In Much Ado About Nothing, William Shakespeare describes both Benedick and Beatrice as characters with a major flaw: both are full of pride. With the use of the masquerade scene, as well as the orchard scenes, Shakespeare allows the characters to realize their erroneous characteristics. Realizing their mistaken pride, Benedick and Beatrice are able to correct it and not only become better citizens, but fall in love. From the first scene of the play, Beatrice is shown as a very proud and very protective character towards It. Benedick's phrase "What, my dear Lady Disdain! Are you still alive?" (1.1.114) gives a clue to how much pride Beatrice has. Benedick's reference to Beatrice as "Lady Disdain" shows how Beatrice thinks she is much better than everyone else. At the masquerade party, Beatrice gives a perfect example of how protective she is of her pride. Her encounter with Don Pedro shows how Beatrice uses language as a shield for love, providing a solid foundation for the giant sign declaring her autonomy. When Don Pedro proposes to Beatrice her immediate response is "No, my lord, unless I can have another for working days - your grace is too expensive to wear every day." (2.1.320), which is a clever joke to play away from love. Along with the metaphor of donning Don Pedro's grace, this diversion also shows how quick Beatrice is to assert her independence. Although Beatrice's personality begins as a woman of great pride and protectiveness, Benedick proves to be not much better. The character of Benedetto begins not only as a character of intelligent wit, but also a character of arrogance, especially for the female gender. First, Benedick is a self-proclaimed sexist. This is evident from the analysis of one's personality: "would you like me to speak according to my custom, as if I were an avowed tyrant of their sex?" (1.1.162-164). Furthermore, Benedict demonstrates his arrogance in his description of Hero: “I think she is too short for great praise, too dark for fair praise, and too small for great praise” (1.1.166-168). This description shows that Benedick feels that Hero is beneath him, even though she is the daughter of a tall man. But perhaps Benedick's most striking characteristic in the first half of the play is that he is gravely opposed to love. Benedick's declaration to Beatrice: "it is certain that I am loved by all women... since, in truth, I love none." (1.1.120-123) shows not only that Benedick's ego is so large that he feels that all women love him, but also that he is so against love that he loves no woman, even though he can choose between them all..