Facsimile of the first page of Measure for Measure from the First Folio, published in 1623

Measure for Measure is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in 1603 or 1604. Mr William Shakespeares Comedies Histories & Tragedies is the first published collection of William Shakespeare 's plays A play, or stageplay, is a form of Literature written by a Playwright, almost always consisting of Dialogue between Fictional characters William Shakespeare ( baptised It was originally classified as a comedy, but is now also classified as one of Shakespeare's problem plays. In Shakespeare studies the term " problem plays " normally refers to three plays that William Shakespeare wrote between the late 1590s and the first years of the seventeenth Originally published in the First Folio of 1623, the play's first recorded performance was in 1604. Mr William Shakespeares Comedies Histories & Tragedies is the first published collection of William Shakespeare 's plays The play deals with the issues of mercy, justice, truth and their relationship to pride and humility: "Some rise by sin, and some by virtue fall"

Sources

The main source of the play is George Whetstone's 1578 lengthy two-part closet drama Promos and Cassandra. George Whetstone (1544? - 1587? was an English Dramatist and Author. A closet drama is a play that is not intended to be performed onstage but read by a solitary reader or sometimes out loud in a small group perhaps in a small room called Whetstone took the story from Cinthio's Hecatommithi, which Shakespeare seems to have consulted, as well as a dramatization of the story, also by Cinthio. Giovanni Battista Giraldi (November 1504 - December 30, 1573) was an Italian Novelist and Poet.

The title, which appears as a line of dialogue in the play, may be related to the Bible, Matthew 7:2:

For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. Etymology According to the Online Etymology Dictionary, the word bible is from Latin biblia, traced from the same word through Medieval Latin and Late Latin

Date, text and authorship

Measure for Measure is believed to have been written in 1603 or 1604. The play was first published in 1623 in the First Folio. Mr William Shakespeares Comedies Histories & Tragedies is the first published collection of William Shakespeare 's plays

In their book Shakespeare Reshaped, 1606-1623, Gary Taylor and John Jowett argue that the text of Measure that survives today is not its original form, but rather the product of a revision, after Shakespeare's death, by Thomas Middleton. Gary Taylor is a name shared by several people Gary Taylor (strongman, winner of the 1993 World's Strongest Man competition Gary Thomas Middleton (1580 &ndash 1627 was an English Jacobean playwright and Poet. They present stylistic evidence that patches of writing are by Middleton, and argue that Middleton changed the setting to Vienna, from an original version set in Italy. Vienna ( in Wien; see also other names) is the Capital of Austria, and is also one of the nine States of Austria. ^[1]

Characters

Claudio and Isabella (1850) by William Holman Hunt

The Duke is the central figure who spends most of his time dressed as a friar, Lodowick, in order to observe what is happening in his absence. William Holman Hunt (b 2 April 1827 in Cheapside, London &ndash d He is seemingly unfailingly virtuous, good, and kind-hearted. He has tended to rule a little softly, which is why he has enlisted Angelo's help. Angelo is a character in Shakespeare's play Measure for Measure. In the First Folio, The Duke is listed in the Dramatis Personae as "Vincentio," but this name appears nowhere else in the play. Mr William Shakespeares Comedies Histories & Tragedies is the first published collection of William Shakespeare 's plays

Isabella, a novice nun, is a virtuous and chaste young woman who faces a difficult decision when her brother is sentenced to death for fornication. Fornication, or simple fornication is a term which refers to voluntary Sexual intercourse between persons not married to each other Isabella does not approve of her brother's actions, but she pleads for his life out of loyalty, sisterly devotion, and a belief that the punishment is too harsh for the crime. Ultimately she would rather her brother die and go to heaven, than she herself live a life of hell: "more than our brother is our chastity".

Claudio is Isabella's brother, a young man sentenced to death for impregnating an unmarried woman. He was engaged to her by a common-law agreement, but they had sexual intercourse before the legal marriage took place. According to the play, by the letter of the law this was punishable by death, but the more recent sentence had been to force two 'fornicators' to marry.

