Mercy vs. Justice in Measure for Measure
Theme: Mercy vs. Justice. Allusion to justice = eye for eye, tooth for tooth [measure for measure]; allusion to mercy = let him without sin cast the first stone [esp. sexual sin].
Summary: Duke wants to restore the strictness of fornication/adultery laws. He sets up Angelo to do it, while he feigns that he will be away. Instead he remains to check up on Angelo and the town (Vienna). Angelo goes ahead and closes down Overdone's brothel and the others, and puts Claudio in jail, condemned to die the morrow, for impregnating Juliet.
Isabella, Claudio's sister and about to enter a nunnery, pleads for Angelo's mercy on him. Lucio counsels her to be warm to him, and she is just warm enough to inspire Angelo to seduce her: seduction in exchange for Claudio. The Duke, posing as a Friar, overhears her exchange with Claudio in which he counsels her to go through with the act. He enters and sets up a plan: Angelo ought to have married Mariana but didn't: Mariana therefore will go in Isabella's place.
Angelo, after the deed, calls even more quickly for Claudio's head. The Duke (as Friar) puts this off: now Angelo is two steps behind (not knowing about either Mariana or Claudio). The Duke returns, as Duke, and asks for anyone against Angelo to speak. Isabella does: finally it comes out that the Friar was behind Isabella's suit. The Friar is called for, and so the Duke disappears and comes back as the Friar, but is revealed to be the Duke. The switch is revealed and Angelo must marry Mariana; Claudio is revealed as alive and is pardoned by the Duke. Lucio (a subplot) also gets his deserts.
Morality: mercy wins over justice, and yet there is a strong sense of justice having been done. Symbolically accomplished by the Duke (justice) taking on the habit of "a true friar" (mercy but with sense of justice) starting with I.iii.48.
II.i.17 ff, Angelo on justice without mercy: "'Tis one thing to be tempted, Escalus,/Another thing to fall. I not deny,/The jury, passing on the prisoner's life,/May in the sworn twelve have a thief or two/Guiltier than him they try. What's open made to justice,/That justice seizes: what know the laws/That thieves do pass on thieves?"--this is unmitigated justice, just as II.i.30-31: "Let mine own judgement pattern out my death, [which Angelo is willing to accept once caught, in V.
Sebastian, the twin brother of Viola who was lost at sea after a shipwreck, and Lady Olivia are the first to marry, but things are not as they seem. During the weeks leading up to matrimony, Olivia fell madly in love with Cesario, who though looks and sounds just as Sebastian, is truly Viola dressed as a man. Sebastian does not realize this as he meets Olivia for the first time. He is amazed that a woman of her statue and beaut...
The similar theme of justice throughout Inferno and King Lear both depict the eventual consequence of ones actions throughout their existence. Often causing more harm than good, the actions in which they preform tends to damage them more than the action itself. In William Shakespeare King Lear, King Lear decides to disown Cordelia, the youngest of three daughters from owning any part of his kingdom due to the fact that Lear wanted to see which daughter loved him more in which Cordelia replied, “Unhappy that I am, I cannot heave, My heart into my mouth: I love your majesty, According to my bond; nor more nor less.” (Shakespeare 9) Although C...
The forbidden wedding of Romeo and Juliet could not have happened without the Friar. First of all, the Friar impulsively agreed to marry Romeo and Juliet, even though he knows it will cause later problems. In the beginning, the Friar thinks that "...this alliance may so happy prove; To turn your households' rancor to pure love." (II iv 91-92) Which shows that the Friar has a slight hope of their marriage possibly working. Consequently, at first, he shows no reluctance to marry the two controversial lovers. However, as time moves on, the Friar lets on that he has regrets about the marriage. The Friar feels that "Too swift arrives as tardy as too slow." (II vi 15) In other words, the Friar means that he senses that this whole wedding is happening too fast and he radiates a feeling of second thought. If the Friar had thought this crucial decision through he may have prevented many future tragedies. Accordingly, the Friar knows all along that "These violent delights have violent ends" (II vi 9) The Friar knows that this is an impossible situation, which if made possible by himself will without a doubt end up in tragedy in one way or another. Under these conditions, as the Friar predicts, Romeo sinks into a deep depression, as a result of the fact that he cannot see his wife. Romeo has a one-track mind that is focused on something he cannot have. Similarly, Juliet becomes depressed and is grieving over the reality of her and Romeo's separation. Without the Friar the two lovers would not have been married, which would have prevented both of these depressions and future problems to come.
The Friar is portrayed as an innocent person, who has committed no wrong doings, but this is not the case. The Friars biggest mistake was to marry Romeo and Juliet without their parents consent. Although this is not a crime, it is morally wrong. The friar also committed a crime by trying to make Romeo and Juliet run away, but this plan ultimately leads to doom. He also abandoned Juliet when he heard that the watch were coming, and let her kill herself. Although the reason why he committed these wrong doings was to unite a family and save a couples life, what he did was wrong.
