Measure for Measure (Mass Market Paperback)

by William Shakespeare (Author) "The Duke of Vienna announces that he has been called away from the city, and that he is leaving Lord Angelo to rule in his..." (more)
Key Phrases: proper bane, early printed texts, good friar, Lord Angelo, Friar Peter, Enter Duke (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
Tragicomedy in five acts by William Shakespeare, produced in 1604-05 and published in the First Folio of 1623. The play examines the nature of mercy and justice, proposing that a good government is one that is flexible and based on common sense. The play opens with Vincentio, the Duke of Vienna, telling his deputy Angelo to govern his duchy while he travels to Poland. In actuality, the duke remains in Vienna disguised as a friar. Following the letter of the law, Angelo passes the death sentence on Claudio, a nobleman convicted for impregnating his betrothed, Juliet. Claudio's sister Isabella, a novice in a nunnery, pleads his case to Angelo, who offers to spare Claudio in exchange for her favors. On the advice of Vincentio, Isabella schedules the rendezvous but secretly arranges for Angelo's spurned fiancee, Mariana, to take her place. Afterward, Angelo reaffirms the execution. Vincentio comes to the rescue, and in the end Claudio is saved and wed to Juliet, Angelo is discredited and ordered to marry Mariana, and Vincentio asks Isabella to be his wife. -- The Merriam-Webster Encyclopedia of Literature --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Washington Square Press (December 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 067172276X
• ISBN-13: 978-0671722760
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,054,086 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 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	Professor Donald Mitchell "a Practical Optimi... (Boston) - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER)

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 Be absolute for death!, April 26, 2005

By	Cromulus "Magnus Cromulus" (Roma) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Measure for Measure (Arden Shakespeare Second) (Paperback)

"Measure for Measure" is an absolutely brilliant play and the Arden edition provides an excellent presentation and more than adequate notes.

It seems galling that someone would give "Measure For Measure" less than 5 stars but that's only because such reviewers probably end up comparing Shakespeare on his A++++++++ game ("King Lear", "Macbeth", "Hamlet") vs. merely his A game.

I won't go into detail talking about "Measure for Measure". What I will say is that Shakespeare's genius is evident right from the start and that the careful reader would benefit by boning up on The Bible, Plato and Aristotle before reading it. You may even want to acquaint yourself with Protagoras, a biography of Shakespeare, and historical accounts of the reign of Elizabeth and James.

The bard's constantly used coin metaphors evoke the Platonic forms and much of the play concerns itself with the Aristotelian median. Indeed, if one were to put on a scale "measure for measure", one would end up in balance. See? Shakespeare is the mack for a reason. Not only is this Aristotelian, it's also a very important bible reference in a play that has much to do with Christianity and the play has been read by many as a Christian allegory. The Platonic forms are turned into Christian arguments here and Shakespeare even has his fun with a pun on the fallen Angel(o). I'm not completely sold that this play is a Christian allegory but who am I to argue with Mircea Eliade or Roy Battenhouse? If it is, then it's not a particularly kind account of Christianity as neither the Duke nor Isabella evoke the sort of Christian virtues one would expect from them. And that's just two readings. I haven't even talked about the opening line of the play "Of government the properties to unfold" which should serve as a clue to the reader that they will read a play that has something to do with the way governments work.

You should pay close attention to certain "mirroring" and "trading". Notice how one man gets switched with another (a pirate's severed head will be exchanged for Claudio's), how one woman gets switched with another (Isabella for Mariana), how Angelo gets switched with Vincetio once the Duke leaves, etc. This trading happens probably hundreds of times in the play. Notice how that goes hand in hand with the title of the play.

Also pay close attention to the word "issue" as it's a flippin' sweet pun. It's used to portray both offsprings and money. Notice how cool it is that children will have certain characteristics that they inherit from their issuers (parents) and coins will have certain characteristics inherited from the mater coin set - the one from which all coins are pressed.

A clever - pardon the pun, coinage - made triply clever by the fact that old english coins used to be referred to as "angels".

The reason the Arden edition is a particularly good version is because of the extensive notes at the bottom of the pages as well as the excellent essays in the beginning and the end of the book. This is not mere capriciousness regarding editions, by the way. This edition will help you understand the play in a way others cannot. It is not perfect - for example, they miss that the first iterative stamp imagery happens in the line "There is our commission", not two lines later, but that's nitpicking.

Enjoy the play! It's not Shakespeare's best, but it's still mind blowing.

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

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.