Benedick has a lot to say for himself. The fact that he is so talkative suggests that he has something to hide.

Benedick is rude and sarcastic about falling in love; he compares it with unpleasant things.

Don Pedro teases Benedick that one day he, too, will fall in love.

Claudio is tentative - he doesn't come out with it straight away that he's fallen in love - perhaps he is seeking Benedick's approval for his love of Hero; perhaps he feels a little insecure about it.

Probably, when they hear Don Pedro tease Benedick about falling in love, the audience expect to see him fall in love for real, later in the play.

Benedick has a comment for everything; this makes the scene interesting, funny and fast-moving.

Claudio is sensitive, and the actor playing his part should show this in his voice, his facial expressions and by the way he stands and moves.

It is interesting that we are listening to men talking about women: we wonder what the women might be saying about the men.

Benedick is easily fooled, but there are reasons for this:

• we suspect he's already in love with Beatrice (remember what he said about how pretty he was in the first extract) so this is what he wants to hear

• he says himself that the fact that Leonato (with the 'white beard') is there suggests it's not just a joke (or a 'gull')

• the jokers suggest they have good evidence: the word of Hero herself, Beatrice's best friend

Don Pedro has said in the first extract that Benedick will fall in love - "I shall see thee ere I die look pale with love" - and now he leads the attack!

In his long speech at the end, Benedick makes up excuses to explain why he's fallen in love: he has to, because he's told everyone he isn't going to be so soppy.

In the first scene, Claudio appears tentative and 'uptight', but that is because he was anxious about his love for Hero. Since then, the two have become engaged and now Claudio is much more 'laid back' and joins in the joke with gusto.

Before, in the first extract, we could see how nervous he was because he didn't say very much and he asked a lot of questions; now he has a lot more to say and is prepared to make fun of Benedick.

The three young men think of love from different perspectives: Claudio is happily in love; Don Pedro wishes he were in love; Benedick fights being in love (but then gives in!)

This second extract makes for good drama: we see and hear the jokers, but we also see Benedick's reactions to what they are saying.

Benedick falls for the story and reveals his deep and hidden love for Beatrice: when she appears at the end, he turns all her negative comments into positive ones.

Shakespeare chooses his setting very carefully: not only is it easy to be overheard in a garden, but gardens, especially in Shakespeare's day, were very 'romantic' places.