Angelo is the villain of the play, a man who rules strictly and without mercy. Angelo is a character in Shakespeare's play Measure for Measure. He has his own weaknesses, however, and he is loathsome more for his hypocrisy than for anything else. He presents Isabella with a difficult proposition, to sleep with him in exchange for her brother's life, but then does not hold up his end of the bargain when he believes she has held hers.

Escalus is a wise lord who advises Angelo to be more merciful. He is loyal to the Duke and seeks to carry out his orders justly, but cannot go against Angelo's will. As his name suggests (Scales) he takes a balanced decision to everything, which in turn makes him one of the wisest characters in the play.

Lucio, described by Shakespeare as a "fantastic," is a flamboyant bachelor who provides much of the play's comedy. He is a friend of Claudio, and tries to help him. He is a bawdy gentleman, but beneath his comic veneer he has a darker side; he would rather die than marry the whore, Kate Keepdown, who had his child around a year ago and he informs on Mistress Overdone (who looks after his illegitimate child) resulting in her imprisonment.

Mariana was intended to marry Angelo, but he called the wedding off when she lost her dowry in a shipwreck that killed her brother.

Mistress Overdone runs a brothel in Vienna. She cares for the young son of Kate Keepdown (a prostitute) and Lucio.

Pompey is a bawd and 'tapster' (barman) who works for Mistress Overdone.

The Provost runs the prison, and is responsible for carrying out all of Angelo's orders.

Elbow is a dim-witted constable who arrests people for misconduct, particularly of the sexual variety. He provides some comic relief through his frequent use of malapropisms in his speech. A malapropism (also called a Dogberryism) is the substitution of an incorrect word for a word with a similar sound usually to comic effect

Barnardine is a long-term prisoner in the jail, sentenced to be executed. The Duke originally considers him hopeless and therefore dispensable but later changes his mind.

Juliet is Claudio's lover, pregnant with his child.

Justice is a friend of Escalus. He has only three lines but his name is commonly seen as symbolic; his most significant line is "Lord Angelo is severe".

Synopsis

Vincentio, the Duke of Vienna, makes it known that he intends to leave the city on a diplomatic mission. He leaves the government in the hands of a strict judge, Angelo. Angelo is a character in Shakespeare's play Measure for Measure. Under the Duke's government, the city's harsh laws against fornication have been laxly enforced, but Angelo is known to be a hard-liner on matters of sexual immorality.

Claudio, a young nobleman, is betrothed to Juliet; having put off their wedding, he makes her pregnant out of wedlock. For this act of fornication he is punished by Angelo. Although he is willing to marry her, he is sentenced to death. Claudio's friend Lucio visits Claudio's sister Isabella, a postulate nun, and asks her to intercede with Angelo on Claudio's behalf.

Isabella obtains an audience with Angelo, and pleads to him for mercy. Over the course of two scenes between Angelo and Isabella, it becomes clear that he harbours lustful thoughts for her, and he eventually offers her a deal: Angelo will spare Claudio's life if Isabella will sleep with Angelo. Isabella refuses, but she also realises that (due to Angelo's austere reputation) she will not be believed if she makes a public accusation against him. Instead she visits her brother in prison, and counsels him to prepare himself for death. Claudio vehemently begs Isabella to save his life, but Isabella refuses.

The Duke has not in fact left the city, but remains there disguised as a friar, in order to spy on his city's affairs, and especially the actions of Angelo. In his guise as a friar he befriends Isabella and arranges two tricks to thwart the evil intentions of Angelo:

