Measure for Measure Essay Questions

What commentary does the play make on the nature of leadership?

The catalyst for the events of the play is Duke Vincentio's decision to temporarily turn over his power to his deputy, Angelo, so that he (the Duke) can observe the goings-on in Vienna from an outsider's perspective (although all other characters assume he has left the city entirely). At the beginning of the play, the Duke admits that, under his reign, Vienna has seen a decline in morality and law enforcement. When Angelo takes over, however, his approach is so severe that he orders executions for what were formerly considered minor offenses like fornication. The two governing character are foils for one another, and they represent different versions of leadership: one relaxed and laissez-faire, the other strict and fearsome. The play therefore raises the Machiavellian question of whether "good" leadership means one is beloved or feared by their subjects, and suggests that a balance between these two extremes is often difficult to strike.

In what ways is the play a unique type of comedy?

In general, early modern comedies contain the same dramatic tropes: irony, disguise as a plot device, misunderstanding, moments of levity, and marriage at the play's conclusion. Measure for Measure checks most of these boxes, and was indeed presented in the First Folio of 1623 as one of Shakespeare's comedies. However, it is also a stand-out comedy among Shakespeare's others, as it makes use of many tragic elements as well: elaborate soliloquies, philosophical meditations, and the threat of death, to name a few. Thus, while Measure for Measure is considered a comedy, it is also a notable example of dark comedy within Shakespeare's oeuvre.

What role does the Duke's disguise play in the development of the plot?

Duke Vincentio's decision to place Angelo in charge of Vienna is the catalyzing plot point for the rest of the play. However, his subsequent decision to dress in disguise as a friar is presented as comparatively insignificant. In fact, the play even suggests that the Duke's disguise is self-indulgent and absurd, as he could have stepped in earlier to save Claudio from execution. Thus, the Duke's disguise offers one way of reading Measure for Measure as a comedy that satirizes other comic plots, ones in which disguise plays a pivotal role in the development of the plot.

Explain the significance of Isabella's conundrum.

When Isabella discovers that her brother is set to be executed, so pleads to with Angelo to spare his life and let him go free. Angelo then propositions Isabella to have sex with him in exchange for her brother's freedom, prompting Isabella to choose – almost immediately – to preserve her chastity rather than save her brother. In the moment, Isabella compares having sex with Angelo to another form of death, in particular an eternal condemnation in Hell. The difficulty of her conundrum prompts the audience to question whether she makes the right decision, and to weigh the importance of a religious doctrine like chastity against a personal connection to family.

What is the relationship between the play's title and its major themes?

The title Measure for Measure is pulled from a passage in the Gospel of Matthew, which argues that one should not judge others too harshly lest they are one day on the receiving end of that judgment. This title reflects the play's major themes of justice, judgment, and mercy: Angelo, who clearly rejects these principles, judges and condemns freely while engaging in sins and lawlessness himself (his proposition of Isabella is just as illegal, if not more so, than Claudio's premarital sex with his betrothed, Juliet). At the end of the play, however, order is restored, and Angelo himself is spared in an act of mercy, a conclusion that emphasizes the message of Christ from the New Testament.