--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Benedick sat down on a bench. He would…" description: "\"“Benedick sat down on a bench. He would write a love poem to Beatrice. The god of love… He made up a melody for his first line and hummed it. That sits..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f99/william-shakespeare-4_famous-love_benedick-sat-down-on-a-bench-he-would-wr_2994323.jpg" --- # Benedick sat down on a bench. He would write a love poem… ![“Benedick sat down on a bench. He would write a love poem to Beatrice. The god of love… He made up a melody for his first line and hummed it. That sits above… He tried to develop the tune. And knows me… Hmmm. And knows me… How pitiful I deserve… He laughed to himself and gave up. How pitiful he…” quote by William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f99/william-shakespeare-4_famous-love_benedick-sat-down-on-a-bench-he-would-wr_2994323.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f99/william-shakespeare-4_famous-love_benedick-sat-down-on-a-bench-he-would-wr_2994323.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f99/william-shakespeare-4_famous-love_benedick-sat-down-on-a-bench-he-would-wr_2994323.jpg) > ““Benedick sat down on a bench. He would write a love poem to Beatrice. The god of love… He made up a melody for his first line and hummed it. That sits above… He tried to develop the tune. And knows me… Hmmm. And knows me… How pitiful I deserve… He laughed to himself and gave up. How pitiful he deserved in singing, he meant. As for loving, well… Leander, who swam the Hellispont for love, Troilus, who used a go-between, and all the other famous lovers who fill the pages of poetry, were never as smitten by love as he had been. No, he couldn’t express it in verse. He had tried, but he couldn’t find a word that rhymed with ‘lady’, except ‘baby’, which was a silly rhyme. For ‘scorn’, ‘horn’. He laughed. That was a hard rhyme! For ‘school’, ‘fool’: that was a nonsense rhyme. Very bad rhyming. No, he wasn’t born under a rhyming star. He couldn’t woo with poetry.”” [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Benedick struggles to express love poetically, mocking his own attempts at rhyme and feeling inadequate. **In simple terms:** He fails at writing love poetry and feels foolish. Key Takeaway Accept that love may be expressed beyond perfect verses. Themes love self‑doubt creativity humor Mood amused reflective Type literary humorous When to use this quote - courtship - writing - performance - self‑reflection Key Concepts rhyme expression insecurity Questions to Reflect On - Can love be conveyed without perfect words? - How does humor help cope with vulnerability? A Different Perspective He may underestimate his genuine feelings by focusing on poetic skill. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bad Rhyming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bad-rhyming-4721889/) [Famous love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/famous-love/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Love poem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love-poem/) [Poem Beatrice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poem-beatrice-4721890/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Rhyme Scorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rhyme-scorn-4721887/) [Rhyming Wasn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rhyming-wasn-4721888/) ## Related quotes > [Self-love, is not so vile a sin as self-neglecting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/self-love-is-not-so-vile-a-sin-as-self-neglecting/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > ['Tis brief, my lord...as woman's love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/tis-brief-my-lord-as-woman-s-love/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Heaven give you many, many merry days! - from The Merry Wives of Windsor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/heaven-give-you-many-many-merry-days-from-the-merry-wives-of-windsor/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [But here's the joy: my friend and I are one... Then she loves but me alone!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/but-here-s-the-joy-my-friend-and-i-are-one-then-she-loves-but-me-alone/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Lack nothing: be merry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/lack-nothing-be-merry/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [But love is blind, and lovers cannot see What petty follies they themselves commit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/but-love-is-blind-and-lovers-cannot-see-what-petty-follies-they/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [The more I give to thee, the more I have, for both are infinite.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/the-more-i-give-to-thee-the-more-i-have-for-both-are-infinite/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Vini, Vici, Vidi (I came, I saw, I conquered). - Julius Caesar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/vini-vici-vidi-i-came-i-saw-i-conquered-julius-caesar/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Look down you gods, and on this couple drop a blessed crown.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/look-down-you-gods-and-on-this-couple-drop-a-blessed-crown/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [A woman would run through fire and water for such a kind heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/a-woman-would-run-through-fire-and-water-for-such-a-kind-heart/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [My love poem what do you think? How do I start? What do I say? I love you and you take my breath away?