Measure for Measure is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in 1603 or 1604 and first performed in 1604. It was published in the First Folio of 1623.
The play centres on the despotic and puritan Angelo, a deputy entrusted to rule the city of Vienna in the absence of Duke Vincentio, who instead disguises himself as a humble friar to observe Angelo's regency and his citizens' lives. Angelo persecutes a young man, Claudio, for the crime of fornication, sentencing him to death on a technicality. Angelo then attempts to exploit Claudio's sister Isabella, a chaste and innocent nun, when she comes to plead for her brother's life.
Measure for Measure was printed as a comedy in the First Folio and continues to be classified as one. Though it shares features with other Shakespearean comedies, such as word play, irony, disguise and substitution as plot devices, it also features tragic elements such as executions and soliloquies, with Claudio's speech "Ay, but to die, and go we know not where..." in particular having been favourably compared to those of tragic heroes like Prince Hamlet. Because of this ambiguous tone, it is often cited as one of Shakespeare's problem plays.
Characters
Vincentio – the Duke of Vienna, who also appears disguised as Friar Lodowick Angelo – the Duke's deputy, who rules in the Duke's absence Mariana – Angelo's ex-lover Escalus – an ancient lord working under Angelo A Justice – friend of Escalus The Provost – runs the prison Abhorson – the executioner Barnardine – a prisoner Claudio – a young man imprisoned for impregnating a woman out of wedlock Juliet – Claudio's lover, pregnant with their child Isabella – Claudio's sister and a novice nun Francisca – a nun Mistress Overdone – the manager of a brothel Pompey – a pimp Lucio – a "fantastic" Two gentleman – friends of Lucio Froth – a foolish gentleman Elbow – a simple constable Thomas – a friar Peter – a friar Varrius (silent) – friend of the Duke
Synopsis and themes
Vincentio, the Duke of Vienna, must leave the city on a diplomatic mission. He instates a strict judge, Angelo, to act as his deputy until he returns.
Lucio and a group of soldiers banter about religion, prostitution, and venereal disease as they walk along a Viennese street, hopeful that they will soon find work when war breaks out with Hungary. Mistress Overdone, the operator of a nearby brothel, interjects to scold them for their flippant talk. She compares their behaviour to that of the relatively upstanding Claudio who is, she tells them, soon to be executed for the crime of sleeping with a woman out of wedlock. One of the gentlemen, Claudio's friend Lucio, a "fantastic", is astonished at this news and rushes off. Pompey Bum, an employee of Mistress Overdone, enters as he leaves, bringing more distressing news: Angelo has issued a proclamation that all the brothels in the suburbs are to be torn down.
The Provost leads Claudio past Pompey and Overdone as they speak, and explains to Lucio what has happened to him. Claudio was engaged to be married to his lover, Juliet, but, as they had not yet completed the legal technicalities, they were still considered unmarried when Juliet became pregnant by him. As the interim ruler of the city, Angelo has enforced laws that Vincentio had let slide, including an outdated legal clause stating that fornication is punishable by death. Hearing this, Lucio leaves to visit Claudio's sister Isabella, a novice nun, and asks her to intercede with Angelo on Claudio's behalf.
Isabella quickly obtains an audience with Angelo, and pleads for mercy on Claudio's behalf. As they exchange arguments, Angelo is increasingly overcome by desire for Isabella, and eventually offers her a deal: he will spare Claudio's life if Isabella yields to him her virginity. Isabella refuses and threatens to publicly expose his lechery, but he points out that no one would believe her given his reputation. She leaves to visit Claudio in prison, and counsels him to prepare himself for death. Claudio desperately begs Isabella to save his life, but Isabella, though torn, ultimately repeats her refusal to yield to Angelo, on the grounds that it would be wrong for her to sacrifice her own immortal soul (and that of Claudio, if his entreaties were responsible for her loss of her virtue) to save Claudio's transient earthly life.
Subterfuge Vincentio, meanwhile, has not truly left the city. Instead, he has disguised himself as a friar named Lodowick, wanting to secretly view the city's affairs and the effects of Angelo's temporary rule. In his guise as a friar, he befriends Isabella and arranges two tricks with her to thwart Angelo's intentions:
First, a "bed trick" is arranged. Angelo has previously refused to fulfill a betrothal binding him to the lady Mariana, despite her love for him, because her dowry was lost at sea. Isabella comes to an agreement with Mariana, then sends word to Angelo that she has decided to submit to him with the condition that their meeting occur in darkness and silence. Mariana takes Isabella's place and has sex with Angelo, who believes she is Isabella. On some interpretations of the law, this constitutes consummation of their betrothal, and therefore their marriage; notably, this interpretation would also make Claudio's and Juliet's marriage legal. After having sex with Mariana (believing her to be Isabella), Angelo goes back on his word. He sends a message to the prison that he wishes to see Claudio beheaded, necessitating the "head trick". Vincentio attempts to arrange the execution of another prisoner whose head could be sent in place of Claudio's. But the dissolute criminal Barnardine refuses to be executed in his drunken state. Instead, the head of Ragozine the pirate is sent to Angelo; Ragozine recently died of a fever, and was of similar appearance to Claudio.
