"Kill Claudio": When Love is Put to the Test

"Kill Claudio" (4.1.2013).

Few moments in Much Ado About Nothing are as shocking as when Beatrice asks Benedick to kill his closest friend. Throughout most of the play, Beatrice is characterized as witty, outspoken, and fiercely independent. She is quick to challenge others with her sharp humor and refuses to conform to the expectations placed on women around her. Her relationship with Benedick is initially defined by playful arguments and verbal competition, making her request for violence at the end of Act 4, Scene 1, a striking departure from her usual behavior. After Hero is publicly humiliated at the altar, Beatrice's anger and grief reveal a more vulnerable side of her character. 

Although Shakespeare's text establishes the emotional stakes of Beatrice's request, it leaves much of the moment open to interpretation. The 2020 Shakespeare in the Park production and the 2011 Globe Theatre production therefore had to make their own choices about how Beatrice's anger, grief, and vulnerability should appear onstage. Through differences in acting, physical staging, and the interactions between Beatrice and Benedick, each production emphasizes different aspects of their relationship and transform the same dialogue into different combinations of grief, loyalty, romance and revenge. 

This contrast becomes especially apparent when Beatrice finally tells Benedick, "Kill Claudio

With the scene beginning with Beatrice sobbing, each production had to decide how her emotions would be expressed. In Shakespeare in the Park, Beatrice leaves little room for comedy in her interaction with Benedick, instead displaying a combination of anger and devastation. Her emotional state makes her request to kill Claudio feel like a direct response to the injustice done to Hero. In the Globe Theatre production, however, comedy is still present despite the seriousness of the situation. With body language, movement, and tone, the audience is prompted to laugh while still understanding that she is serious. This creates a more complicated portrayal of Beatrice, as her grief exists alongside the wit and humor that have characterized her throughout the play. This allows to Globe production to portray Beatrice as a character who has not completely abandoned the witty personality she has displayed throughout the play, even when she is experiencing genuine grief. The humor encourages the audience to recognize that this is still the same quick-witted Beatrice from earlier in the play, even though the circumstances have made her more vulnerable.

Shakespeare's text itself emphasizes Beatrice's frustration with her inability to act. She declares, "O, that I were a man for his sake" (4.1.2041), and laments that she cannot personally defend Hero. Her statement is important because it reveals that her anger is not simply grief over what happened to Hero, it is also frustration at being unable to change the situation herself. The Globe Theatre production emphasizes her anger in this scene with her frantic movements around the stage showing her passion. This creates an interesting contrast with Beatrice's usual characterization as an independent woman who refuses to rely on others. Although she remains outspoken about what she wants, she is forced to depend on Benedick to take action she wishes she could take herself. Because Beatrice cannot act on her anger herself, the request places the responsibility for action onto Benedick. The way he responds therefore becomes just as important as the way Beatrice makes the request. 

Benedick's response of "Ha! Not for the wide world" (4.1.2014)., can be interpreted in a multitude of ways through text with different emotions. The Shakespeare in the Park production maintains the serious tone of the scene by placing Benedick on his knees close to Beatrice. His physical closeness makes his response feel emotionally intimate, even though he refuses her request. Rather than making his refusal seem like a rejection of Beatrice herself, his position suggests that he remains emotionally connected to her and is trying to respond to her grief. The Globe Theatre production keeps Beatrice and Benedick physically separated, while Benedick's shocked response introduces humor into the moment. This makes his reaction feel less like a romantic reassurance and more like genuine disbelief at the extremity of Beatrice's request. 

Shakespeare in the Park

Globe Theatre

The physical relationship between Beatrice and Benedick is one of the greatest artistic liberties available to each production because Shakespeare provides very little specific staging for this exchange. As Beatrice hears Benedick reject her plea to kill Claudio, she says "You kill me to deny it. Farewell" (4.1.2015). Stage directions in text say [She begins to exit.] leaving room for interpretation on how that physically occurs with her and Benedick. In the Shakespeare in the Park production, after thinking for a bit before she tells Benedick to kill Claudio and he immediately refuses, the physical relationship goes from very close to her pushing away from him. In the Globe theatre production, directors chose to do the opposite, with Beatrice immediately telling him to kill Claudio and Benedick taking a while to reply. This turns Shakespeare's simple stage direction that Beatrice 'begins to exit' into an opportunity for physical interaction, as Benedick attempts to stop her from leaving. The choices of each production allowed for the focus to either be on the comedy or sadness while the same scene is occurring. As a result, the Globe production makes their physical interaction part of the comedy and tension of the scene, while Shakespeare in the Park uses physical separation to emphasize the emotional pain of Benedick's refusal.

The differences in these performances ultimately change how the audience understands Beatrice and Benedick's love. In Shakespeare in the Park, their physical closeness and serious tone make the scene feel like a painful test of their relationship. Benedick's refusal does not appear to end his love for Beatrice, but it forces her to confront the fact that he will not simply obey her wishes. The Globe production presents their relationship differently by allowing humor to remain within the scene. Benedick's shocked reaction and the physical interaction that follows Beatrice's attempt to leave make their relationship feel more consistent with the playful dynamic they have shared throughout the play. Neither production removes the seriousness of Hero's humiliation, but they balance seriousness and comedy differently, creating two different interpretations of what Beatrice and Benedick's love means in a moment of crisis. 

Shakespeare gives each production the same words, but the actors and directors determine whether those words feel like an angry demand, a desperate plea, or a test of love. The differences between the productions demonstrate how much meaning can exist beyond Shakespeare's dialogue, particularly when the text leaves actors and directors freedom to determine how characters move, speak, and respond to one another.