Analysis

  • Analyse Isabella

    Lucy Phelps, who played Isabella in the RSC's 2019 production of Measure for Measure, has said that she does not think that Isabella has any ‘tactics planned’ when she visits Claudio and that she ‘thinks on her feet’. At the start of the play, Claudio says she has the powers to ‘move men’, not only with her looks but ‘she hath prosperous art / When she will play with reason and discourse’ (1:3). This suggests Isabella is intelligent and good at persuading people. Isabella shows these skills in Act 2 Scene 2 when she debates some serious issues with Angelo, although she needs encouragement from Lucio. She doesn’t openly flirt with Angelo but he certainly reads more into some of the things she says. Yet for someone with such persuasive skills, she is manipulated by the duke whose offer of marriage literally silences her at the end of the play.

    It is important for any actor playing Isabella, and anyone writing about the character, to ask:

    How aware of her power is Isabella?

    We’ve started to think below about what we know about Isabella and the kind of woman she is. See if you can complete the grid to make four points that could answer this question. It doesn’t matter if you agree or not, as long as you can back it up! Looking at the following scenes might also help to collect evidence:

    • Act 2 Scene 2: Look at how Isabella speaks to Angelo in this scene. Pay particular attention to the imagery she uses. Are there any clues that she might be trying to manipulate Angelo? If so, what are the different things she does to achieve this?
    • Act 2 Scene 4: See how long it takes Isabella to realise what Angelo means. Do you believe her? How different is this scene if Isabella realises his intentions early on and plays innocent? Examine the previous scene between them in Act 2 Scene 2. Does Isabella do or say anything to tempt Angelo in either scene?
    • Act 3 Scene 1: Look at how long she takes to tell Claudio about Angelo’s offer. Has she thought about how he might react before she enters? What does she say that suggests this? Look out for any signs that she is trying to influence or affect Claudio to get what she wants.

    Point

    Isabella is aware of her limitations as a woman in society.

    Evidence

    ‘To whom should I complain? Did I tell this, / Who would believe me?’ (Isabella, 2:4)

    Explanation

    This is the first thing Isabella says when left alone after Angelo’s indecent offer. She immediately knows that he is right and that her word, as a woman, is worth nothing next to the word of a man who is also a respected public figure. This is a famous moment in the play as it is just as shocking now as it was in Shakespeare’s time, and just as relevant. Perhaps this is why Isabella has chosen life in a convent where at least she will be in control of what happens to her. It also might explain her silence at the end of the play when the duke ignores her wishes to be a nun and proposes marriage.

    Point

    Isabella is clever and chooses her words carefully.

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    Point

    Isabella is confident in her abilities to persuade people.

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    As you explore Isabella’s language, you’ll find even more evidence to back up your case and find more arguments for how consciously Isabella uses her power. Take a look at Isabella at the Moated Grange and Angelo makes Isabella an offer to think more about her language.

  • Analyse the duke

    In this video, director Roxanna Silbert says ‘the worst sin that anyone commits in this play is to not know themselves’. Escalus describes the duke as a man ‘...that, above all other strifes, contended especially to know himself’ (3:1). Of course, Escalus doesn’t realise that he is saying this to the duke himself who is in disguise. The duke takes on his disguise in order to discover Angelo’s true nature but ends up learning a lot more about himself and the people he rules over. He also uses his disguise to hide away from taking firmer action over his corrupt city, leaving this task to Angelo. The duke has good intentions when dressed as Friar Lodowick but his methods are sometimes questionable.

    One of the key questions for this character is:

    Why does the duke disguise himself?

    We’ve started to think below about some of the reasons behind the duke’s disguise and the things he chooses to do whilst in it. See if you can complete the grid to make four points that could answer this question. It doesn’t matter if you agree or not, as long as you can back it up! Looking at the following scenes might also help to collect evidence:

    • Act 1 Scene 1: Look at how the duke says very little about where he is going and why. Why is this, do you think? What effect must this have on Escalus and Angelo? What might his people think when they hear of it?
    • Act 1 Scene 4: We learn much more about the duke’s motives in this scene with Friar Thomas. Why do you think he has chosen this way of doing things? How does this change our opinion of him as a leader?
    • Act 5 Scene 1: Look at how the duke chooses to reveal everything in this scene. Why has he set up the scene in this way? He lets Isabella wait a long time to find out Claudio is still alive. What effect might this have on her and the other characters? What might this say about Isabella’s silence at the end of the play? Act 5 is one long scene. Why do you think Shakespeare chose to end his play in this way?

    Point

    The duke needs to test Angelo.

    Evidence

    ‘Lord Angelo is precise, / Stands at a guard with envy, scarce confesses / That his blood flows, or that his appetite / Is more to bread than stone. Hence shall we see, / If power change purpose, what our seemers be.’ (Duke, 1:4)

    Explanation

    There must be a reason the duke is making such an effort to spy on Angelo. His description of Angelo here is one of a man that is too good to be true and shows no human weaknesses. Maybe the duke just isn’t convinced or maybe he needs to prove there is no such thing as a ‘perfect man’ so he doesn’t feel so guilty about being a less than perfect ruler himself.

    Point

    The duke’s disguise allows him to learn more about being a good ruler.

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    Point

    The duke finds out more about himself.

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    As you explore the duke’s language, you’ll find even more evidence to back up your case and find more arguments for why he does what he does. We have pulled together some advice to help you explore this character further in our Language Analysis section.

