ACT 3 QUOTE ANALYSIS Flashcards
quotes and respective analyses of act 3
Duke (Lodowick Friar)- “Thou art not noble…
…To make thy riches pleasant.”
(13-38) act 3 scene 1
its honestly not an important quote but this was peak comedy to me.
the duke essentially sucks out all joy and hope from Claudio, and basically tries to implant suicidal ideation in him. his speech is a very eloquent effort at making Claudio’s strive to live- die.
he calls him substandard, a coward afraid of bees, unhappy amalgamation of dust, unstable like the changing phases of the moon. the amount of similes makes this speech incredibly hyperbolic and exceptionally comical to me personally.
preparation of death i think, would be expected to be cathartic, assuring the sentenced of its fulfilled life, reminding him of the merciful god and so on.
instead it is rather a concoction of insults and ultimately implanting the view that life is not worth living and the sentenced is not worthy of life.
however Claudio’s reaction is unnaturally optimistic and embraces death by aspiring to spiritually kill himself.
The Duke was presented clownishly in such contexts in the 2004 Global Theatre Production
Isabella- “Wilt thou be made a man out of my vice?”
Isabella’s anger towards Angelo has now been redirected to Claudio. to her Claudio’s request is unfathomable. fueled by disbelief and disgust she hurls insults at Claudio, even going as far as to say that he is no son of her father.
Isabella is visibly hurt by Claudio’s request, she expected Claudio to empathize with the value she puts in her chastity, now she realizes, she is truly alone. her brother is lost. she wishes him death, wishes it to the very man she tried so hard to save arguing, begging, grueling.
Isabella showed him mercy when she accepted him for his sin and fought for his life, Claudio fails to show her mercy when it comes to her prized chastity.
Duke (Lodowick Friar)- “swallowed his vows whole,
pretending in her discoveries of dishonour”
Proof that the Duke knew of Angelo’s misdeeds- motivation for putting Angelo in power to test his true nature.
Duke (Lodowick Friar)- “we were all, as some would seem to be,
From our faults, as faults from seeming, free!”
he basically says he wishes they were all free from their faults as ‘some’ people seem to be– he wishes that their faults weren’t so apparent.
the overt message here refers to pompey who is clearly a walking culmination of all things un-Christian. he wishes he hid his faults better- atleast tried to pretend like he held any Christian values.
the former part of the quote however may allude to Angelo’s ability to seem free of fault although he isnt better than anyone else. this also reveals that the duke believes himself to have his faults- in reference to his negligence.
Escalus- “my brother justice have I
found so severe, that he hath forced me to tell him
he is indeed Justice.”
indication of Angelo’s Puritan mindset. he believes hes is Justice incarnate just as Puritans thought of themselves as chosen by God.
Duke- “He who the sword of heaven will bear
Should be as holy as severe….
…Pay with falsehood false exacting,
And perform an old contracting.”
(254-275) Act 3 Scene 2
The Duke’s soliloquy is characterized by seven and 8 syllable couplets. this gives a proverbial nature to the Duke’s wisdom.
he begins by declaring that the quality of justice must be akin to the quality of the one serving Justice. if Angelo cannot even lead by example he should not be condemning sinners akin to him or even worse than him to harsh sentences. the quality of mercy in accordance with self reflection had been repeated many times to Angelo but this fell on deaf ears.
the Duke is determined to give Angelo what he deserves, a measure for a measure. this is where the play starts to pick up both in action and in drama. it keeps the audience on their toes with anticipation for what is to happen next.
The end of Act 3 marks the start of the action. the plan has been set in motion, the duke is the catalyst for all the motion and he has really set all the elements into effect now.
there is no doubt the Duke is enjoying this.
