Shakespeare’s famous play Measure for Measure is usually put into the genre of a dark comedy. I’m not exactly sure if that best fits this particular Shakespearian writing or not, but I do know that there is more dark than there is comedy in it. The writing is set in Vienna, Italy around the time of the 17th-18th century. The Duke of Vienna has decided to leave on a trip, and he will place a successor, Lord Angelo, in his position while he is away. Little does anyone in the town know, but the Duke decides to stay put within his town so that he may spy upon the citizens and leadership. This minor development begins a whirlwind of plots, themes, and character development. However, one character and plotline is highlighted within this famous writing. Isabella, a virtuous and pious woman, has to make the decision to either give up her chastity and vow to God, or to allow her brother to face seemingly certain death. It is the many facets and reasons behind this choice that has made this Shakespearian play so popular. The person watching or reading wants to know what choice she will make.
One of the first things that Lord Angelo does after taking over for the Duke is to enforce the already existing rules upon the people. Lord Angelo seems to view himself as a bit more of a disciplinarian than the Duke. Unfortunately, it is Isabella’s brother, Claudio, who Angelo makes an example out of for the entire town. Claudio has slept with his longtime girlfriend Juliet. Juliet is now pregnant and the entire town knows of their “sin.” Lord Angelo wants the town to know that this type of behavior is unacceptable and summons Claudio to be killed. Claudio quickly calls for his loving and pious sister Isabella to come and vouch for him ...
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... to see that Lord Angelo’s internal character was not prepared for the power that was given to him. I think we say this all of the time in our society from Tiger Woods to Donald Trump. It’s sad to see, but most people that are put in places of high power become corrupted over time. I see Isabella’s response to the corruption of Lord Angelo as the response of many of us to the leaders in this day. The conflict continues and we long for our good Savior, as pictured in type by the Duke, to come and rule over us once again with justice and mercy. For some reason, I longed for my Savior when seeing the Duke’s response at the end of the story. Isabella’s choice to remain true to her vows while still seeking and longing for justice is interwoven throughout the entire story. In the end we see that justice and mercy prevail, in part, through the choices of Isabella.
Pitt, Angela. "Women in Shakespeare's Tragedies." Readings on The Tragedies. Ed. Clarice Swisher. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1996. Reprint of Shakespeare's Women. N.p.: n.p., 1981.
Dorabella, like Eve, falls for the deception easily, but Fiordiligi, like Adam, is a bit more resilient but gives in when, Dorabella the Eve says it is harmless to Fiordiligi. Both of the women could not help themselves; the desire overcame the “love”. Deception is continuous in this play. Even Despina the maid is in disguise to help the men for her own desire of money. Don Alfonso was the one that urged, that tempted the two young men’s minds of whose “love” was more pure and faithful.
Since 1970, when the Isabella of John Barton's RSC production of Measure for Measure first shocked audiences by silently refusing to acquiesce to the Duke's offer of marriage at the end of the play, Isabella's response (or lack thereof) to the Duke's proposal has become one of the most prevalent subjects for Shakespearean performance criticism.See, for example, Jane Williamson, "The Duke and Isabella on the Modern Stage," The Triple Bond: Plays, Mainly Shakespearean, in Performance, ed. Joseph G. Price (University Park: Penn State UP, 1975), pp. 149-69; Ralph Berry, "Measure for Measure on the Contemporary Stage," Humanities Association Review 28 (1977), 241-47; Philip C. McGuire, Speechless Dialect: Shakespeare's Open Silences (Berkeley: U of California P, 1985); and Graham Nicholls, Measure for Measure: Text and Performance (London: Macmillan Education, 1986). However, attention to this issue has tended to overshadow another ambiguous aspect of the same stage sequence: the question of why the Duke asks Isabella to marry him in the first place. It is generally agreed that the text provides no evidence to suggest a romantic attachment to Isabella on the Duke's part until the moment of his proposal, but the play's stage history reveals a pattern of attempts to supply what the text lacks, either through stage business or interpolated declarations of love. Hal Gelb notes, "Critics and directors have so keenly felt a sense of the marriage as a tacked-on after-thought that they have sought ways to prepare it earlier in the play" ("Duke Vincentio and the Illusion of Comedy or All's Not Well that Ends Well," SQ, 22 [1971], 31). These attempts, based on a culturally specific conception of matrimony as prompted by erotic desire, disregard other textually prominent motivations for marriage grounded in Renaissance moral, social, and financial concerns. Ann Jennalie Cook, comparing contemporary notions of marriage to those of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, writes, "Despite the romantic ideas expressed in plays and poetry, most marriages were contracted on the basis of interest rather than affect. Society demanded a legitimate male heir to preserve the family name and properties. Moreover, the financial arrangements of a marriage settlement were essential to insure that both parties could live securely until death. Marriage was also viewed as the safest outlet for the healthful discharge of sexual appetites.
