act 2 : scene 2 Flashcards
who speaks the most? why? what does this suggest about that character and their relationship with the other characters in the extract?
Very even between Isabella and Angelo. Shows the power dynamic becoming more even as opposed to Angelo having all of the power. Isabella does overall have more power/lines, but Angelo has a soliloquy
is the extract in blank verse or rhyming couplets or prose? is this consistent throughout? if not, where does it change and why?
Blank verse throughout
are imperatives used?
Imperatives are used
word placement
‘Bribe’ meant to be innocent but sounds seductive
repetition of a word/phrase - is the repetition from the same character or does one character repeat another character’s words?
not really…
how does the extract connect to the themes of the play? - disguise, power, religion, appearance/reality etc.
power and religion
sentence length
varies massively as power dynamic changes
asides
used throughout
contrasts/opposites
goes against Bible. old Testament and New Testament. Disagreements throughout
is there a soliloquy?
Yes. Angelo has one at the end when processing feelings towards Isabella
what is the tone of the extract? does the tone change? if so, what words indicate the change?
Serious tone throughout as it is a debate
imagery - simile, metaphor, personification
like God
sibilance, alliteration
come back to
what is happening in the scene:
- Encouraged by Lucio, Isabella visits Angelo to plead for Claudio’s life
- Angelo will not yield and asserts the justice of his sentence
- Angelo wavers and tells her to return the next day
- Angelo reflects on how she has aroused his lust
key point of this scene: 1
One of the most important scenes in the play
key point of this scene: 2
The Provost sets the tone of this head-to-head encounter when he repeats the humanitarian argument and that no man should die for it. Angelo is certain that he will not regret his ‘judgment’ and does not expect to repent at leisure or to suffer remorse
key point of this scene: 3
Shakespeare invests Angelo with psychological realism and the balanced mean must have a measure of each human quality in his soul
key point of this scene: 4
Shakespeare, in G. Wilson Knight’s words show that Angelo is “the symbol of a fake intellectualism ethic divorced from the deeper springs of the human instinct.” Knight means that Angelo’s “spotless reputation” intimidated those around him is the “reason abstracted from emotion” and therefore, Angelo refuses to admit that passion (as opposed to compassion) has a place in the human scheme of things
key point of this scene: 5
Isabella also agrees that fornication is a capital offence and can only be pardoned under extenuating circumstances. Reason must be weighed against emotion. Against Isabella’s natural instinct, there must be measure for measure
key point of this scene: 6
Isabella originally argues that Angelo should condemn the sin rather than the sinner. With the Doctrine of Original Sin, Isabella should know that the function of God’s Deputy on Earth can only be to punish those who commit sins
key point of this scene: 7
Isabella’s response expresses her respect for this Old Testament judgement. Lucio mentions that Isabella’s art will not prosper if she continues to play Angelo at his own game and that her powers of persuasion will prove inadequate if she continues to share his belief in the ‘severe; rule of law. This leads her to speak in that ‘prone and speechless dialect’ that ‘moves’ men
key point of this scene: 8
She tells Angelo off and lectures him. She is adamant that his apparel does not necessarily proclaim a judicious man
key point of this scene: 9
Isabella applies the Golden Rule: if the roles had been reversed, Claudio would not have done this
key point of this scene: 10
Her next move is to pit the New Testament against the Old Testament and goes so far as to suggest that God showed mercy to man by sacrificing his own Son. To follow this Christian example, Angelo should show this mercy
key point of this scene: 11
Angelo’s reactions carry the Old Testament prose. He seems to lack the courage of his own convictions and to hide behind the law. Angelo is a humanist, not a humanitarian and makes out the case for the rule of law on the solid ground that one man’s freedom is another man’s tyranny
key point of this scene: 12
In executing Claudio for such a common infringement, Angelo sees himself as encouraging others and thereby acting in the defence of others’ civil liberties
key point of this scene: 13
This scene is like a chess match. Every move made by Isabella (in white) is promptly matched by Angelo’s counter-move
key point of this scene: 14
