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Major themes in measure for measure
Measure for measure themes
Leaders in shakespeare
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In Measure for Measure, the Duke’s unexplained need to more strictly enforce the law and provide more intimate surveillance is the main cause of tension within the play. Without the Duke’s departure, Claudio wouldn’t have been sentenced to death, Isabella wouldn’t have had to defend her virtue, Angelo would not have been tempted or tricked into marriage, and in the end the Duke wouldn’t have any mess to clean up, regardless of how big the mess was. Shakespeare uses Juliet’s attitude and behavior towards the friar’s [Duke] questioning to prove that extra surveillance is unnecessary.
In the beginning the Duke’s action to pose as a friar and provide extra surveillance of the law in Vienna may seem necessary with streets full of unemployed soldiers and diseased prostitutes running a muck. The main reason the Duke takes to the streets is because he is afraid that people are no longer in love with the law, but fear only the consequences of breaking the law, and therefore are succumbing to their innate sexual desires and attempting to hide their sins against the state. The Duke tells Juliet “lest you do repent/ as that the sin hath brought you to this shame/which sorrow is always toward ourselves, not heaven” (2.3.31-32), worrying that she is only repenting due to the shame it has evidentially brought upon her, claiming that such an act would show “we do not spare heaven as we love it, / but as we stand in fear” (2.3.35-36). The Duke claims here that her repentance is out of fear of judgment and humanity does not strive to be virtuous because they love the holy doctrine, but because they are afraid of the eternal consequences. Here the Duke talks of “spare” (cite here) as illegality against heaven, and “fear” (cite here) as the consequen...
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...eve that Juliet would suddenly change her tone from honesty to sarcasm. In this context, “because” is more likely as she genuinely seems to understand her illegality and willingly accepts the consequences it entails. Her response to the problem the Duke is so worried about in this scene; particularly that Juliet only conducts herself according to the law out of her fear for it, or possibly doesn’t follow it at all, is actually nonexistent and therefore makes his surveillance unnecessary. In turn, if his surveillance is unnecessary, then the tension that his leave of absence from ruling caused could have ultimately been avoided if the Duke had come up with other means to survey his people.
Works Cited
Shakespeare, William, and S. Nagarajan. Measure for Measure: With New and Updated Critical Essays and a Revised Bibliography. New York: Signet Classic, 1998. Print.
This could be selfish behavior on his part, as the Friar knows he would be. committing a sin if he married Juliet to Paris, when she was already married to Romeo. & nbsp; Another example of the Friars selfish intentions, is the tomb scene.
When Juliet awakens after her two-day sleep only to find Romeo and County Paris dead, she is in a very unstable state. Instead of being responsible and staying with Juliet to comfort her and make sure that she doesn’t harm herself or others, he tells her that he will make her a nun “Come, come away”. Thy husband in thy bosom lays dead and Paris too. Come, I’ll dispose of thee among a sisterhood of holy nuns.” (5. 3.166-169.
Shakespeare's comedies A Midsummers Night's Dream and Much Ado About Nothing have many parallels while Measure for Measure is a problem play with a completely different tone. Comparing and contrasting these three plays provides insights into the views of Shakespeare concerning comedy.
In the end some people might blame the friar for the deaths of Romeo and Juliet, but the friar was some results of personal choice, because of “faith” they believed they were meant and nothing could stop them from being together in the end, choosing to do the things the friar said that would help the problem of Romeo’s exile. But it all was a matter of personal choice that lead up to these events, and this story is a very good example
First and foremost, following Juliet's refusal of the marriage with Paris, her father tells her that she is “one too much and that “ {he has} a curse in having her”(III. V. 166-167). Juliet considers her father's reaction as a form of abandonment. This strengthens her isolation from her parents. Juliet is also affected by the nurse's advice to marry Paris and thinks “it is more sin to wish {her} thus forsworn” (III. V. 237). Juliet is hurt by the unsettling advice the nurse gives her at difficult circumstances. This causes Juliet to isolate herself from the nurse and does not confide in her anymore. Besides the nurse, Friar Laurence also betrays Juliet at a critical moment by saying that “stay is not to question, for the watch is coming…{and he} dare{s} no longer stay”(V. III. 158-159) and leaves her. This abandonment influences Juliet's isolation from the friar. Since the Friar is one of her most trusted advisors, this heavily impacts Juliet. The betrayal of her trusted friends results in Juliet’s isolation from them.
