Measure for Measure

Why is it that I love the universe of this "dark" comedy so much, and why does it strike me as not really being so "dark" after all? Could it be because it is presided over by a "god"--the young Duke--who is priggish, diffident and comically vain (when his reputation is attacked by Lucio), and yet is unfailingly just and honorably susceptible to the attractions of female goodness and beauty? Is it because the "villain"--Angelo--is so pathetic and small that one never seriously expects he will win? Or is it because this world is--in spite of all its lust and hypocrisy--an absurd, surprisingly malleable universe in which even a base rogue like Barnadine can simply refuse to be executed, and then be allowed to survive?

All of these contribute to my great love for the play, but above all, I admire the character of Isabella, who is virtuous and brave and filled with mercy even for the vile hypocrite who wronged her. She leaves me with the feeling that--grubby and fallen though it may be--this is a world worth living for.

I struggled with this, big time. But, when I read it for a second time I began to see how it all fit together. Then I went for a third attempt, and saw something else entirely. There are always different layers of meaning in Shakespeare’s work, and it’s always quite hard to make a solid interpretation. Someone out there will argue against what you are saying, and rightly so because who is to say where the true meaning of a piece of literature is? Not me, that’s for sure, all I can do is try to form my own lasting impression of a work.

And the impression this formed on me was quite solid, to my mind. The evidence resides in the title of the play and its origins. Measure for Measure implies that what you give, you take back. If you exact a judgement or a sense of justice then you, too, are susceptible to that same force. Indeed, this quote from the bible evidently inspired this remarkable play:

"Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with that judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure you meet, it shall be measured unto you again." (Matthew Chapter 7: Verse2)



Angelo is given the Duke of Vienna’s political powers whilst he supposedly goes on holiday to Poland. He immediately attempts to restore order to the city. But, he becomes a hypocrite: he is too worthy of judgement.

n  n    Book Reviewn  n
3 out of 5 stars to Measure for Measure, written in 1603 by William Shakespeare. When I think of reasons why people find Shakespeare difficult to read or understand, this is the play that most comes to mind. It's a good play. But you won't get much from it on a single read. And if you're not a fan of classic literature, or easily able to understand language differences from 400 years ago, it will be even harder to digest this one. Part of me believes this isn't all that different from some of the popular ones, but because it's often less read, copied or produced on TV or Film, it's much less understood. The plot is clever: a man gives up his position of power to the next in command and watches from afar to see what happens. He's got personal reasons for abandoning his role, but he also doesn't quite leave it. You're left with a quandary both in plot and in persona, which makes it harder to easily grasp on the first round. I basically understood it but didn't find it all that appealing. On a second read, it was better. I may go for a third this summer. Who's in??? LOL

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A piece that, therefore, addresses the issues of justice, power, and relationships of domination. What is justice, and should it be applied strictly or not? Who has the right to render justice, the human being, what he is, that is, fallible? Who has the right to govern others? And why does the Duke put Angelo to the test not to go into generalities? But, at the same time, for all the city's inhabitants, why does he want to do justice to Mariana? Claudio is considered condemnable for having slept with his fiancée but not Mariana. She did the same thing (at the Duke's instigation, which is even better) when he broke his engagement. Why does Lucio, who certainly has something to blame himself for, alone bear the costs of the Duke's justice? And what is this way of spying on everyone, pretending not to exercise power anymore? Why does the Duke ask (if you can call it asking because it sounds more like an order) in marriage to one of the young women at the end? We could go on like this for hours.
The ambiguities of the play are also those of the characters. You have understood that the Duke was very suspicious. However, Angelo is a two-faced character who oddly finds his mirror in Isabella. Both fight against human nature and violently suppress their libido; Angelo will not stand the test. As for Isabella, who launches with aplomb to nail you on the spot, "Die my brother!" because she doesn't want to give in to Angelo to preserve her honor. She doesn't care much about Mariana's honor. Well, it should be Mariana who dishonors herself rather than herself! And to find dubious reasons, with the Duke's help(ah, that one!), Mariana is innocent of any sin and wrongdoing by law. And so on, because everyone is more or less suspicious in this room.
It's a shame that the construction of the whole thing is a bit shaky, as has been noted a lot, and in particular, the comic scenes are so heavy. It reminds me of American films, such as Your Majesty or Woody Allen's War and Love, combining downright intellectual winks and a heavy heaviness in a particular form of humor. In Measure for Measure, the comedy focuses on puns, most often hyper-salacious, intervening between more brutal scenes and during these same scenes. Well, let's say it's not my cup of tea.
Measure for Measure is a very ironic title since the Duke's shenanigans lead us to double standards of justice. This work is a play that does not look so much like social or political criticism. However, Shakespeare keeps a reasonable distance from his characters and never reveals a point of view or a moral that would belong to the author. Instead, he chose to show us, in a curious place, into an abyss, characters and a city in the grip of a political and judicial system that also preys on a morality (personal or collective) of extreme shyness and ambiguity. This work is probably not Shakespeare's most enjoyable play to read. How it was written is not necessarily as exciting as the questions it raises. However, it is undoubtedly an eminently problematic piece beyond its name of "problem comedy" in its strictest sense.