Mariana (1888) by Valentine Cameron Prinsep

1. First, a "bed trick" is arranged. Valentine Cameron Prinsep, often known as Val Princep ( 14 February 1838 in Calcutta India - 4 November 1904 in London was a painter The bed trick is a plot device in traditional literature and folklore it involves a substitution of one partner in the sex act with a third person (in the words of Wendy Doniger Angelo has previously refused to fulfill the betrothal binding him to Mariana, because her dowry was lost at sea. Betrothal is a formal state of engagement to be married. Historically betrothal was a formal Contract, blessed or officiated by a religious authority Isabella sends word to Angelo that she has decided to submit to him, making it a condition of their meeting that it occurs in perfect darkness and silence. In fact, Mariana agrees to take Isabella's place, and she has sex with Angelo, although he continues to believe he has enjoyed Isabella. (In some interpretations of the law, this constituted consummation of their betrothal, and so marriage. )
2. Contrary to expectation, Angelo goes back on his word, sending a message to the prison that he wishes to see Claudio's head, which necessitates the "head trick. " The Duke first attempts to arrange the execution of another prisoner whose head can be sent instead of Claudio's. However, the villain Barnardine refuses to be executed in his current drunken state. As luck would have it, however, a pirate named Ragozine, of similar appearance to Claudio, has suddenly died, so his head is sent to Angelo, instead.

This main plot concludes with the "return" to Vienna of the Duke in his own person. Isabella and Mariana publicly petition him, and he hears their claims against Angelo, which Angelo smoothly denies. Angelo is a character in Shakespeare's play Measure for Measure. The scene builds a sense that the friar will be blamed for the "false" accusations levelled against Angelo. The Duke leaves Angelo to be judge of the cause against the friar, but returns in disguise moments later when the friar is summoned. Eventually the friar reveals himself to be the duke, thereby exposing Angelo as a liar and Isabella and Mariana as truthful. He proposes execution for him -- with his estate going to Mariana as her new dowry, for a better husband. On Mariana's pleas for Angelo, the Duke is merciful to him, but forces him to marry Mariana. The Duke then proposes marriage to Isabella. Isabella makes no reply, and her reaction is interpreted differently in different productions: her silent acceptance of his proposal is the most common in performance.

A sub-plot concerns Claudio's friend Lucio, who frequently slanders the duke to the friar, and in the last act slanders the friar to the duke, providing opportunities for comic consternation on Vincentio's part, and landing Lucio in trouble when it is revealed that the duke and the friar are one and the same person. His punishment, like Angelo's, is to be forced into an unwanted marriage: in his case with the whore Kate Keepdown.

Performance

Isabella (1888) by Francis William Topham

The earliest recorded performance of Measure for Measure took place on "St. Steven's night", December 26, 1604. Events 1481 - Battle of Westbrook - Holland defeats troops of Utrecht.

During the Restoration, Measure was one of many Shakespearean plays adapted to the tastes of a new audience. The English Restoration, or simply The Restoration began in 1660 when the English monarchy, Scottish monarchy and Irish monarchy were restored Sir William Davenant inserted Benedick and Beatrice from Much Ado About Nothing into his adaptation, called The Law Against Lovers. Sir William Davenant (baptised 3 March, 1606 &ndash April 7, 1668) also spelled D'Avenant, was an English Poet The Law Against Lovers was a dramatic adaptation of Shakespeare, arranged by Sir William Davenant and staged by the Duke's Company in 1662 Samuel Pepys saw the hybrid play on 18 February 1662; he describes it in his Diary as "a good play, and well performed"—he was especially impressed by the singing and dancing of the young actress who played Viola, Beatrice's sister (Davenant's creation). Samuel Pepys, FRS (23 February 1633 – 26 May 1703 was an English naval administrator and Member of Parliament, who is now most famous for Events 3102 BC - Epoch (origin of the Kali Yuga. 1229 - The Sixth Crusade: Frederick II Holy Davenant rehabilitated Angelo, who is now only testing Isabella's chastity; the play ends with a triple marriage. This, among the earliest and clumsiest of Restoration adaptations, appears not to have succeeded on stage.

