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Measure for Measure: The Oxford Shakespeare Measure for Measure

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Measure for Measure, one of Shakespeare's grimmest plays, is ably presented in this Oxford World's Classics edition. The critical introduction is excellent as usual; the notes are ample but not rambling, and, as is the custom with these editions, they provide more information and deeper insights than the brief glosses and historical notices with which many other editions content themselves. The appendix on textual cruces was especially thorough. The play itself is a fascinating one. Shakespeare's 'problem plays' have always been amongst my favourites, combining as they do aspects of the dramatic structure of comedy with an often cynical treatment of stony themes and unattractive characters. In this play, the interference of hypocrisy in the course of justice, the proper place of justice, punishment, and revenge in the workings of society, the nature of crime and guilt, and the failure of individuals to live up to the demands of their public rôles in their private lives are combined with the bed-trick that Shakespeare used to a very different effect in All's Well That Ends Well. A fine edition of one of Shakespeare's finest.