“Measure
for Measure”
- William
Shakespeare
The story
take place in a city called Vienna. in the city sexual morals have become
extremely lax, and laws against immorality have been unenforced for years. The
Duke of Vienna in order to see if this
situation can be improved , leaves town and puts his straight- laced deputy
Angelo in charge. unknown to Angelo , the Duke sneaks back into Vienna
disguised as a priest in order to check up on him.
The duke in charge , Angelo begins his
reign by arresting young Claudio, who has gotten his fiancée pregnant. That is
adultery ! says Angelo and sentences Claudio death. Claudio sends word to his
sister Isabella, who is a a novices nun, to come and plead on his behalf. she
does , very persuasively , but Angelo does not listen to her argument .
instead, he is checking out how good-looking she is. in the end , he tries to
molest her, and demands that if she wants to save Claudio’s life , she must
sleep with him. she reports this to Claudio saying that of course she will
refuse. Claudio however, does no really want to be executed, and pleads with
Isabella to give in the Angelo.
The Duke , in
his disguise , finds out about all this, and his plan. Angelo had a fiancée
called Mariana who he dumped after compromising her position. the duke suggest
that Isabella should agree to Angelo’s terms , but send Mariana to sleep with
him instead to herself. she does this. they await the order for Claudio’s
release, which Angelo has promised to give, but instead Angelo orders Claudio to
be immediately executed. the Duke still has a plan- they will send the head of
someone else who looks like Claudio to Angelo to prove that he is dead.
fortunately, there is a dead pirate who fits the bill. only Claudio , the duke
and the jailer know about this.
The Duke sends
word to Angelo that he is returning to Vienna and does so, without his disguise
. Isabella brings her complaint about Angelo to the Duke-priest had advised her
to do. Angelo denies it all and calls her a liar, relying on his reputation as
a straight-laced moral man. Isabella says that there is a priest who can back up her story. the Duke
leaves and reappears as the priest, and eventually reveals himself. now
Angelo’s guilt is apparent , and the Duke says he ought to die.
At this point Mariana pleads for the
life of her fiancé and asks Isabella to support her. Isabella must plead for
the life of the man who attacked her and murdered her brother. in a supreme act
to forgiveness for Mariana’s sake, she does so. Angelo is required to marry
Mariana and Claudio is reunited with his fiancée. the Duke invite Isabella to
leave the convent and marry him.
Shakespeare’s
Measure for Measure center 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 precedes to leave town but instead dresses as a fair to observe the
going-on in his absence. Angelo is strict, moralistic and unwavering in his
decision making ; he decides that 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 institution 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.
At last
finally, critics continue to debate over the genre of Measure for Measure .
Measure for Measure is a disturbing play for critics, directors, and audiences
alike. while the play arise a variety of compelling issues- the extent to which
mercy should temper justice, the nature of power and the need for self-
knowledge ; the relationship between man and women and the definition of gender
roles and human sexuality—none of these questions appears to be answered
definitively by the close of the play.
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