Charles Gildon returned to Shakespeare's text in a 1699 production at Lincoln's Inn Fields; he removed Beatrice and Benedick, but he also removed all of the low-comic characters. Charles Gildon (c 1665–1724 was an English Hack writer who was by turns a translator biographer essayist playwright poet author of fictional letters fabulist Lincoln's Inn Fields is the largest public square in London, England. Moreover, by making both Angelo and Mariana, and Claudio and Juliet, secretly married, he eliminates almost all of the illicit sexuality that is so central to Shakespeare's play. Gildon also offers a partly facetious epilogue, spoken by Shakespeare's ghost, who complains of the constant revisions of his work. Like Davenant's, Gildon's version did not gain currency and was not revived.

John Rich presented a version closer to Shakespeare's original in 1720. John Rich (1692 - 1761 was an important director and theatre manager in 18th century London. ^[2]

William Poel produced the play, with himself as Angelo, in 1893 at the Royalty and in 1908 at the Gaiety in Manchester. William Poel (1852-1934 was an English actor theatrical manager and dramatist best known for his presentations of Shakespeare In line with his other Elizabethan performances, these used the uncut text of Shakespeare's original with only minimal alterations. The use of an unlocalized stage lacking scenery, and the swift, musical delivery of dramatic speech set the standard for the rapidity and continuity shown in modern productions. Poel's work also marked the first determined attempt by a producer to give a modern psychological or theological reading of both the characters and the overall message of the play. ^[3]

Notable recent productions of Measure for Measure are Peter Brook's 1950 staging at the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre with John Gielgud as Angelo, Charles Laughton as Angelo at the Old Vic Theatre in 1933, and a 1976 New York Shakespeare Festival production featuring Meryl Streep as Isabella and John Cazale as Angelo. Peter Stephen Paul Brook CH, CBE (born 21 March 1925) is a British theatre and Film director and innovator Year 1950 ( MCML) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. "Shakespeare Theatre" redirects here For the theatre of that name in Newcastle see Shakespeare Theatre (Newcastle; for Shakespeare's original theatre see Sir Arthur John Gielgud, OM, CH ( 14 April, 1904 – 21 May 2000) known as Sir John Gielgud, was an Angelo is a character in Shakespeare's play Measure for Measure. Charles Laughton ( 1 July, 1899 &ndash 15 December, 1962) was an English Academy Award -winning stage and Angelo is a character in Shakespeare's play Measure for Measure. The Old Vic is a Theatre located just south-east of Waterloo Station in London on the corner of The Cut and Waterloo Road. Year 1933 ( MCMXXXIII) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Year 1976 ( MCMLXXVI) was a Leap year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. New York Shakespeare Festival is the traditional name of a sequence of shows organized by the Public Theater in New York City, most often being held at the Delacorte Mary Louise "Meryl" Streep (born June 22, 1949) is an award-winning American Actress who has worked in Theatre, John Holland Cazale ( August 12, 1935 – March 12, 1978) was a distinguished Golden Globe Award nominated American Angelo is a character in Shakespeare's play Measure for Measure. The play has only been produced on Broadway once, in a 1973 production that featured David Ogden Stiers as Vincentio and Kevin Kline in the small role of Friar Peter. Broadway theater, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 39 large professional theaters with 500 seats or more located Year 1973 ( MCMLXXIII) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display full calendar of the 1973 Gregorian calendar. David Ogden Stiers (born October 31, 1942) is an American Actor, Voice actor and Musician, noted for his role in the Kevin Delaney Kline (born October 24 1947 is an American Academy Award, Screen Actors Guild Award and two time Tony Award -winning stage and film

Adaptations and cultural references

Musical adaptations

• The opera Das Liebesverbot (1836) by Richard Wagner with the libretto written by the composer based on Measure for Measure

References

External links

• Measure for Measure
• Measure for Measure - searchable e-text
• Measvre, For Measure - HTML version of this title.
• Measure For Measure - plain vanilla text from Project Gutenberg
• Sparknotes - Measure For Measure - Sparknotes' interpretation of key themes, scenes and characters. Project Gutenberg, abbreviated as PG, is a volunteer effort to Digitize, archive and distribute Cultural works
• [1] - Film DVD contempoary re-working.
• [2] Measure For Measure feature film, on IMDB