Tiyhannah ShuntichENGL 115 Glynn-Salton CoxAssignment 2 There are many quotes from many people throughout history, in literature and life alike, which have conveyed profound thoughts. Taken in context, as they should, these quotes are often an individual’s comment on someone or something else. However, there are many instances in which a descriptive comment doubled as a description of the speaker and object alike. In observing how one’s views of something else can depict the character of the speaker, important lessons on larger issues can be revealed. One of Isabel’s comments, in Shakespeare’sMeasure for Measure, is a prime example. Isabel is often viewed as a powerless yet intelligent and strong willed character, firm in her staunch, religious views. She is, of course, subject to various challenges that test her convictions, and she is presented with bounteous opportunities to demonstrate her reasoning and persuasion skills throughout the play. This leaves many opportunities for profound lines. In act 2, scene 2, around line 106, she says,“ So you must be the first that gives this sentence, and he, that suffers. O, it is excellent to have a giant’s strength; but it is tyrannous to use it like a giant.”She is speaking to a character who could easily be seen as her opposite, but a deeper look may reveal more about her own character. Subsequently, lessons of larger issues such as power and its limiting nature may also be discovered. In this particular line she attributes power to Angelo. As she declares that he must be the first to give this sentence of death, she places herself in a seeming dearth of power. It is from this lowly place that Isabel makes the intelligent comment to appeal to the moral side of Angelo. In this position, she appears powerless. Her tone in these words recognizes the circumstances in which she finds herself. She realizes that she is a woman. As such, in that time, she was bound by a strong culture to respect and submit to men. This was especially the case with Angelo as he was a man of authority. She is also of no official or influential position. She