  • Analyse Angelo

    In an interview, actor Sandy Grierson, who played Angelo in the 2019 production, describes Act 2 Scene 2 as a ‘journey of awakening’ for Angelo and that if he had got away with his behaviour, he would have gone on to do more. From the start of the play, Angelo uses his power without mercy and clearly believes his methods are right. After meeting Isabella, he seems shaken and shares his inner struggle in his soliloquies. He realises that his ‘deed unshapes’ him (Act 4 Scene 4) but still, he threatens to ‘prove a tyrant’ and torture Claudio if Isabella does not sleep with him (Act 2 Scene 4). Under the protection of his ‘unsoiled name’ and ‘place i’th’state’, Angelo continues to follow a morally corrupt path. He breaks his word to Isabella, tries to have Claudio killed and denies everything as long as he can. It’s only when he realises the duke knows the truth that he is sorry and begs for death.

    One of the key questions for an actor playing this character is:

    How much does Angelo enjoy his power?

    We’ve started to think below about the clues Shakespeare gives us to understand Angelo’s character. See if you can complete the grid to make four points that could answer this question. It doesn’t matter if you agree or not, as long as you can back it up! Looking at the following scenes might also help to collect evidence:

    • Act 1 Scene 1: Examine what Angelo says during this scene. What might be going on in his head that he doesn’t say? What impression do we get of him before and after his first entrance?
    • Act 2 Scene 2: Compare how Angelo speaks to the Provost, to how he addresses Isabella. What effect does he want to have on both characters? Is there any evidence that Isabella surprises him with what she says and how she says it?
    • Act 2 Scene 4: Take a look at Angelo’s soliloquy at the start of this scene. What do you think Angelo has been doing between these two meetings with Isabella? What clues does he give us to how he is about to behave when she arrives?

    Point

    Angelo knows he’s doing wrong but can’t help it.

    Evidence

    ‘He should have lived, / Save that his riotous youth with dangerous sense / Might in the times to come have tane revenge / By so receiving a dishonoured life / With ransom of such shame. Would yet he had lived. / Alack, when once our grace we have forgot, / Nothing goes right: we would, and we would not.’ (Angelo, 4:4)

    Explanation

    Angelo regrets killing Claudio and only did it because he was afraid Claudio would revenge his sister’s honour. He knows that his first sin has made him commit more in order to cover up and protect himself. Despite wanting to do good, he has trapped himself into doing evil things he doesn’t want to do.

    Point

    Angelo has a cruel streak.

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    Point

    Angelo believes he is a good ruler and that he is making Vienna a better city.

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    As you explore Angelo’s language, you’ll find even more evidence to back up your case and find more arguments for how Angelo uses and abuses his power. We have pulled together some advice to help you explore this character further in our Language Analysis section.

  • Analyse Claudio

    Gregory Doran, director of Measure for Measure in 2019, suggests that Isabella is aware of Claudio’s ‘rather libertine behaviour’, a man who enjoys sensual pleasures with no thought to moral standards. Claudio is introduced as a victim of Angelo’s harsh new laws, a young man who is being executed for getting his fiancée pregnant. At the start of the play, Claudio seems sorry for what he’s done and tells his laddish friend, Lucio, that he has every intention of marrying her. Escalus argues that he had ‘a most noble father’ (Act 2 Scene 1) and Mistress Overdone says he is ‘worth five thousand’ of most men in Vienna (Act 1 Scene 2) and, after being counselled in prison by the disguised duke, Claudio seems prepared to accept death with honour and bravery. This all changes when Isabella tells him she has chosen to let him die rather than sleep with Angelo. Claudio quickly reveals a terror of death and asks her to sacrifice her virginity and life choices to save him.

    One of the most important questions for this character is:

    How honourable is Claudio?

    We’ve started to think below about what kind of man Claudio is. See if you can complete the grid to make four points that could answer this question. It doesn’t matter if you agree or not, as long as you can back it up! Looking at the following scenes might also help to collect evidence:

    • Act 1 Scene 3: Take a look at the conversation between Claudio and Lucio. How different is Claudio compared to the people we met in the scene before? How does Shakespeare want us to feel about Claudio’s punishment?
    • Act 2 Scene 2: Look at how the Provost, Lucio and Isabella defend Claudio in this scene. What are they risking by doing and saying these things? What does this tell us about their opinion of Claudio?
    • Act 3 Scene 1: Examine Claudio’s journey in this scene, particularly the speech the duke gives him about death. Are Claudio’s reactions after this understandable? Where do our sympathies lie between Claudio and Isabella?

    Point

    Claudio puts his own life above his honour and his sister’s choices.

    Evidence

    ‘Sweet sister, let me live. / What sin you do to save a brother’s life, / Nature dispenses with the deed so far / That it becomes a virtue.’ (Claudio, 3:1)

    Explanation

    Claudio knows that for any woman to give up her virginity outside of marriage would destroy her honour; she would be 'damaged goods'. It is clear that Isabella is repulsed by Angelo and the idea of sleeping with him horrifies her. Based on these things alone, Claudio would be asking Isabella to ruin her life to save his. However, Isabella has chosen a strict religious future in a convent. Her wishes are to remain a virgin and devote her life to a relationship with God alone. Claudio knows that Isabella believes her soul would be damned eternally if she sleeps with Angelo. In Shakespeare’s time particularly, how you died was very serious. Dying with honour was important and, for religious people, dying with a pure soul was even more so. Claudio wants to live but at the expense of both their honour, his sister’s life choices and her soul.

    Point

    Claudio has a good reputation.

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    Point

    Claudio loves Juliet and always intended to make an honest woman of her.

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    As you explore Claudio’s language, you’ll find even more evidence to back up your case and find more arguments for why he does what he does. Think more about his language by looking at Claudio wants to live.

Teacher Notes

For each of the characters on this page we’ve asked some central questions. These are great questions to explore with students in mind maps, or as class debates.

The following activity will also help you explore the characters even further with students.

Character Facts (2011)

These fact sheets, which help students to track several characters through the play, including Angelo and Isabella, can be found on pages 15-24.