measure for measure ao5

isabella as virtuous and chastity

Hathway - one of the more simplistic ways to view the play is as ‘some sort of morality play or religious allegory’, so Isabella stands for ‘virtue and chastity’.

law vs human nature

Martin - ‘the opposition between the unrestrained sexual licentiousness of the streets and brothels and the cold logic of the law’

what extent should law control human nature

Martin - ‘the play explores the extent to which the administration of justice can and should take account of, and make allowances for, human emotions, and passions and frailties’

audience sympathy for claudio

cheetham - ‘Shakespeare chooses an act which, though technically an offence in Viennese law, is bound to command audience sympathy’

duke on application of law vs human nature

cheetham - ‘The Duke…clearly implies that rigid application of the law by fallible human beings is indefensible.’

angelo how restraint fails

maus - ‘the habits of restraint can themselves provoke sexual excitement’

duke as good

brockbank - ‘duke’s lies are white lies, meant to save the situation for the time being’

duke as bad

allam - says depends on interp of play as a whole so could be ‘a cynical manipulator of power’

shakespeare use of comedy

smith - ‘a play that…explores the elasticity of notions of comedy’ uses humour to discuss serious moral issues

duke asserting his power over isabella

smith - ‘the duke asserts himself by diminishing isabella…silencing a previously dominant female character’

angelo power of law

carruthers - ‘the law as tyrant is an image that could well apply to him’

minor female characters controlled

mcluskie - ‘these women are shadowy figures, but their stories extend the play’s social world in which sexual relations seem peculiarly unmanageable’

duke god like ruler

smithers - ‘benign god-like ruler who, through legitimate subterfuge, brings about positive change in his subjects’

dislike for isabella

stevenson - ‘Nobody likes Isabella…she's running away from the world into the convent because she's frightened of her own sexuality. They won't forgive her for valuing her virginity above Claudio's life’

lucio rebel

redford - ‘lucio is a rebel. he seems to shift about at different points in the play, and yet there is a consistent truth about him’

lucio shifty

redford - ‘it is the consummate ease with which Lucio moves from one role to another which contributes to his ambiguity’

use of comedy characters

mcnamara - ‘superficially they appear to be clowns, yet indirectly, they raise controversial issues about the role of the state in regulating our lives’