Pitt, Angela. “Women in Shakespeare’s Tragedies.” Readings on The Tragedies. Ed. Clarice Swisher. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1996. Reprint from Shakespeare’s Women. N.p.: n.p., 1981.
Shakespeare’s play, The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, depicts an ancient feud ended by a pair of star-crossed lovers’ deaths. A lord and lady from warring families seek a forbidden love with guidance from a friar and nurse. Due to a tragic course of mischances and fateful errors, their attempt of eloping led the lovers to a tragic end. Because of rash decisions, the four characters are torn apart by miscalculating events and misunderstandings. Ultimately, the four characters encounter a heartbreaking ending, as a result of their hastiness.
Claudio is arrested because there is a law against fornication in Vienna and Angelo, who is in charge of the city, wants to purge the city of sexual offences with the aid of “strict statutes and most biting laws” (I.III.789) . Claudio confesses his guilt, although he stresses that "upon a true contract / I got possession of Julietta's bed .” When asked by his friend Lucio why he is being taken to prison, i.e. “whence comes this restraint?” (I.ii.116), he answers “From too much liberty, my Lucio, liberty” (I.ii.117).
"O cunning enemy that, to catch a saint, with saints dost bait thy hook." A disturbing tale of suspense, dark comedy and corruption, Shakespeare's Measure for Measure explores sexuality, morality and the law, exposing the abuse of authority in high places amid the seething underworld of Vienna. This essay will explore Isabella’s moral dilemma.
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.
... She first criticizes Hero’s choice of a ruff; then she indirectly denigrates Hero’s wedding gown by contrasting its simplicity with the duchess of Milan’s lavish garment (3.4.14-23); finally, she mocks the prim and proper Hero by making a coarse sexual allusion (3.4.27). When Hero rebukes her, Margaret refuses to be shamed and defends herself: “[ashamed] of what, lady? Of speaking honorably? Is not marriage honorable in a beggar? Is not your lord honorable without marriage? (3.4.28-31). By implying that honor is achieved not through any marriage but through a “good,” socially suitable marriage, Margaret implicitly criticizes the inequality in her society and expresses her desire for a marriage that will not leave her “below stairs” (5.2.10). But she is acutely aware that she has no such marriage prospects as she resentfully watches Hero’s wedding preparations.
Pitt, Angela. "Women in Shakespeare's Tragedies." Readings on The Tragedies. Ed. Clarice Swisher. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1996. Reprint from Shakespeare's Women. N.p.: n.p., 1981.
Angelo and the Duke are similar in the following respects: they both initially claim immunity to love and later come to be affected by it; to achieve ends they desire, both manipulate others into situations those others would not willingly choose to be in; both have sought to maintain a particular reputation; they both spend much of the play seeming other than what they appear; both think themselves to be other than what they are in the beginning; and both claim to value a life removed.
It's interesting to note that Lord Angelo's name evokes an image of purity and holiness. Names are given at birth, and the idea that he is called angelic from the start, would argue against this doctrine of innate depravity. But, as Shakespeare argues, it's a name that can't be lived up to because of natural passions and lusts, which ultimately leads to Angelo's hypocrisy. The play opens up not only dressing up Angelo with a pure name, but also as a puritanical deputy, who has been "elected" to enforce the laws while the Duke is away. This idea of "election" not only signifies the political decree of Vienna, but also a Pauline doctrine that relates to men and angels.
The plot centers around the fate of Claudio, who is arrested by Lord Angelo, the temporary leader of Vienna. Angelo is left in charge by the Duke, who pretends to leave town but instead dresses as a friar to observe the goings-on in his absence. Angelo is strict, moralistic, and unwavering in his decision-making; he decides that there is too much freedom in Vienna and takes it upon himself to rid the city of brothels and unlawful sexual activity. Laws against these behaviors and institutions already exist, and Angelo simply decides to enforce them more strictly. Claudio is arrested for impregnating Juliet, his lover, before they were married. Although they were engaged and their sexual intercourse was consensual, Claudio is sentenced to death in order to serve as an example to the other Viennese citizens.
Shakespeare's play, Measure for Measure, focuses on human morality. The play also explores the question of what kind of sexual conduct is socially acceptable, and what is not. The play depicts various attitudes toward prostitution, promiscuity, and premarital sex. But it also suggests that human laws and perhaps human morality are quite arbitrary and relative.
Titles are a crucial part to any story. Shakespeare especially had an understanding of the importance of titles for certain texts. Some of Shakespeare’s titles that do not simply name the protagonist are “Measure for Measure,” “The Tempest,” “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” and the “Twelfth Night.” Something to examine when reading Shakespeare is the title. If the title is not simply something like “Hamlet,” or “Romeo and Juliet,” then there is a method to his madness. Titles bear much importance in the content of a story. First, the title sets the mood of the story. To focus primarily on “Measure for Measure,” the title sets the tone that there is something to be measured to determine