Measure for Measure (Shakespeare, Pelican) [Paperback]

William Shakespeare (Author), R. C. Bald (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 30, 1956 | ISBN-10: 0140714030 | ISBN-13: 978-0140714036 | Edition: Revised

Like every other play in the Cambridge School Shakespeare series, Measure for Measure has been specially prepared to help all students in schools and colleges. This version of Measure for Measure aims to be different from other editions of the play. It invites you to bring the play to life in your classroom through enjoyable activities that will help increase your understanding. You are encourage to make up your own mind about the play, rather than have someone else's interpretation handed down to you. Whatever you do, remember that Shakespeare wrote his plays to be acted, watched and enjoyed.

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Professor Bawcutt has produced an edition that should flourish in the classroom. The introduction is both thorough and user-friendly, while the notes consistently promote clear explication. Overall the edition is crisp, efficient, and illuminating."--Ronald J. Boling, Lyon College

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Book Description

Like every other play in the Cambridge School Shakespeare series, Measure for Measure has been specially prepared to help all students in schools and colleges. This version of Measure for Measure aims to be different from other editions of the play. It invites you to bring the play to life in your classroom through enjoyable activities that will help increase your understanding. You are encourage to make up your own mind about the play, rather than have someone else's interpretation handed down to you. Whatever you do, remember that Shakespeare wrote his plays to be acted, watched and enjoyed. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: Penguin Classics; Revised edition (October 30, 1956)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0140714030
• ISBN-13: 978-0140714036
• Product Dimensions: 7.1 x 4.2 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,861,416 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

William Shakespeare was born in Stratford-upon-Avon in April 1564, and his birth is traditionally celebrated on April 23. The facts of his life, known from surviving documents, are sparse. He was one of eight children born to John Shakespeare, a merchant of some standing in his community. William probably went to the King's New School in Stratford, but he had no university education. In November 1582, at the age of eighteen, he married Anne Hathaway, eight years his senior, who was pregnant with their first child, Susanna. She was born on May 26, 1583. Twins, a boy, Hamnet ( who would die at age eleven), and a girl, Judith, were born in 1585. By 1592 Shakespeare had gone to London working as an actor and already known as a playwright. A rival dramatist, Robert Greene, referred to him as "an upstart crow, beautified with our feathers." Shakespeare became a principal shareholder and playwright of the successful acting troupe, the Lord Chamberlain's Men (later under James I, called the King's Men). In 1599 the Lord Chamberlain's Men built and occupied the Globe Theater in Southwark near the Thames River. Here many of Shakespeare's plays were performed by the most famous actors of his time, including Richard Burbage, Will Kempe, and Robert Armin. In addition to his 37 plays, Shakespeare had a hand in others, including Sir Thomas More and The Two Noble Kinsmen, and he wrote poems, including Venus and Adonis and The Rape of Lucrece. His 154 sonnets were published, probably without his authorization, in 1609. In 1611 or 1612 he gave up his lodgings in London and devoted more and more time to retirement in Stratford, though he continued writing such plays as The Tempest and Henry VII until about 1613. He died on April 23 1616, and was buried in Holy Trinity Church, Stratford. No collected edition of his plays was published during his life-time, but in 1623 two members of his acting company, John Heminges and Henry Condell, put together the great collection now called the First Folio.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Base Look at Love, Honor, Morality, Reputation, and the Law!, September 25, 2001

By 

Donald Mitchell "Jesus Loves You!" (Thanks for Providing My Reviews over 110,000 Helpful Votes Globally) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Measure for Measure (Mass Market Paperback)

Measure for Measure is seldom read, and not often performed in the United States. Why? Although many of Shakespeare's plays deal bluntly with sexual issues, Measure for Measure does so in an unusually ugly and disgusting way for Shakespeare. This play is probably best suited for adults, as a result.

I see Measure for Measure as closest to The Merchant of Venice in its themes. Of the two plays, I prefer Measure for Measure for its unremitting look at the arbitrariness of laws, public hypocrisy and private venality, support for virtue, and encouragement of tempering public justice with common sense and mercy.

