Measure for Measure Themes Flashcards
‘Mortality and mercy in Vienna/ Live in thy tongue and heart’ (virtue)
- Act One Scene One
- Mortality and mercy in Vienna are at your word and in your heart.
- Duke gives permission to Angelo to be in charge of virtue (leaving him in charge of giving out mercy)
- However he is not the duke, instead just a ‘figure’
Theme of Virtue
- play showcases a range of approached to virtue, (Isabella,Claudio, Juliet,, Mistress overdone, pompey)
- Characters fates illustraute that virtue is not achieved through inflexible orthodxy, but through sincerity.
- Claudio, Mistress Overdone, escape worst consequence as upfront and sincere.
-Meaning of virtue: Behavious showing high moral standards.
‘is lechery so look’d after’ (virture)
- Act one scene 2
- Lucio to claudio
- is sex such a serious crime.
- meant to be unvirtuos, however Claudio is honest, ‘apon a true contract’ (on the condition that we would be married’. Virtuos.
- Angelo is twisting the meaning of virture to gain power.
‘to sin in loving virtue’ (virture)
- Act 2 scene 2
- Angelo about Isabella
- Temptation that pushes us to sin by loving virtue is very dangerous
- Isabella is so virtuos that is makes Angelo want her.
- Sin and virture become entangled. ‘virtuous maid’ makes him act like Claudio.
- Reason between human impulse.
- ‘Anchors on Isabela’:Thinking of Isabella whilst praying. His prayers do not fulfil their function. Attempts to be virtuos but in the end. ‘Isabel, if you give me love’ (if you make love to me).(Act 2 scene 4)
‘somehting do excuse the thing i hate, for his advantage’ (Virture)
- act 2 scene 4
- Isabella to Angelo
- hate premarital sex, had to forigve this sin.
- Although seen as the most virtuos, she herself changes the meaning to protect her brother. Suggests virture not that high as willing to change her opinions on moral standards. or with the honesty she is being more virtuos)
Theme of appearance vs reality.
- apprearances distort the truth.
- shown in concept , in dramatic irony; Dukes disguise, Isabella’s switch to Mariana. Character misjudge a sitution based on appearances.
- Dissimulation (concealment of one’s thoughts, feelings or character). Angelo, least virtuous character to seem the most honourable.
For the good - The provost disobey Angelo, sending head of a pirate to pretend to be Claudio.
- Duke deceive others
- Isabella personal dilema, appear to disregard religious vows to rescue her brother.
‘my false o’erweighs your true’ (Appearance
- Act 2 Scene 4
- Angelo to Isabella
- social context, appearance surpasses reality. Angelo solid reputation
‘Yet in this life Lie hid more thousand deaths; yet death we fear’ (appearance
- Act 3 scene 1
- Duke to claudio provide counsel for dying
- theres a thousand things to suffer from in life, yet it’s death we fear.
- describes life as a gift that ‘none but fools would keep’.
- ‘when thou art rich, thou’rt poor”
- Contradictions, apperances v reality.
‘more thousand deaths’ ; consequence of deception, slowly accumulate over one’s life, as one adopts different identities. neglect internal desires. focuses on the outside instead of inside.
‘Shame to him whose cruel striking Kills for faults of his own liking!’(Appearance
- Act 3 scene 2
- Duke about angelo (soliloque)
- ‘man within him hide, though angel on the outward side’
- man can hide so much when he looks like an angel from the outside.
- Focuses on Angelo’s crime without accepting the hypocrisy of his own deception. Duke using female sexuality for his own uses.
‘To make her heavenly comforts of despair’ (Appearance
- Act 4 scene 3
- The duke about telling Isabella about claudio being alive.
- Duke character deception. as God may keep people unaware of a lucky turn of fate. reveals/announces dukes power, choose how share his knowldege. Think hes good but maybe not.
- God - ‘hevenly’
- Acts concered for isabella, but wants to draw out the suspense of her ignorance.
‘Angelo, in all his dressing Caracas, titles, forms, Be an arch-villain’ (Appearance v Reality)
- Act 5 scene 1
- Isabella to the dUKE
- Angelo, all dressed up can be a villain.
- Duke begins to believe her, understand deception, himself, seen Angelo be deceptive. ‘oddest frame of sense’
Theme of Liberty and justice
-‘measure for measure’ ‘eye for eye’ inevitable carrying out of justice.
- liberty is a form of justice. play manipulates it, excessive freedom create injustice (Angelo)
- ‘liberty plucks justice bt the nose’ - The duke.
‘let there be some more test made of my metal’ (liberty a justice)
- Act 1 scene 1
- Angelo to the Duke
- Angelos uses analogy where his body is a kind of metal, like a coin, notions of money, circulation and capital, reminds us, foreshawdos play will have multiple layers of meaning.
‘thus can the demigod Authority make us pay for our offence by weight The words of heaven. (liberty and justice)
-Claudio
- Act 1 scene 2
- So the government can make us pay for our crimes as if it were God himself
- Justice, who can give justice?
- Links to Isabella, just coz they have power does not mean they are able to give justice, in fact more likely for injustices to happen.
‘we have strict statues and most biting laws’ (liberty and justice)
- Act 1 scene 3
- Duke to friar Thomas,
- ‘even like an overgrown lion in a cave’
- Giving Angelo liberty to carry out punishment, to be just. But instead does the opposite. Injustice.