Measure for Measure, William Shakespeare

Measure for Measure is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in 1603 or 1604.

The play's main themes include justice, "morality and mercy in Vienna," and the dichotomy between corruption and purity: "some rise by sin, and some by virtue fall." Mercy and virtue prevail, as the play does not end tragically, with virtues such as compassion and forgiveness being exercised at the end of the production. While the play focuses on justice overall, the final scene illustrates that Shakespeare intended for moral justice to temper strict civil justice: a number of the characters receive understanding and leniency, instead of the harsh punishment to which they, according to the law, could have been sentenced.

عنوانهای چاپ شده در ایران: «چشم در مقابل چشم»؛ «حکم در برابر حکم»؛ «قیاس برای قیاس»؛ نویسنده: ویلیام شکسپیر؛ تاریخ نخستین خوانش: روز شانزدهم ماه سپتامبر سال2017میلادی

عنوان: چشم در مقابل چشم؛ نویسنده: ویلیام شکسپیر؛ موضوع: نمایشنامه های نویسندگان بریتانیا - سده17م

عنوان: حکم در برابر حکم (نمایشنامه)؛ ویلیام شکسپیر؛ مترجم: علیرضا مهدی‌پور؛ تهران: نشر چشمه، سال1385؛ در147ص؛ شابک9786002295149؛ موضوع: نمایشنامه های نویسندگان بریتانیا - سده17م

عنوان: ال‍ع‍ی‍ن‌ ب‍ال‍ع‍ی‍ن‌؛ ت‍ال‍ی‍ف‌ ول‍ی‍م‌ ش‍ک‍س‍پ‍ی‍ر؛ ت‍رج‍م‍ه‌ زاخ‍ر غ‍ب‍ری‍ال‌؛ م‍راج‍ع‍ه‌ ع‍ادل‌ س‍لام‍ه‌؛ ت‍ق‍دی‍م‌ ح‌.و ل‍ی‍ق‍ر؛ کویت، سال1350؛ در358ص؛

قیاس برای قیاس (حکم در برابر حکم) نمایشنامه‌ ای کمدی اثر «ویلیام شکسپیر» است؛ که در حدود سال‌های1603میلادی تا سال1604میلادی؛ نگاشته شده‌ است؛ مآخذ اصلی، که تغییرات فراوانی در آن داده شده، نمایشنامه «پروموس و کاساندرا» اثر «جرج وتستون»، و همچنین رمان کوتاه دیگری به نام «انحرافات اجتماعی» از همان نویسنده است؛ هر دوی این کتاب‌ها هم بر اساس داستانی از کلیات «هکاتومیتی» اثر «جرالدی سینتیو»، نویسنده ی ایتالیا است؛ تغییر اصلی در نمایشنامه «شکسپیر»، آفرینش نقش «ماریانا» است، که الگوهای موازی نمایشی ویژه‌ ای بنا می‌کند؛ و همچنین استفاده از عنصر «عروس جانشین» در نمایشنامه است، که در داستان‌های مردمی دوران «ملکه الیزابت» رسم بوده، و پیش از این توسط «شکسپیر» در نمایشنامه «هرچه عاقبتش خیر است، خوب است» نیز به کار گرفته شده‌ است

چکیده: (در زمان حکومت «دوک وینچنتو»، در شهر «وین» به دلیل اهمال در اجرای قانون، بی نظمی در همه جا رخنه می‌کند؛ پس از آنکه اوضاع بیشتر دچار هرج و مرج می‌شود، دوک حاکم مهربان و نرمدل تصمیم می‌گیرد، مدتی شهر را ترک کند، و به قصر ییلاقی خویش در «لهستان» برود، و زمام امور را در دست دو تن از مردان بزرگ خود بگذارد: یکی قائم مقام خود، «آنجلو»، که دارای نامی بی‌خدشه و به سختگیری نام آور است؛ و دیگری «اسکالوس» که قانوندانی خردمند است؛ به این امید که این دو بتوانند اصلاحات اخلاقی و اجتماعی لازم را به تثبیت برسانند؛

