"Measure for Measure"

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses how the four main characters in William Shakespeare's "Measure for Measure", the Duke, Angelo, and the two siblings, each draw moral standards from different sources. The paper also attempts to show how these characters subsequently shape or even abandon those standards to suit themselves.

From the Paper:

"In the Duke's personal moral hierarchy, it is by mercy that he seems to rule Vienna. And yet, where is his mercy and sense of justice in his treatment of Isabella? He could have saved Claudio and punished Angelo without withholding the news of Claudio's safety from Isabella. "I will keep her ignorant of her good,/ To make her heavenly comforts of despair/ When it is least expected," he explains (4.3.110-112). He then theatricalizes the situation to the point of emotionally torturing Isabella so that he may "sentence" her to marry him when all is revealed (Magedanz, 328). The Duke's mercy disappears when he sees an opportunity to attempt to woo Isabella, even if it means that he must cruelly manipulate her. "

Sample of Sources Used:

• Chambers, R.W. "Isabella Approved." Twentieth Century Interpretations of Measure for Measure: A Collection of Critical Essays. Ed. George G. Geckle. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1970.
• Magedanz, Stacy. "Public Justice and Private Mercy in Measure for Measure." SEL Studies in English Literature. William Marsh Rice University. 2004.< http://muse.jhu.edu/cgibin/access.cgi?uri=/journals/studies_in_english_literature/v044/44.2magedanz.html>.
• P.P. "Character and Morality in Measure for Measure." Measure for Measure. Ed. George G. Geckle. New York: The Athlone Press, 2001.
• Shakespeare, William. "A Midsummer Night's Dream." The Riverside Shakespeare. Ed. G. Blakemore Evans et al. 2nd ed. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1997.

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