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Measure for Measure | Study Guide

William Shakespeare

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Course Hero. "Measure for Measure Study Guide." Course Hero. 13 Feb. 2018. Web. 1 June 2023. <https://www.coursehero.com/lit/Measure-for-Measure/>.

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Course Hero. (2018, February 13). Measure for Measure Study Guide. In Course Hero. Retrieved June 1, 2023, from https://www.coursehero.com/lit/Measure-for-Measure/

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Course Hero. "Measure for Measure Study Guide." February 13, 2018. Accessed June 1, 2023. https://www.coursehero.com/lit/Measure-for-Measure/.

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Course Hero, "Measure for Measure Study Guide," February 13, 2018, accessed June 1, 2023, https://www.coursehero.com/lit/Measure-for-Measure/.

Measure for Measure | Infographic

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Check out this Infographic to learn more about William Shakespeare's Measure for Measure. Study visually with character maps, plot summaries, helpful context, and more.

it is excellent / To have a giant’s strength, but it is tyrannous / To use it like a giant. Isabella, Act II, Scene II Sources: British Library, Encyclopaedia Britannica, Royal Shakespeare Company Copyright © 2018 Course Hero, Inc. The Convent Symbolizes purity in a fallen world Disguises& Substitutions Represent trickery and dishonesty The Brothel Makes a mockery of Angelo’s strictness Symbols Devout, articulate young woman; won’t abandon religious beliefs to save her brother, Claudio Isabella Morally lax and cowardly; has few qualms about compromising his sister’s ethical principles Claudio Overly lenient, morally ambiguous, popular ruler; adopts monk disguise to observe others Duke Stern, unyielding, highly moral ruler; falls from grace after meeting Isabella Angelo Main Characters For more than three decades as a dramatist, Shakespeare moved from writing funny, festive comedies like The Comedy of Errors to darker, more complex works that drew on both comic and tragic motifs. Measure for Measure, written in mid-career, foreshadows this development with its somber and arresting main plot. WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE1564–1616 Author Can there ever be such a thing as too much personal freedom? Liberty Angelo’s momentary lapse of judgment sets him up for a catastrophic fall. Hypocrisy Conflicting demands of mercy and justice shape the duke’s policy in Vienna. Mercy vs. Justice When the Duke of Vienna leaves his deputy, Angelo, in charge, he expects to return to a city purged of vice and restored to order. Instead Angelo becomes corrupt and tyrannical. Punished harshly because of Angelo’s zeal, Claudio asks his sister Isabella to plead with Angelo for mercy. Morality & Mercy in Vienna THEMES English Original Language c. 1603–04 Years Written William Shakespeare Author Measure for Measure Comedy Play
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