Measure for Measure William Shakespeare

While the connection between Machiavelli and Marlowe is distinctly articulated in the preface to the latter's Jew of Malta, the parallels between Machiavelli's Prince and Shakespeare's Measure for Measure are less explicitly expressed, but...

In Shakespearean plays, the female roles are consistently more complex than the male ones, and though the protagonists are often male, the action is frequently directed by a woman. Though the female characters are often perceived to have a...

'Different audiences respond to Isabella in different ways.' Show how Shakespeare's presentation of Isabella could lead to a wide range of responses.

The mere mention of Isabella's name appears to strike indignant fear into the heart of the...

What dramatic interest has Shakespeare created through his portrayal of the Duke in Act 3?

In order to answer this question, it is necessary to study the character of the Duke and how he is developed in Act 3. The Duke acts principally as an...

Contrast the opening soliloquy of Act II sc. iv with that which closes sc. ii.

Angelo's soliloquy in sc. Ii immediately follows his first meeting with Isabella, whereas the speech to which sc. Iv opens precedes her second visit. Understandably, we...

Isabella is the strongest female character in "Measure for Measure." She debates with Angelo on an equal level and is not undermined by his authority. Her strength as a character derives from several sources; her chastity being one of the most...

In the words of nineteenth-century critic F. S. Boas, “Measure for Measure” is undeniably a “problem play”, meaning that it is a play that centres around certain moral or philosophical issues. However, as well as simply being a play about...

Shakespeare’s plays employ many allusions to religious stories and beliefs. Hamlet and Measure for Measure, for example, both address religious themes and incorporate religious imagery. However, Shakespeare’s personal religious beliefs have never...

Critics continue to debate the precise genre of Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure, because even at closer inspection it refuses to be neatly classified. To brand it a simple “comedy” would be to overlook the unnerving sense of disquiet at the end...

In virtually all of Shakespeare’s plays, members of both high and low society are represented, and often the interplay between these two classes offers some kind of moral commentary on an issue. This common set up is found in Shakespeare’s Measure...

‘Measure for Measure’ features female characters from various backgrounds, representing the whole of Viennese society. Women from the upper-classes, such as Isabella, are featured alongside their lower class compatriots, such as brothel keeper...

One possible analysis of Shakespeare’s Measure of Measure follows a natural progression of criminal justice over the course of the play. Angelo’s hardline punishments in Act One reflect the eye for an eye, measure for measure justice of the Old...

In Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure, the main character’s qualities and ideologies tend to align eerily well with how Sigmund Freud depicts human consciousness. Within us all lies an Id, an Ego, and essentially what can be considered a...

Throughout the extensive criticism written on Shakespeare plays, the definition of these problematic plays has been a constant topic for debate. Kiernan Ryan suggests critics focus either on these plays all having in inherently ‘political...

Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure explores concepts of moral law within an immoral setting and set upon by leaders with questionable morals. Measure’s Vienna is a setting where pragmatism and absolutism can compete both in the shadows and up front...

In French, la petite mortis an expression that literally means "the brief loss or weakening of consciousness" but usually refers to "the sensation of orgasm as likened to death." This phenomenon is probably not a revelation, given that every...

The language of the body in Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure furthers one of the main tensions of the plot, namely, the manifold nature of having a body. First, that one’s state as a person is determined by one’s physicality, and vice versa. One’...

Here we shall attempt at analyzing the judgements made by different characters of authority under different circumstances, limited to Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure and Antony and Cleopatra, and their consequences. People of authority in both...