Complications also arose when viola fell in love with her master, duke orsino, while at the same time had the love interest of orsino, the countess Olivia, trying to woo her. This placed viola in an extremely difficult and complex situation on one hand, she loved the duke and would have liked to do all she could to win his heart. But because she was his servant, she was obliged to serve him and help him win the hand of Olivia. What was a poor girl to do ?
Deciding to solve the complexity of Romeo and Juliet's love without consulting anybody else makes Friar Laurence the most to blame for their deaths. The Friar tries to resolve all problems with his ego, and he thinks he possesses the capability and credit to forgiveness’' mercy, "But look thou stay not till the watch be set, For then thou canst not pass to Mantua, Where thou shalt lie till we can find a time To blaze your marriage, reconcile your friends, Beg pardon of the prince, and call thee back With twenty hundred thousand times more joy Than thou went'st forth in lamentation" (III. 4. 148-154). At night, Romeo is to bid goodbye to Juliet and flee to Mantua while the Friar tells the prince and two families Juliet and Romeo are officially husband and wife. Following Romeo's leave comes even more obstacles, preventing Romeo and Juliet to...
The first practical low-pressure models of “steam engines were invented by Thomas Savery and Thomas Newcomen in 1698 and 1705, respectively” (Allen & Allen 144). Used exclusively as water pumps throughout the first three quarters of the eighteenth century, they drastically improved the mining industry. In Great Britain, the motherland of the Industrial Revolution, this resolved a severe energy crisis. Coal, extracted from earth by mining, now could be produced in sufficient quantities to replace firewood, supplies of which were practically exhausted. And since these water pumps were specifically designed to consume coal, it was extra beneficial to use them in the coal mining industry. As T. K. Derry and Trevor I. Williams stat...
infections. Even though there are other diseases that can be contracted through sexual involvement, the term STD is kept to be referred as an infection obtained through any sexual means. These infections can come in many different forms such as bacterial, fungal, viral or parasitical and depending on their impact, once the infection has entered the body and/or body parts such as the genitalia or any sex organ, it can either remain at the site it enter or may spread.
Les Miserables is a story filled with emotion and characters that are very real. They deal with every day emotions that cause them to make choices. These choices have effects on the characters paths in life. As they make decisions and live with their choices they are often left at the feet of a higher law. They are judged on the basis of mercy and justice on a regular basis. In this essay we are going to explore what justice and mercy are as it applies to people’s choices and actions during life in the story and why mercy is often considered the higher law because of its appeal to love.
There are many scriptural references that make the point that the murderer must be punished. Nevertheless, biblical tradition is also replete with reminders that vengeance belongs to the Lord and that he enjoins the qualities of compassion and forgiveness on those believers in the biblical revelation of God. (Amo...
Transportation improved from the market revolution through many new inventions, railroads, steamboats, and canals. Pressure for improvements in transportation came at least as much from cities eager to buy as from farmers seeking to sell. The first railroad built was in 1792, it started a spread throughout the states. Cumberland which began to be built in 1811 and finished in 1852, known to be called the national road stretched over five hundred miles from Cumberland to Illinois. By 1821, there were four thousand miles of turnpike in the United States. Turnpikes were not economical to ship bulky goods by land across long distance across America, so another invention came about. Robert Fulton created steam boats in 1807; he named his first one ‘Clermont.’ These steam boats allowed quick travel upriver against the currents, they were also faster and cheaper. The steamboats became a huge innovation with the time travel of five miles per hour. It also stimulated agricultural economy of west by providing better access to markets at lower cost. While steamboats were conquering the western rivers, canals were being constructed in the northeastern states. The firs...
In act 3 the Friar is in a dilemma. He feels responsible for what has
By the 1830s the United States had created a waterway from New York to New Orleans. Water transportation became a popular way to travel in the 1800s. People enjoyed traveling on steamboats along new canals. Canals and steamboats helped the economy of a still young nation. The use of steamboats and newly built canals during the nineteenth century lead to a major decrease in travel time, additional jobs, and lower shipping cost, while helping to grow the U.S economy.
The history of railroad development in America was heavily influenced by the industry in England. Attempts to develop the steam engine began as early as 1813. In 1814 George Stephenson developed the first commercially feasible locomotive. From 1820 to 1825 Mr. Stephenson worked on further developing the engines and their ability to haul cargo and, eventually, passengers. Many railroad companies were established in England during this time period. The Liverpool and Manchester Railroad became the first common carrier railroad in the world.
turbine via interceptor valves and control valves and after expanding enters the L.P. turbine stage via 2 numbers of cross over pipes. In the L.P. stage the steam expands in axially opposite direction to counteract the trust and enters the condenser placed directly below the L.P. turbine. The cooling water flowing throughout the condenser tubes condenses the steam and the condensate collected in the hot well of the condenser. The condensate collected is pumped by means of 3*50% duty condensate pumps through L.P. heaters to deaerator from where the boiler feed pump delivers the water to boiler through H.P. heaters thus forming a closed