1. Who am I?
Benedick is the protagonist of the play. He is seen as an extrovert due to him being very confident and smug. He is arrogant, yet very likeable because of his comedic ways and good intentions. He is witty, sarcastic and loyal. The story is centred on his love-hate relationship with Beatrice. He thinks of life as one big joke and never takes anything too seriously. He vows that he will never fall in love or get married. He is loyal and determined with strong motivation.
2. What time is it? (For each scene I'm in, Year, season, time of day or night?)
The scenes occur during the day in the summer, meaning that the temperature is at its peak, leaving everyone hot and frustrated. The play occurs during the Gulf War in which the soldiers have just got back from. This means that everyone is living in fear and is permanently on edge. This means tensions are higher than usual and everyone is ready to snap. Outside, I notice almost nothing except the unbearable heat and endless sand across the dessert.
3. Where am I? (For each scene)
The scenes take place in Leonarto's luxurious mansion. The play is set in the 1990s in Kuwait, a country in the Middle East. This country is full of dessert and is boiling. This makes everyone hot and frustrated. The mansion is beautiful and grand and takes our breath away as we are inside it.. There is also rubble surrounding us which reminds us of the danger we could be facing, therefore keeping us aware and anxious.
4. What surrounds me? (People and things)
There are large, ornate pillars made from marble, they shine brightly and stand tall and proud. There is a small water fountain which is refreshing and cools you down from the intense heat outside. The fountains looks old and uncared for, this is surrounded by strong stone seats. These seats are worn out and have small scratches over them, suggesting that they have been used a lot because people are normally exhausted as they enter the house. There are marble steps leading up to a balcony. This balcony is high up and you can look down over the house and admire its beauty.
5. What's my relationship? (People and things)
My relationships to other characters are explained further down in my blog. He admires and respects the mansion he is in. It is greatly impressive and is huge. In a way, he envies Leonarto for having such a cool house and is rather jealous. His favourite part of the house is the deck chairs which he loves to lounge in as he thinks this makes him look powerful as he can also lounge around and enjoy himself.
6. What's just happened before the scene starts?
Before my first scene, Benedick has just discovered that Beatrice is supposedly in love with him. This greatly influences his decision to declare his love for her. He believes he has been subtle and discrete in over hearing a conversation in which he has found out this information when really they deliberately let him hear it in order to trick him. He is shocked and confused as well as being ecstatic and smug. In addition, he is bored of Claudio constantly banging on about the wedding and being so cringe about his love for Hero. This annoys Benedick who just wants the wedding to be over with so he can hang around with his best friend and go back to how things used to be. In a way, he envies Claudio as he would really like to be getting marries himself. He goes into the scene feeling confused and slightly annoyed.
7. Objective (What do I want?)
Benedick's super- objective in the play is to marry Beatrice. They are clearly deeply in love with each other, although they hate to admit it. He is trying to woo her in his own special way. Another key objective is that he wants to hide his true feelings throughout the play and doesn't want anyone to know about his love for Beatrice because he wants to appear as the alpha male and doesn’t want to be mocked or seen as a hypocrite. However, this is very difficult as everyone can easily tell how much he loves her. Another objective is that he has to challenge Claudio. However, I wouldn’t necessarily consider this to be an objective as it isn’t something tat he actually wants to do. It is just a method of getting closer to Beatrice. Therefore, his objective is to find a way to have them both in his life.
8. Obstacle (What's in my way?)
A clear obstacle is that Beatrice says she cannot love Benedick until he kills Claudio- his best friend. Obviously, this is very upsetting and difficult for Benedick who doesn't want to do this. He has to put love over friendship. He has to find the courage to challenge Claudio and actually go through with it. This is painful for Benedick as Claudio is like a brother to him. Furthermore, he wants Beatrice to fall in love with him while making everyone believe that they hate each other. This is difficult as he has to find a way to be subtle and to hide his objective from everyone else.
9. Action (Tactics to get what I want)
Ultimately, Benedick gets straight to the point in order to achieve what he wants. There is much wit or subtlety in his methods. He suddenly blurts out to Beatrice how much he loves her in the spur of the moment. This surprises her greatly and he even shocks himself by doing this. However, he was subtle in his methods of flirting with her and wooing her. Furthermore, he uses words and his natural charm to try and persuade people into getting his own way.
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