That’s the grade I’ve chosen to give this play!!! I thought it was very interesting. I finished the play a couple of days ago and I couldn’t put the classic down. This is actually weird being that it is Shakespeare’s play. Usually I’m confused, turned off, or the story line is redundant and I’m uninterested.
Throughout the scenes, I wondered what would happen next. Is Benedick actually going to kill Claudio for the love of Beatrice? How romantic!! Or would Claudio kill himself after finding out the false news that Hero died? This play wasn’t as predictable as others I’ve previously read.
The back and forth love/hate relationship Beatrice and Benedick had was entertaining. I anticipated reading the next scene, hoping they’d make an appearance.
“Classics” have a bad rep. If they’ve lasted so long, there must be something right with them. There’s a tension in most plays (and other literary forms) between the generic expectations that help us anticipate how the plot will turn out and the way in which an author can keep you guessing, even if you’re pretty sure, as others have already pointed out, that there will be a “happy ending.” We’ll talk about how happy this ending actually is.