s situation is ironic because the man is the one who would usually be in control of any situation of that time. However, Beatrice is using her only weapon, words, to persuade Bene*censored* to help her, it is giving the illusion that she has more power than she truly does. When Bene*censored* agrees to challenge Claudio, Beatrice achieves a small victory. She has used her weapon (her words) to the best of her ability and she has won. It is at this point that Beatrice allows herself to show her feelings for Bene*censored*. While it might be true that Beatrice and Bene*censored* do have feelings for each other that were prodded by their friends, they must have had these feelings for a while in order to show them. Bene*censored* was afraid of rejection and the stories that he heard his friends tell gave Bene*censored* enough courage to take the next step and show his love for Beatrice. Beatrice, however, is testing Bene*censored* in this scene to see if he loves her enough to get revenge on Claudio that she feels that Hero deserves. It is only once Bene*censored* agrees to help Beatrice that she shows Bene*censored* that she does have feelings for him....