The play opens with Duke Vincentio turning over his authority to his deputy, Angelo. But while the duke says he is leaving for Poland, he in fact remains in Vienna posing as a friar. Angelo begins meting out justice according to the letter of the law. His first act is to condemn Claudio to death for impregnating Juliet. The two are willing to marry, but Angelo is not interested in finding a solution. In despair, Claudio gets word to his sister, the beautiful Isabella, that he is to be executed and prays that she will beg for mercy. Despite knowing that Isabella is a virgin novice who is about to take her vows, Angelo cruelly offers to release Claudio of Isabella will make herself sexually available to Angelo. The Duke works his influence behind the scenes to help create justice.

Although this play is a "comedy" in Shakespearean terms, the tension throughout is much more like a tragedy. In fact, there are powerful scenes where Shakespeare draws on foolish servants of the law to make his points clear. These serve a similar role of lessening the darkness to that of the gravediggers in Hamlet.

One of the things I like best about Measure for Measure is that the resolution is kept hidden better than in most of the comedies. As a result, the heavy and rising tension is only relieved right at the end. The relief you will feel at the end of act five will be very great, if you are like me.

After you read this play, I suggest that you compare Isabella and Portia. Why did Shakespeare choose two such strong women to be placed at the center of establishing justice? Could it have anything to do with wanting to establish the rightness of the heart? If you think so, reflect that both Isabella and Portia are tough in demanding that what is right be done. After you finish thinking about those two characters, you may also enjoy comparing King Lear and Claudio. What was their fault? What was their salvation? Why? What point is Shakespeare making? Finally, think about Angelo. Is he the norm or the exception in society? What makes someone act like Angelo does here? What is a person naturally going to do in his situation?

Look for fairness in all that you say and do!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Footnotes and Line Numbers, October 3, 2007

By 

B. Derby (East Lansing, MI USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Measure for Measure (Folger Shakespeare Library) (Mass Market Paperback)

I was very satisfied with this version of William Shakespeare's "Measure for Measure." As far as Shakespeare goes, different editions of the plays can be drastically different, not generally in actual Shakespearian context, but in the quality and quantity of footnotes and helpful information. Throughout this book the footnotes are on the left-hand page while the actual play is on the right-hand page. There are also scene summaries in the footnotes at the beginning of each scene, which I found very helpful in understanding. There are also longer notes on some topics at the back of the book. As far as the footnotes go, I have been very satisfied with the amount of information and the layout of the book. My one complaint is that I purchased this book for a class and everyone else is using a different edition and for some reason the line numbers are different in my book from the ones that they are using. Mine are always higher, so I'm assuming I have some additional lines that were edited out in their version, but it causes some problems and I wonder which version is more widely accepted. Either way, I'm very satisfied with this edition and all the supplementary information it provides.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Shakespeare's most underrated, January 30, 2002

By 

Kellyannl (Bronx, NY USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Measure for Measure (Mass Market Paperback)

In this somewhat disturbing classic, we have characters in almost as much a dilemma as Hamlet himself. Claudio, a young man, has gotten his fiance pregnant before their wedding. Unfortunately for Claudio, the local Duke is out of town finding himself, and in his stead is Angelo - a stickler for the rules, although he's far from squeaky clean himself. The said rules in this case, although obscure, call for execution.

Enter Isabella, Claudio's sister - a novice nun - to plead his case. Incredibly, Angelo starts to have some not-very-nice thoughts, and soon enough he's telling her he'll let Claudio go - if she spends the night with him!

In modern times one might think this reprehensible but a no-brainer - most sisters aren't going to let their brothers die young if there's anything they can do about it even if they are convent bound. But consider that in Shakespeare's time Isabella's soul would have been very much at issue.

So we have Isabella's soul and Claudio's life at stake, and there's still no word from the deadbeat Duke! Will something happen before time runs out?

Angelo is one of Shakespeare's most interesting villains, knowing that he's setting himself up to go straight to hell but still not able to stop himself. Isabella has to deal with a problem that makes those of many other Shakespearean heroines seem like child's play. As for Claudio - his prison monologue, where he starts off trying to be brave for Isabella but ends up as frightened as anyone in his predicament would be when human nature kicks in - is as powerful a tour de force as Clarence's scene in Richard III.

Not to be missed by Shakespeare fans.