The Friar was right about what he did. The marriage of Romeo and Juliet was both good and bad, but mostly good. The marriage helped to bring peace and unity between the families. It also brought happiness to the two lovers. The bad part was that the families did not see the error of their ways fast enough to stop the feud that their children had to die for it. If they would have noticed it before everyone could have been
Because of secrets being kept, hearts were broken and people died. Paris was killed because Romeo could not tell him the real reason he was in the tomb (5.3), showing that keeping a secret may not have good results. Moreover, Romeo’s hesitance to confess his plan to Paris highlights the main theme throughout the play by showcasing the extreme consequences of such actions. Likewise, the Nurse’s inclination to keep her beloved Juliet’s secret supports the idea that there are tragic outcomes of secrecy. While speaking with Juliet, she says, “I think it best you married with the county,” (3.5). The disagreement causes Juliet losing her trust in the Nurse. The indicated exemplifies how an action such as keeping a secret can have a negative consequence.
After making the plan to fake her death with Friar Laurence, Juliet tells her father, “Pardon, I beseech you! / Henceforward I am ever rul’d by you” (4.2.22-23). Here, Juliet is lying to her father by telling him she will marry Paris when she really plans to fake her death. This is important because it reveals that Juliet’s eagerness to be with Romeo causes her to lie to her parents, putting the person she just met above the parents that raised her and love her very much. Not caring about how her actions will affect them may also cause conflicts later on in the play. Romeo is also deceptive to his role model, Friar Laurence. After learning that Juliet has “died”, Romeo tells Balthasar, “Is it e’en so? Then I defy you, stars! / Thou knowest my lodging. Get me ink and paper / And hire posthorses. I will hence to-night” (5.1.24-26). Here, Romeo is being deceptive of Friar Laurence by not staying at Mantua like Friar Laurence told him to. This is important since Romeo is still banished, so going back to Verona may cause even more conflicts later in the
Summary: Duke wants to restore the strictness of fornication/adultery laws. He sets up Angelo to do it, while he feigns that he will be away. Instead he remains to check up on Angelo and the town (Vienna). Angelo goes ahead and closes down Overdone's brothel and the others, and puts Claudio in jail, condemned to die the morrow, for impregnating Juliet.
Cohen, Walter, J.E. Howard, K. Eisaman Maus. The Norton Shakespeare. Vol. 2 Stephen Greenblatt, General Editor. New York, London. 2008. ISBN 978-0-393-92991-1
Parallels between Measure for Measure and The Merchant of Venice, As You Like It, and Twelfth Night
The Friar has almost contributed to every major subplot that then leads to the death of Romeo and Juliet. As if that was not enough, he ran away from the responsibility which he created, which was the death of Romeo and Juliet. He asserts, “Come, go, good Juliet. I dare no longer stay.”(5.3.164) Here in this scene Juliet had just found Romeo’s pale body lying with a dagger pierced in his heart. But what did the Friar say….? He asserted trying to run away from the tomb that they should leave. {What more is there I ask?.... T-o-…[fidgeting] watch one’s love one die and yet hear someone callously rip you apart from them on their death
Scott, Mark W. Shakespearean Criticism: Volume 8, Excerpts from the Criticism of William Shakespeare's Plays and Poetry, from the First Published Appraisals to Current Evaluations. Detroit, MI: Gale Research, 1987. Print.
so she want her to be happy. Juliet might have given up on the Idea
Knight,G.Wilson. “The Shakespearean Superman: An essay on The Tempest.” The Crown of life: Essays in Interpretation of Shakespeare’s Final Plays. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1947. 203-255