At the very beginning of Act one Scene one, Beatrice starts to mock Benedick without him even being there. Speaking with the messenger she asks him “has signior Mountanto returned from the wars, or no?” this could tell the audience that as soon as the play starts she is thinking of Benedick and that perhaps her feelings for him motivate her.

Furthermore in nearly every conversation that Beatrice has she is always using mockery and ridicule. The messenger in Act One says “And a good soldier too, lady.” But Beatrice quickly picks up on this and comes back with “And a good soldier to a lady. But what is he to a lord?” Mockery is another one of her motivations through the play.

However, in Act two she has another motivation that contradicts the one I mentioned in paragraph one. She may motivate herself with her love for Benedick but in Act Two she says “Thus goes everyone to the world but I.” Beatrice is saying that everyone around her is getting married but she isn’t and she doesn’t want to, she vows never to marry, this contradicts her other motivation for Benedick. So another thing that motivates Beatrice is her vow never to marry.

Beatrice is very different from the other women in the play; she speaks to people like a man would in that time, whereas other women feel they have a place after men. In Act Two she speaks to Don Pedro like she would to anyone else. Don Pedro says “Will you have me my lady?” Beatrice replies with “No, my lord, unless I might have another for working-days.” This shows her mocking Don Pedro who is a very important man. Therefore another one of her motivations could be that she feels she shouldn’t have a place in society, that she is equal to any man she meets.

We see Beatrice telling people what to do throughout the Acts. Whilst Claudio and Hero are talking Beatrice steps in now and then to tell them what they should say next, “Speak, count, ’tis your cue.” Also “Speak cousin – or if you cannot, stop his mouth with a kiss, and let not him speak neither. This shows the audience that she directs people by telling them what they should do. Directing people in love instead of focusing on herself might be something that motivates her through the scenes.

In conclusion, I believe that Beatrice is motivated by many different things, some serious and some not so serious. Whether they are serious or not her motivations become clear as the scenes progress and we learn something new about Beatrice as every scene moves on.