Measure for Measure Summary
William Shakespeare

Biography Essay"He was not of an age, but for all time." So wrote Ben Jonson in his dedicatory verses to the memory of William Shakespeare in 1623, and so we continue to affirm today. No other writer,... Read more

Considered by critics, scholars, and the theater-going public the most important dramatist in the history of English literature, William Shakespeare occupies a unique position in the pantheon of great... Read more

William Shakespeare's reputation is based primarily on his plays. With the partial exception of the Sonnets (1609), quarried since the early nineteenth century for autobiographical secrets allegedly ... Read more

In the following essay, Spinrad analyzes the eventual acceptance of death as a part of life by the major characters in Measure for Measure. The critic examines this acceptance in terms of sixteenth- a... Read more

Huston Diehl, University of Iowa Measure for Measure is a deeply dissatisfying comedy, so problematic that, as Jean Howard argues, it "puts critics under stress."1 They typically re... Read more

In the following essay, Spinrad examines the correlation between the prison imagery in Measure for Measure and the concept of death as an escape from the prison of life. In many ways, Shakespeare&#... Read more

In the essay below, Scott discusses how the law against fornication is viewed and applied in Measure for Measure, demonstrating that throughout the play the audience is shown that the situation of Ang... Read more

In the following essay, Seiden analyzes the trial scene in Measure for Measure, arguing that the theatricality, trickery, and game playing of the play's final scene "creates an exhilarat... Read more

In the essay that follows, Diehl maintains that Shakespeare's use of "representational strategies, " such as substitutions, in Measure for Measure reflect his experimentation �... Read more

In the essay that follows, Weil studies the apparent discrepancies between the form of the first and second halves of Measure for Measure, arguing that Shakespeare 's design can be viewed as co... Read more

In the following essay, Lanier presents a structural analysis of Measure for Measure, seeing in its divided form “a juxtaposition of two dramatic modes, tragedy and comedy, carefully poised to ... Read more

In the following essay, Baines studies Shakespeare's depiction of Isabella's sexual purity as a means of garnering social power in the world of Measure for Measure. For many readers o... Read more

In the following essay, Gulley reads Measure for Measure as a play about law, scripted by a legalistic Duke Vincentio, who determines its outcome through his theatrical performance and political power... Read more

In the following essay, Chedgzoy explores Measure for Measure's status as a “problem play,” examining stagings of the drama, particularly its final scene, from the seventeenth to ... Read more

In the following essay, Swann examines the ambivalent ideological function of Lucio at the close of Measure for Measure, particularly in relation to the authoritarian figure of the Duke. ELBOW &... Read more

In the following essay, Ashizu examines Duke Vincentio’s poor treatment of the prisoner Barnardine in Measure for Measure, and argues against conceptions of the Duke as an ideal or godlike auth... Read more

In the following review of the 1998 Oregon Shakespeare Festival production of Measure for Measure directed by Libby Appel, Taylor comments on the performance's resistance to the boundaries of c... Read more

In the following essay, Hunt investigates the theme of spiritual comfort and its complex relationship to the human capacity for love, primarily represented through the figures of Isabella, the Duke, a... Read more

In the following essay, Brown suggests that while Shakespeare used the character of Duke Vincentio to comment on King James I's abilities as a ruler, he also used his character to analyze the i... Read more

In the following essay, Yoshihara treats the themes of money and sexuality in Measure for Measure. Measure for Measure is much concerned with substitution, exchange and replacement. Angelo is subst... Read more

In the following essay, Lewis evaluates the character of the Duke as the means through which Shakespeare examined the imperfections of the monarchy in Measure for Measure. Unlike many Shakespearean... Read more

In the following review, Taylor comments on Libby Appel's direction of Measure for Measure for the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. Taylor remarks on the successful manner in which Appel was able t... Read more

In the following essay, Carlson reviews a Turkish production of Measure for Measure, lauding it as a radical, powerful, and effective staging of one of Shakespeare's most difficult comedies. ... Read more

In the following essay, Riefer argues that Isabella highlights the negative impact of patriarchy on female characters in the play, and contends that her eventual subjugation to male authority is incom... Read more

In the following review of Daniel Fish's 2003 California Shakespeare Theater staging of Measure for Measure, Hurwitt admires the setting, directorial innovations, and excellent performances and... Read more

In the following essay, Bache examines the social and ethical concerns outlined in Measure for Measure and contends that the drama points to self-sacrificing love as a remedy for the excesses of human... Read more

In the following essay, Widmayer discusses themes of justice, law, and Christian mercy illustrated by Isabella's petition that Angelo's life be spared in the final scene of Measure for M... Read more

In the following excerpt, Thomas examines Isabella and Angelo in Measure for Measure and contends that these figures exhibit a realistic delineation of human character, full of nuance and convincing, ... Read more

In the following excerpt, Korda studies the precarious social position of the single woman—variously embodied as Isabella, Marianna, Juliet, and Mistress Overdone—in the patriarchal worl... Read more

In the following review, Billington critiques Sean Holmes's 2003 Royal Shakespeare Company staging of Measure for Measure and finds fault with its overemphasis on the corruption of modern socie... Read more

In the following review, Tucker finds director Sean Holmes's 2003 Royal Shakespeare Company production of Measure for Measure, set in the dreary, war-torn Vienna of the early mid-twentieth cent... Read more

In the following essay, Paris applies the psychological theories of Karen Horney to Shakespeare's Measure for Measure, seeing in the character of the Duke and in the work's "impli... Read more

In the following essay, McGuire describes the way five late-twentieth-century productions of Measure for Measure depicted the muteness of Angelo, Barnardine, Claudio, Juliet, Mariana, and Isabella in ... Read more

Carolyn E. Brown, University of San Francisco Shakespeare's Measure for Measure has been a source of critical contention for centuries. Rosalind Miles, for example, claims that the pla... Read more

How true is it to say that as Measure for Measure is termed a `problem play' it is therefore unsuccessful as a theatrical experience" It is difficult to assess the extent to which Measure for Measure... Read more

Shakespeare's interpretation of women in Measure for Measure very much reflects society's opinion of women at the time, which was that men have more freedom and should be given more respect that women... Read more

Measure for Measure by William Shakespeare is often referred to as one of the `Problem Plays', the concluding act is the play's denouement. There is intense emotion in this act as each character is j... Read more

Angelo starts this scene off with a soliloquy which gives the impression that he has been struggling with is physical desires for Isabella since they first met. His speech is very troubled and he stat... Read more

Question: Samuel Johnson says that in William Shakespeare's "Measure for Measure," "Angelo's crimes were such, as must sufficiently justify punishment and I believe every reader feels some indignation... Read more