The Last Act of Measure for Measure by William Shakespeare

The Last Act of Measure for Measure by William Shakespeare

Works Cited Not Included

Measure for Measure is one of Shakespeare's unclassifiable plays. It

was written in 1603 and is one of his most enigmatic and unfathomable

works. It is normally referred to as a problem play and, up until the

20th century it was seen as one of Shakespeare's worst works, due to

the fact that many were uncertain as to the character's motives.

However within the last century, it has undergone a revival and many

believe it to be one of his greatest works. The play contains a

wonderful mix of serious and intense drama interspersed perfectly with

moments of flippancy. To give an example, in one of the most serious

scenes in which Isabella is pleading for her brother's life, Lucio is

standing in the background, throwing her encouraging remarks.

II.2 line 130 "thou'rt i'th'right girl, more o'that"

It is this mix that so marks the play out from pure comedies such as

Midsummer Night's Dream in which there is hardly a sombre word, and

Hamlet, in which humour scarcely plays.

The climax of the play is in the last act in which the balance of

levity and gravity is carefully maintained. The last act solves many

of the dilemmas brought up in the course of the play, however it does

also create some quandaries to which the solutions are left to our

imaginations. There is much exuberant drama in the last act of Measure

for Measure. Notably, there are three moments of revelation in which

all the characters are amazed. These are; when Marianna is unveiled,

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... their climax and are resolved. Although it does leave a couple of

major, and one minor problem unresolved, they do not detract from its

sufficiency. Far from detracting from its adequacy, I feel that these

unresolved difficulties increase its merits as an ending to the play.

They leave something for the audience to think about and ensures that

the ending is not too simplistic. Shakespeare does not treat us like

children and spell out every last detail. To my mind, leaving some

aspects of the conclusion to the audience's own judgement makes this

play more sophisticated and far less shallow than some of his

comedies. This play ends on a positive note with two couples more or

less successfully matched and order restored to Vienna, whilst it

leaves the theatre goer to mull over the final fate of Isabella and

Vincentio.