SOURCE: "'Our City's Institutions': Some Further Reflections on the Marriage Contract in Measure for Measure," in ELH, Vol. 49, No. 4, Winter, 1982, pp. 790-804.

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 Angelo and Mariana is greatly similar to that ofJulietta and Claudio. However, Scott maintains, both the Duke and Isabella fail to recognize these similarities.

'Tis very pregnant
 The jewel that we find, we stoop and take 'T
 Because we see it; but what we do not see
 We tread upon, and never think of it.

(II. i. 23-26)

It might seem that these lines, taken from their context, have done much to shape some recent critical approaches to Measure for Measure. There has been a widespread, if wistful, conviction that a jewel exists to...