Shakespeare Play: Measure For Measure
Evaluate the morality of the Duke’s actions:
lying to his people about his departure, disguising himself, falsely assuming an
authority he doesn’t actually possess, spying on the people of his realm, desecrating a corpse. In
doing so, use as your standard (of bad behavior) Angelo.
Define with some precision the nature of Angelo’s offenses (including his past treatment of Mariana and then his dramatized treatment of Isabel).
Then measure the Duke against that scale. Is he nearly as bad as Angelo? Can a case be made that he is as bad as Angelo? Or worse? Or are his motivations benevolent and selfless, so he is the polar opposite of Angelo, morally speaking? As a part of this analysis, evaluate the morality of his proposal to Isabel at the end of
the play. and with some discussion of how to stage the ending of the play so as to bring out
that morality.Shakespeare Play: Measure For Measure
Evaluate the morality of the Duke’sactions:
lying to his people about his departure, disguising himself, falsely assuming an
authority he doesn’t actually possess, spying on the people of his realm, desecrating a corpse. In
doing so, use as your standard (of bad behavior) Angelo.
Define with some precision the nature of Angelo’s offenses (including his past treatment of Mariana and then
his dramatized treatment of Isabel).
Then measure the Duke against that scale. Is he nearly as
bad as Angelo? Can a case be made that he is as bad as Angelo? Or worse? Or are his
motivations benevolent and selfless, so he is the polar opposite of Angelo, morally speaking? As
a part of this analysis, evaluate the morality of his proposal to Isabel at the end of
the play. and with some discussion of how to stage the ending of the play so as to bring out
that morality.