Resolution The plot comes to a climax with Vincentio's "return" to Vienna. Isabella and Mariana publicly petition him, and he hears their claims against Angelo, which Angelo smoothly denies. As the scene develops, it appears that Friar Lodowick will be blamed for the accusations levelled against Angelo. Vincentio leaves Angelo to judge the cause against Lodowick, returning in his disguise when Lodowick is summoned moments later. When Angelo attempts to seal the case against Lodowick, Vincentio reveals himself, exposing Angelo as a liar and confirming Isabella's and Mariana's allegations. He proposes that Angelo be executed, but first compels him to marry Mariana, so that his estate may go to Mariana as compensation for her lost dowry.
Mariana pleads for Angelo's life, even enlisting the aid of Isabella (who is not yet aware her brother Claudio is still alive). Vincentio pretends not to heed the women's petition until he reveals that Claudio has not, in fact, been executed, at which point he relents. He then proposes marriage to Isabella. Isabella does not reply. For Shakespeare's audiences, silence would have been interpreted as an unequivocal "yes", meaning that additional dialogue was unnecessary. This is one of the "open silences" of the play, and has been variously interpreted in different adaptations.
A subplot concerns Lucio, who frequently slanders the duke to the friar, and in the last act slanders the friar to the duke, providing opportunities for comic consternation on Vincentio's part and landing Lucio in trouble when it is revealed that the duke and the friar are one and the same. Lucio's punishment is to be forced to marry Kate Keepdown, a prostitute he impregnated and abandoned.
Analysis The play's main themes include justice, "morality and mercy in Vienna", and the dichotomy between corruption and purity: "some rise by sin, and some by virtue fall". Mercy and virtue prevail, as the play does not end tragically, with virtues such as compassion and forgiveness exercised at its end. While the play focuses on justice overall, the final scene illustrates that Shakespeare intended for moral justice to temper strict civil justice: several of the characters receive understanding and leniency instead of the harsh punishment to which they, according to the law, could have been sentenced.
Vincentio's reappearance is considered an early use of the deus ex machina in English literature.
Source texts The play draws on two distinct sources. The original is "The Story of Epitia", from Cinthio's Gli Hecatommithi, first published in 1565.N. W. Bawcutt (ed.), Measure for Measure (Oxford, 1991), p. 17 Shakespeare was familiar with this book; it contains the original source for his Othello. Cinthio also published the story with some small differences as a play, of which Shakespeare may have been aware. The original story is an unmitigated tragedy: Isabella's counterpart is forced to sleep with Angelo's counterpart, and her brother is killed.
The play's other main source is George Whetstone's 1578 two-part closet drama Promos and Cassandra, itself sourced from Cinthio. Whetstone adapted Cinthio's story by adding the comic elements and the bed and head tricks.
The title of the play appears as a line of dialogue:
This is generally understood to be a reference to the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 7: For the biblical verse, refer
Peter Meilaender has argued that Measure for Measure is largely based on biblical references, focusing on the themes of sin, restraint, mercy, and rebirth. Amongst such Gospel comparisons, the Gospel of Matthew has been viewed as a source.
A 2016 essay by the literary critic Giuseppe Leone analyses parallels between the episode of Claudio's supposed beheading and that of John the Baptist, as narrated in Matthew 14:1–12. Leone argues that in Shakespeare's treatment of the perpetrator's demand for Claudio's head there is an expression of Angelo's pleasure in his power to have his will enacted, and to reap satisfaction from that power through the tangible token: he orders the severed head be brought "for my better satisfaction". The demand for the Baptist's head from Herodias, through her daughter, fulfils a similar function. Herod Antipas' public oath of providing Herodias' daughter with whatever she demanded ensured the Baptist's execution, without necessitating the production of his remains. In Leone's view, his stepdaughter's demand, "Give me here John Baptist's head on a platter", serves the same purpose of allowing for self-satisfied gloating in power over others. Neither Cinthio's nor Whetstone's source text has anything similar. The executed victim in those works is ordered to be sent to the sister, without either of the perpetrators, Iuriste and Promos, showing any interest in obtaining or viewing the remains. Their satisfaction comes solely from their sister's mistreatment. For Leone, this divergence from Measures literary precursors and concurrence with the Gospel text is a strong case for Matthew's Gospel as a source. For the biblical verse, refer:
Date, text and authorship
Measure for Measure is believed to have been written in 1603 or 1604. The play was first published in 1623 in the First Folio.
In their book Shakespeare Reshaped, 1606–1623, Gary Taylor and John Jowett argue that part of the text of Measure that survives is not in its original form, but rather the product of a revision by Thomas Middleton after Shakespeare's death. They present stylistic evidence that patches of writing are by Middleton, and argue that Middleton changed the setting to Vienna from the original Italy.Gary Taylor and John Jowett, Shakespeare Reshaped, 1606–1623 (Oxford University Press, 1993).