Measure for Measure Critical Interpretations Flashcards
S. Cohen - structure and form
‘like the period in which it was written, Measure for Measure is marked by the juxtaposition of two incompatible ideologies and their related dramatic forms’ (Elizabeth - romantic comedy, James - tragedy)
The ‘shift in medias not entirely successful - its failure is at the root of the play’s notorious contradictions’
Geckle
Early critics were either disapproving or disturbed by Isabella’s rigid adherence to her principles, as she seemed either unfeeling or self absorbed. More recent critics are kinder:
Isabella ‘exemplifies a heroine of impeachable virtue’
her ‘outward beauty reflects the good inside’
Lewis
‘Measure for Measure ‘opens with…an ideal’
Slights et al
‘Symbolic centrality of religion’
Riefer
Isabella’s treatment is ‘a means of exploring the issue of female subjugation in a patriarchal society’
Cohen (on Angelo)
The Duke ‘gives Angelo the power either to enforce or mitigate the law’, making Angelo ‘a proxy for the royal conscience’
‘Angelo becomes a figure of the inflexibility of the common law’
Brown
There are parallels between Duke and King James I: play is ‘a glorification of…divine right and…an example of the human failings that plague even well-intentioned rulers’
Wry
Measure for Measure is a comment on ‘dangers of using religious rhetoric for political or secular purposes’
Hayne
Despite the happy ending, a variance in the tone of the action exists: ‘Shakespeare was urging his audience to recognize the balance of social and political norm against human emotion’
Cohen (themes)
MfM ‘begins as a romantic comedy and ends as a monarch play’ - this incompatibility results in ‘notorious contradictions, incongruities, and frustrated expectations’
there are parallels between the ‘laws of equity’ of Elizabeth and the Jacobean ‘absolute kingly authority’
Cohen (context)
‘mercy and intercession…associated with female rulers’
‘Elizabeth often relied on the displacement of authority and responsibility, James insisted…on a high level of personal authority’
Duke = Elizabeth and Angelo = James I, his failure is a reflection on the King
Lewis
The duke is how Shakespeare demonstated that ‘even the best…monarchs are ultimately human and have imperfections’
Reflects James I’s two treatises on monarchy
Cohen (form/structure/genre)
‘Troubling aspects…are now read as intentional violations of dramatic expectations…expressions of Shakespeare’s dissatisfaction with the constraints of generic convention’
Old Historicist readings thought that the Duke was to ‘flatter James I’, but now read as a ‘superficially positive portrayal of…competence and authority’
Gibbons
Shakespeare ‘uses appearance to put forth ideas concerning justice and mercy’
‘contrast…character and appearance of Mistress Overdone and Juliet…in the eyes of the law, both were to be deplored’
Shakespeare uses ‘contradictions…prompt to consider initial impressions’