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/my-love-poem-what-do-you-think-how-do-i-start-what-do-i-say-i-love/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Fortune Without Love (The Sonnet) Fortune without love is sheer curse, For life's true blessing is love alone. Live to love and love to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/fortune-without-love-the-sonnet-fortune-without-love-is-sheer-curse/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [“Brod’s life was a slow realization that the world was not for her, and that for whatever reason, she would never be happy and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/brod-s-life-was-a-slow-realization-that-the-world-was-not-for-her-and/) [Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/) > [“She knew she was really sad when she stopped loving the things she loved.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/atticus-poetry/she-knew-she-was-really-sad-when-she-stopped-loving-the-things-she/) [Atticus Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/atticus-poetry/) > [“I'm with you in Rockland in my dreams you walk dripping from a sea-journey on the highway across America in tears to the door…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-ginsberg/i-m-with-you-in-rockland-in-my-dreams-you-walk-dripping-from-a-sea/) [Allen Ginsberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-ginsberg/) ## More by William Shakespeare > [Let us kill all lawyers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/let-us-kill-all-lawyers/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [A horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/a-horse-a-horse-my-kingdom-for-a-horse/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [O tiger's heart wrapped in a woman's hide!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/o-tiger-s-heart-wrapped-in-a-woman-s-hide/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Time hath not yet so dried this blood of mine, Nor age so eat up my invention, Nor fortune made such havoc of my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/time-hath-not-yet-so-dried-this-blood-of-mine-nor-age-so-eat-up-my/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Divers philosophers hold that the lips is parcel of the mouth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/divers-philosophers-hold-that-the-lips-is-parcel-of-the-mouth/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Short time seems long in sorrow's sharp sustaining.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/short-time-seems-long-in-sorrow-s-sharp-sustaining/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [“Love is a smoke made with the fume of sighs; Being purg'd, a fire sparkling in lovers' eyes; Being vex'd, a sea nourish'd with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/love-is-a-smoke-made-with-the-fume-of-sighs-being-purg-d-a-fire/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [I, measuring his affections by my own, Which then most sought where most might not be found, Being one too many by my weary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/i-measuring-his-affections-by-my-own-which-then-most-sought-where/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Ask God for temp'rance. That's th' appliance only Which your disease requires.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/ask-god-for-temp-rance-that-s-th-appliance-only-which-your-disease/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [“Thou hast no figures nor no fantasies Which busy care draws in the brains of men; Therefore thou sleep’st so sound. Julius Caesar (2.1.248-251)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/thou-hast-no-figures-nor-no-fantasies-which-busy-care-draws-in-the/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Truth needs no color; beauty, no pencil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/truth-needs-no-color-beauty-no-pencil/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Have you not heard it said full oft, A woman's nay doth stand for naught?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/have-you-not-heard-it-said-full-oft-a-woman-s-nay-doth-stand-for/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Omittance is no quittance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/omittance-is-no-quittance/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [“Yes, madam: yet I cannot choose but laugh, To think it should leave crying and say 'Ay.' And yet, I warrant, it had upon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/yes-madam-yet-i-cannot-choose-but-laugh-to-think-it-should-leave/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [I take thee at thy word: Call me but love, and I'll be new baptized; Henceforth I never will be Romeo.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/i-take-thee-at-thy-word-call-me-but-love-and-i-ll-be-new-baptized/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) [Explore all 5,604 William Shakespeare quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) ## More Famous love quotes > [Golf is like a love affair: if you don't take it seriously, it's no fun. If you do take it seriously, it breaks your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-daly/golf-is-like-a-love-affair-if-you-don-t-take-it-seriously-it-s-no-fun/) [Arnold Daly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-daly/) > [If we are to judge of love by the consequences, it more nearly resembles hatred than friendship.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-la-rochefoucauld/if-we-are-to-judge-of-love-by-the-consequences-it-more-nearly/) [Francois La Rochefoucauld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-la-rochefoucauld/) > [Love is that to life, what wind is to a windmill.