What do we learn about the relationship between Benedick and Beatrice from their opening interaction in 'Much Ado About Nothing'?

The conflict between Beatrice and Benedick dominates the first scene of ‘Much Ado About Nothing’, establishing theirs as one of the major relationships and source of action within the play. However, Beatrice begins the war between herself and Benedick before the latter is even onstage. Here the audience learns that the relationship goes beyond just animosity and into a full spectrum of conflicting and hidden emotions.
‘BEATRICE: “I pray you, has Signor Mountanto returned from the woods or no?”’
Beatrice’s first line is an example of the dramatist introducing multiple aspects of a character with great economy. Beatrice appears to harbour disdain for Benedick in her referral to him as “Signor Mountanto” and her throwaway comment: “returned...or no?” when the latter response would mean his death in the war. However, that her first entrance in Act 1 is to ask after Benedick’s wellbeing, suggests a preoccupation with him during his absence and even missing the badinage between them on which the audience will see, she appears to thrive. Additionally, “Mountanto” is derived from the fencing term ‘Upthrust’, which not only denotes combat but also the upward thrust of a man’s penis and “Mount-“ as in the mounting of a partner. The phallic imagery here was common in the contemporaries of Shakespeare’s plays and this aspect of bawdy humour was both very prolific and popular across a wide range of genres. This element hints at the passion in their relationship: passion which acts as a plant to be taken advantage of by Shakespeare later in the play when the pair’s hate is swiftly transitioned into love by their friends’ plot.Later in the scene, the audience sees how Benedick and Beatrice play of one another’s language throughout their stichomythia.
‘BENEDICK: “Well, you are a rare parrot teacher.”
BEATRICE: “A bird of my tongue is better than a beast of yours.”’
Calling Beatrice a “parrot teacher”, Benedick implies that she repeats herself over and over again in an attempt to teach a parrot a phrase. The phrase, assumably, is her adamance that she will never marry or accept a man’s love. In Elizabethan society, marriage was essential as not only a union between two people, but also their families and any trade or business links between them. This explains why the idea of Beatrice being self-sufficient and remaining single would have been almost laughable. However, Beatrice’s response manipulates the animal metaphor to her own end. “…better than a beast of yours” suggests Benedick is talking like a “beast”: slow, mute but for grunts. The back and forth nature of their discourse hints at a reliance on each other, even though both claim to need no-one and to be happily single.
In a very brief exchange of dialogue, Shakespeare has painted a picture of the striking elements, as well as the subtle nuances of Benedick and Beatrice’s relationship. The evidence of love and hate are both on show here, as well as other facets of the relationship such as Beatrice’s sense of excitement and loss at the end of the exchange and Benedick rising to the challenge and matching his partner in a duel of wits. The struggle between its light and dark; the blending of love and hate are constantly referred to throughout the play with this integral first on-stage encounter serving as the couple’s reference point for analysts and audience alike.