Beatrice

In Shakespeare’s Much Ado about Nothing, Beatrice and Benedick are the leading not-quite-lovers, whose verbal sparring delights both the audience and the other characters as their professed mutual hatred turns to love. In this etching, John Hamilton Mortimer captured both the pride and humor of the female half of this pair. The merry Beatrice seems to be caught in mid-repartee, with her mouth slightly open; Benedick has just inquired if his “dear Lady Disdain” is “yet living.” She laughingly responds with the jab quoted below the image.