She amplifies her next speech by means of an emotive imagery: (Lines 118-121) which ceases to make rational sense of the legal situation and tries instead to make poetic sense of it
key point of this scene: 15
Isabella’s art begins to prosper and begins to make an impact upon Angelo’s ego and shows how ‘well she can persuade.’ The point of this diatribe against man is to put him in his cosmic place
key point of this scene: 16
For the best part of thirty lines, he has remained in silence. Self-knowledge has begun. This insists that Angelo examine his understanding of his own manhood. The conviction of men being guilty of sexual feeling strikes a chord in Angelo’s breast and stirs his genitals. She has awakened in him those feelings of sexual desire that he has been striving to repress. Isabella’s use of a ‘bribe’ is suggestive to Angelo and finds seductive
key point of this scene: 17
Angelo is acutely conscious that in defiance of the Lord’s Prayer, he is being led in ‘to temptation’. In his soliloquy, he attempts to apportion blame for human misconduct and constitutes a profound analysis of male sexuality
key point of this scene: 18
He experiences the need to recognise man for the ‘poor, bare, forked animal’ that he is. In the course of this self-examination, Angelo attempts to come to terms with the appetitive/passionate part of his tri-partite (like God) soul. He is responding to the qualities that he most admires
key point of this scene: 19
Angelo need not be merely enthralled by a basic desire to deflower a virgin; there is nothing perverse of unwholesome (as Angelo supposes) about this sexual attraction.
key point of this scene: 20
This soliloquy dramatises the debate in Angelo’s head: not about what kind of man he is, but of what kind of creature man is. Shakespeare’s blank verse monitors the movement of Angelo’s mind as it moves to and fro; its rhythm is functional in following the manouveures of a mind engaged in the act of agonised thinking. By means of enjambments and rhetorical questions, eleven of each, Shakespeare charts Angelo’s stream of consciousness and demonstrates how Angelo vacillates between self-righteousness and self-disgust
points to include: 1
Angelo is getting frustrated because they are all disagreeing with his decision and accepts that he can’t take back the decision once it is made
points to include: 2
Short sentences: not to be rude but to get to the point quickly
points to include: 3
Isabella shows a lack of confidence, yet honest at first and does not start with a great way of convincing him and gives up shortly after. As Isabella gets more confident and Lucio helps her, her speeches get longer
points to include: 4
Isabella mentions wealth and power and basically says her brother is a better person (Lines: 61-67)
points to include: 5
Line 75: every human has done something wrong and has not been punished for it
points to include: 6
Angelo tries to use the law as an excuse, yet he can change the law
points to include: 7
(Lines 102-103) Make 10 syllables together. Equally balanced argument. Isabella can match and have an impression/ impact on him. He has power, she has power over him. Share a pentameter. Keep rhythm and speed
points to include: 8
She accuses him of being a tyrant and saying he is not merciful unlike God. Apes imitate humans behaviour: find it funny like Angels find it funny when men start to act like they’re God
points to include: 9
Isabella starts to have more power (imbalance of lines)
points to include: 10
Angelo starts to like Isabella, yet is not a hypocrite because he didn’t break the law. He realises he is like other men and needs to get rid of these emotions. He can’t resist her and wants to see her again. He sees emotion and desire as weakness and is fearful
points to include: 11
Soliloquy lets us see into Angelo’s thoughts and feel sympathy as what he thought about himself is not true. By the end he says he will not tempt her, but that he would like to. Choppy, full of rhetorical questions and broken phrases, expressing his coming to terms with new version of himself. We don’t get many soliloquy so are lucky to get this one
points to include: 12
He likes Isabella’s virtue, but if they had sex, her virtue would be gone. He finds her modesty attractive as opposed to promiscuity and does not want a prostitute
points to include: 13
It is fair to call him a saint, he has never done anything wrong. A prostitute has never tempted him and he wants to have sex because he “loves” her (more infatuation). He now understands why men want to have sex
points to include: 14
Dramatic irony that Angelo will commit the same crime as Claudio later in the play