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kazi-shams/love-is-that-to-life-what-wind-is-to-a-windmill/) [Kazi Shams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kazi-shams/) > [Put love first. Entertain thoughts that give life. And when a thought or resentment, or hurt, or fear comes your way, have another thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-manin-morrissey/put-love-first-entertain-thoughts-that-give-life-and-when-a-thought/) [Mary Manin Morrissey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-manin-morrissey/) > [A woman would run through fire and water for such a kind heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/a-woman-would-run-through-fire-and-water-for-such-a-kind-heart/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [The Absolute Truth of Knowledge is precisely non-Knowledge. If this Mirror called Knowledge remains in the phase where nothing is reflected in it, then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sorin-cerin/the-absolute-truth-of-knowledge-is-precisely-non-knowledge-if-this/) [Sorin Cerin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sorin-cerin/) > [“We're all famous to those who love us”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-tomlinson/we-re-all-famous-to-those-who-love-us/) [Keith Tomlinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-tomlinson/) > [How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.I love thee to the depth and breadth and height My soul can reach, when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-barrett-browning/how-do-i-love-thee-let-me-count-the-ways-i-love-thee-to-the-depth-and/) [Elizabeth Barrett Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-barrett-browning/) > [How could such an absurd and unfair society that torments with self alienation the human being, already completely alienated be still saved? How could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sorin-cerin/how-could-such-an-absurd-and-unfair-society-that-torments-with-self/) [Sorin Cerin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sorin-cerin/) > [Love recieved and love given comprise the best form of therapy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/love-recieved-and-love-given-comprise-the-best-form-of-therapy/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Didn't even knew what love meant before she appeared in my life. Only know I understand that great love does not consist neither of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sorin-cerin/didn-t-even-knew-what-love-meant-before-she-appeared-in-my-life-only/) [Sorin Cerin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sorin-cerin/) > [Do everything with so much love in your heart that you would never want to do it any other way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amrit-desai/do-everything-with-so-much-love-in-your-heart-that-you-would-never/) [Amrit Desai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amrit-desai/) > [One should never take the easy road, but rather the right road, no matter how long the travel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-cerreta/one-should-never-take-the-easy-road-but-rather-the-right-road-no/) [Scott Cerreta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-cerreta/) > [He is a self-made man, very much in love with his creator.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-disraeli/he-is-a-self-made-man-very-much-in-love-with-his-creator/) [Benjamin Disraeli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-disraeli/) > [Love exist its so famous I love my gf so mutch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/love-exist-its-so-famous-i-love-my-gf-so-mutch/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 511 Famous love quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/famous-love/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Benedick sat down on a bench. He would write a love poem to Beatrice. The god of love… He made up a melody for his first line and hummed it. That sits above… He tried to develop the tune. And knows me… Hmmm. And knows me… How pitiful I deserve… He laughed to himself and gave up. How pitiful he deserved in singing, he meant. As for loving, well… Leander, who swam the Hellispont for love, Troilus, who used a go-between, and all the other famous lovers who fill the pages of poetry, were never as smitten by love as he had been. No, he couldn’t express it in verse. He had tried, but he couldn’t find a word that rhymed with ‘lady’, except ‘baby’, which was a silly rhyme. For ‘scorn’, ‘horn’. He laughed. That was a hard rhyme! For ‘school’, ‘fool’: that was a nonsense rhyme. Very bad rhyming. No, he wasn’t born under a rhyming star. He couldn’t woo with poetry.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "William Shakespeare" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/benedick-sat-down-on-a-bench-he-would-write-a-love-poem-to-beatrice/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Famous love" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/benedick-sat-down-on-a-bench-he-would-write-a-love-poem-to-beatrice/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f99/william-shakespeare-4_famous-love_benedick-sat-down-on-a-bench-he-would-wr_2994323.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f99/william-shakespeare-4_famous-love_benedick-sat-down-on-a-bench-he-would-wr_2994323.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f99/william-shakespeare-4_famous-love_benedick-sat-down-on-a-bench-he-would-wr_2994323.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Benedick sat down on a bench. He would write a love poem to Beatrice. The god of love… He made up a melody…” — William Shakespeare", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "William Shakespeare", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Benedick sat down on a bench....", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/benedick-sat-down-on-a-bench-he-would-write-a-love-poem-to-beatrice/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/benedick-sat-down-on-a-bench-he-would-write-a-love-poem-to-beatrice/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```