dynamic between Beatrice and Benedick. The public version gives the impression that the two exchange quips to entertain instead of truly converse. The private version of their conversation has the opposite effect. How the two characters feel about each other at the beginning of the play is thus changed depending on how the "move aside" is interpreted.  

Body Language Says a Lot

    In Shakespeare's written version of the play, readers obviously have no idea what body language Beatrice and Benedick are expressing. They are, of course, able to imagine. If they interpret Benedick and Beatrice's back-and-forth as an argument, they might imagine more closed off or aggressive body language. If they see their quips as affectionate, they might imagine a more intimate or friendly portrayal of body language.

    In Kenny Leon's 2019 Shakespeare in the Park adaptation, Beatrice and Benedick hold a lot of eye contact as they banter back-and-forth. While both move around and gesture to their respective supporters, for the majority of the scene they are facing and addressing each other. This direct body language frames their dialogue as a sort of battle. They are launching each line of insult or jest right at the other. Their eye contact also shows that they are not afraid or hesitant to speak their thoughts about the other aloud. 

    In Joss Whedon's 2012 adaptation, the opposite is true. For most of their dialogue, Beatrice and Benedick do not look at the other. Because they are in such an enclosed space, this lack of eye contact is even more noticeable. The two seem to do everything possible to not look at the other. This seems to take the bite out of much of the insults the two direct at each other. For example, when Beatrice responds with the line "scratching could not make it worse an 'twere such a face as yours were," (Much Ado About Nothing 00:07:35) she does so while looking at the flowers she is arranging, not while looking at Benedick's face. If she had been looking at him while she said this, it would have made the insult feel more genuine and less joking in nature. 

    Each film adaptation interprets how Beatrice and Benedick physically address each other differently. In doing so, they add new meaning to the scene. The direct body language in the 2019 adaptation gives the impression that Benedick and Beatrice are both bold and unafraid to speak their minds. It also suggests that their remarks about the other come somewhat from a place of truth as they are addressing each other directly. The lack of eye contact and directness in the 2012 adaptation seems to imply that Beatrice and Benedick are more coy and absentminded in their remarks. The characters' body language changes how viewers perceive Benedick and Beatrice's relationship because it affects the characters' personalities as well as the sincerity of the insults they exchange.  

The "Extra" Scene 

    In Shakespeare's original Much Ado About Nothing, the first scene that features Beatrice and Benedick is the one where he returns from war and they trade insults with each other. Despite there being no direct description of previous encounters between them, Beatrice's parting comment to Benedick suggests a past history. This parting line is "you always end with a jade's trick. I know / you of old" (Shakespeare 1.1.142-43). Each film adaptation emphasize this past familiarity to different degrees and with seemingly different intents.

    The 2019 Shakespeare in the Park adaptation directed by Kenny Leon does not place much emphasis on this parting line. The actress who plays Beatrice does deliver it, but does so while only looking at Benedick out of the corner of her eye. When she is done speaking, the Prince immediately jumps in to say his following lines without much of a pause. This lack of pause makes it easy to brush over Beatrice's comment and dismiss it instead of ruminating on what it implies.

    Joss Whedon's 2012 adaptation, however, places a different emphasis on this line. Not only is there a pause after the line's delivery, but there is also an entire additional scene created around it. The film opens not with the gathering of Leonato, Beatrice, Hero, and a messenger like in the original version of the play. Instead, a pile of clothing on the ground is shown. In the same room lies Beatrice and Benedick in a bed together. As seen from this additional scene, the adaptation interprets Beatrice's parting line not just as the suggestion that Beatrice and Benedick have met before, but that they have also been romantically involved before the play even takes place. 

    The emphasis placed on just one line can have a huge impact on how readers/viewers interpret Beatrice and Benedick's entire relationship. Every phrase they say to each other takes on a new meaning if we believe them to have been romantically involved with each other. In this context, their insults could come from a place of hurt instead of a simple jest between acquaintances. 

Conclusion

    Because readers are limited to what is on the page, there is much freedom for interpretation in William Shakespeare's play Much Ado About Nothing. The variations of the play's film adaptations make this all the more clear. Small choices about where the characters are placed, where they are looking, and how they say a single line can all affect how we perceive them and their relationships. In creating new meaning, these adaptations add to what is already considered a classic play. In the 2019 adaptation, viewers get to meet a Beatrice and Benedick that are bold and are unafraid to say what they think about the other. In the 2012 adaptation, viewers see not the start of a relationship between Benedick and Beatrice, but the resurrection of it. No adaptation simply reproduces the play. So much is left up to choice that that would be virtually impossible. Instead, they create a new form of art and meaning that many can enjoy. 

Works Cited

Much Ado About Nothing. Directed by Joss Whedon, Lionsgate, 2012. 

Much Ado About Nothing. Directed by Kenny Leon, Great Performances, 2019. 

Shakespeare, William. Much Ado About Nothing. Available from: Commonwealth University of             Pennsylvania, Simon & Schuster, 2015.