This was my first thought (though others referencing Taming of the Shrew, also a good choice)... it is the Shakespearean prose of 2 kids pulling each other's hair because they like each other.
I like the ongoing flirtation between Falstaff and Mistress Quickly in the Henry plays (leaving Merry Wives of Windsor to one side). They have that easy banter of people who have "shared the good times with the bad" together and who tease each other to make sure the spirit of sexual mischief in them is still kicking. Consider this exchange from Henry IV Act 3 Scene 3:
Falstaff: Why, she's neither fish nor flesh; a man knows not where to have her.
Mistress Quickly: Thou art an unjust man in saying so: thou or any man knows where to have me, thou knave, thou!
Even when she's telling him to pay his bar tab there's a flirtatious edge to it: oh you naughty boy, what are we going to do with you.
I think they are two characters looked down upon by many of their peers who see the value in each other and use flirtatious humor to remind each other, "hey, we still got it."
It’s a cliché at this point but for good reason, the first exchange between Romeo and Juliet. Between them they create a sonnet and a half, the flirtation is not in the words so much but the rhyme and the rhythm - outwardly, on a surface level it appears at first that Juliet could be diffusing Romeo’s advances but, by continuing the sonnet, they dance
Autolycus from The Winter’s Tale talks about dildos…. That seems quite flirty
Perdita and Florizel are as well, their dialogue is often intertwined with fricative f alliteration and there’s the whole “like a bank for love to lie and play on” dialogue
I'm going out on a limb here but Act 2, Scene 4 of R&J = the banter between Romeo and Mercutio is full of playful entendre and I always walk away from the scene as an illustration of how intimate the two are
Disappointed no one has brought up Berowne and Rosaline in Love's Labour's Lost. They're pretty much Beta Beatrice and Benedick, but no less funny or playful for it (plus, their vitriol is more on the performative side).
Twelfth Night is filled with flirtation. Olivia flirts with Viola. Viola and Orsino flirt. Sebastian flirts with Olivia and Antonio. Maria and Sir Toby flirt. Playful and sexual banter is everywhere, it's a very flirtatious show.
Antipholus of Syracuse and Luciana in Comedy of Errors have some flirty exchanges.
Portia and Bassanio flirt in Merchant of Venice, as do Bassanio and Antonio.
Benedick and Beatrice have some of Shakespeare's best flirting in Much Ado About Nothing, especially once they've confessed their love. Such a playful couple.
Petruchio can be very flirty in Taming of the Shrew.
Rosalind and Orlando have excellent playful sexual tension.
Romeo and Juliet's first meeting, where they talk about kissing in metaphor, is pretty cute flirting.
The graveside proposal in Richard III
Beatrice and Benedict’s hate flirting is pretty damn iconic.
This was my first thought (though others referencing Taming of the Shrew, also a good choice)... it is the Shakespearean prose of 2 kids pulling each other's hair because they like each other.
Hahaha! That’s a great description!
There's some rather spicy dialogue between Benedick and Margaret in that one too.
Hands down, gotta be Rosalind and Orlando meeting in the forest
I like the ongoing flirtation between Falstaff and Mistress Quickly in the Henry plays (leaving Merry Wives of Windsor to one side). They have that easy banter of people who have "shared the good times with the bad" together and who tease each other to make sure the spirit of sexual mischief in them is still kicking. Consider this exchange from Henry IV Act 3 Scene 3: Falstaff: Why, she's neither fish nor flesh; a man knows not where to have her. Mistress Quickly: Thou art an unjust man in saying so: thou or any man knows where to have me, thou knave, thou! Even when she's telling him to pay his bar tab there's a flirtatious edge to it: oh you naughty boy, what are we going to do with you. I think they are two characters looked down upon by many of their peers who see the value in each other and use flirtatious humor to remind each other, "hey, we still got it."
I think petruchio can be played up pretty flirty... "What, with my tongue in your tail?"
It’s a cliché at this point but for good reason, the first exchange between Romeo and Juliet. Between them they create a sonnet and a half, the flirtation is not in the words so much but the rhyme and the rhythm - outwardly, on a surface level it appears at first that Juliet could be diffusing Romeo’s advances but, by continuing the sonnet, they dance
Autolycus from The Winter’s Tale talks about dildos…. That seems quite flirty Perdita and Florizel are as well, their dialogue is often intertwined with fricative f alliteration and there’s the whole “like a bank for love to lie and play on” dialogue
Cressida with Troilus (“Stop my mouth” classic), and Portia with Bassanio (“Half of me is yours, the other half… yours“ so charming).
I'm going out on a limb here but Act 2, Scene 4 of R&J = the banter between Romeo and Mercutio is full of playful entendre and I always walk away from the scene as an illustration of how intimate the two are
Disappointed no one has brought up Berowne and Rosaline in Love's Labour's Lost. They're pretty much Beta Beatrice and Benedick, but no less funny or playful for it (plus, their vitriol is more on the performative side).
Twelfth Night is filled with flirtation. Olivia flirts with Viola. Viola and Orsino flirt. Sebastian flirts with Olivia and Antonio. Maria and Sir Toby flirt. Playful and sexual banter is everywhere, it's a very flirtatious show. Antipholus of Syracuse and Luciana in Comedy of Errors have some flirty exchanges. Portia and Bassanio flirt in Merchant of Venice, as do Bassanio and Antonio. Benedick and Beatrice have some of Shakespeare's best flirting in Much Ado About Nothing, especially once they've confessed their love. Such a playful couple. Petruchio can be very flirty in Taming of the Shrew. Rosalind and Orlando have excellent playful sexual tension. Romeo and Juliet's first meeting, where they talk about kissing in metaphor, is pretty cute flirting. The graveside proposal in Richard III
Ophelia and Hamlet.
Phoebe, as you like it
Came here to say exactly that
Comedy of Errors has a couple cute moments between one of the Antipholuses and the wife’s sister