A play of human frailty: Shakespeare's "Measure for Measure"

Abstract

This dissertation deals with one of Shakespeare’s plays, Measure for Measure. The nature of this play is quite ambiguous, because it cannot be listed among the tragedies or the comedies, nor is it a history play. I have endeavoured to make clear what the main features of this kind of play are. Furthermore, some considerations about the so called “problem plays” provide a frame of reference for the present work. Thus, an overview of the play’s sources and an attempt to define what kind of play Measure for Measure is, should throw some light on what Shakespeare’s aim was and what he wanted his audience to perceive. A comparison between Vienna and London has also been taken into consideration. The main characters have been analyzed, highlighting their behavior and role in the play: attention has centered on Vincentio, Duke of Vienna, Angelo his Deputy, and the virtuous Isabella. In addition, the figures of the clowns, and the ways they differ from those we find in Hamlet or Twelfth Night, have been investigated. The last section of this dissertation is entitled “a failed happy ending”, because notwithstanding the apparent status of solved things through a series of marriages, the real truth is that beyond these fictional resolutions, something obscure persists, the gloomy significance of the play that Shakespeare may have wanted to convey to his audience.