نخستین قانونی که قائم مقام دوک با مشورت و صحه ی «اسکالوس» خردمند، برای اصلاحات ا��لاقی و اجتماعی تعیین می‌کند، قانون مجازات اعدام برای زنا و فسق و فجور است؛ اولین قربانی نیز، که برای نمونه متهم و دستگیر می‌شود، «کلادیو» است؛ نجیب‌زاده‌ ای جوان، و از خانواده ی سرشناس شهر، که با «قراردادی واقعی» با دختری به نام «ژولیت» همبستر شده، و او را بچه‌ دار کرده بود؛ شایع می‌شود که «کلادیو» و «ژولیت» عاشق و معشوق هم بوده‌ اند، و طفلک‌ها قصد داشته‌ اند، با هم ازدواج کنند؛ فقط خانواده‌ هایشان دربارهٔ برخی از مسائل جهیزیه و غیره مذاکرات و تصمیم‌ گیری می‌کردند؛ در این گیرودار شخص دوک نیز که به نحوه ی کار دولت و وضع زندگی مردم علاقمند است به جای مسافرت به «لهستان»، در واقع پنهانی و با لباس مبدل در شهر مانده‌ است، تا بر قانون‌گذاری و مدیریت قائم مقام خود نظارت کند…؛

این نمایش در پنج پرده تدوین شده و دارای هجده شخصیت، و تعدادی سیاهی لشکر است؛ شخصیت‌های اصلی عبارت اند از: «وینچنتو: دوک مهربان و مثلاً فیلسوف منش وین، نجیب‌زاده‌ای برای تمام فصول»؛ «آنجلو: لرد نیابت مقام حکومت در غیاب دوک وینچنتو، مقدس نمای خشک؛ نقطه مقابل و جلوه دهنده وینچنتو»؛ «کلادیو: نجیب‌زاده‌ای جوان اهل وین»؛ «ایزابلا: خواهر زیبای کلادیو و در آرزوی ورود به دیر راهبان»؛ «ماریانا: تکه زمینی آسیب دیده؛ نامزد رهاشده و رقت‌انگیز آنجلو (وقتی جهیزیه‌اش رفت، شوهرش رفت)»؛ «ژولیت: نامزد کلادیو، افتادن در مسیر پر از خطاهای جوانی کارنامه حیثیت زندگی او را خدشه‌دار کرده بود»؛ «اسکالوس: مشاوری عاقل و سالخورده»؛ «واریوس»؛ «رئیس زندان شهر وین»؛ «البو»؛ «سینیوریتا اوردان»؛ «دلقکی به نام پومپی»؛ «لوسیو»؛ «فراث»؛ «توماس»؛ «پیتر»؛ «فرانچسکا»؛ «ابهورسون»؛ «لردها، افسران، قاضی، نگهبانان و خدمتکاران»)؛

تاریخ بهنگام رسانی 27/03/1399هجری خورشیدی؛ 30/01/1401هجری خورشیدی؛ ا. شربیانی

What's mine is yours -
And what is yours, MINE!
Measure for Measure
Act V, Scene 1.
(The Duke to his ladylove, Isabelle near the close)

You shall all be dealt equal Measure for Measure. What you give, that you shall receive.
Matthew 7.

When I saw this play in Stratford, Ontario with a friend of our family, Caroline - in 1975 - I was dealt a Queen of Spades, together with a King of Hearts (and I'm sure you know their respective connotations).

I was dealt the Queen that summer. I was expected to play the King shortly after, as a planned equal and rewarding measure for me, as healing compensation for my bipolar run of murderous pratfalls.

The player who dealt me those cards was attempting his variety of Fifth Business (see my review of that book) which ended for me, by the grace of God, in a purgatorial cataclysm.

I am reading, btw, in a biography of John Updike written after his death (the best one to my mind), that this epochal writer - the mirror of his times - suffered the same ceaseless pratfalls and guilty fame (again, my own Measure for Measure with my bad luck, though lucky love in the nick of time) that I have.

That's where two similarly parallel lines diverge.

I have stuck to my true serendipitous ladylove and wife for 47 years! But we all know Updike's amorous reputation

"حكم مكنيد تا بر شما حكم نشود.زيرا بدان طريقى كه حكم كنيد بر شما نيز حكم خواهد شد وبدان پيمانه اى كه پيماييد براى شما خواهند پيمود وچون است كه خس را در چشم برادر خود مى بينى وچوبى را كه در چشم خود دارى نمى بينى؟"

قسمتى از انجيل متى كه شكسپير عنوان اين نمايشنامه را از آن گرفت و در آن به تفاوت كردار و گفتار انسان در مقام قاضى يا هر انسانى كه بر مسند قصاوت تكيه دارد اشاره دارد.
زمانى كه انسان پندارىْ با شهوت و نفس شيطانى دارد و گفتار واعمالى رياگونه و
و كردارى حيوانى ودور از شرافت

Shakespeare was pushing the boundaries with Measure for Measure.
A royal proclamation under Elizabeth 1st in 1559 strictly prohibited stage plays from dealing with matters of religion or current public issues of governance.
In the early years of the 1600's London was in a dilemma. The translation of the King James Version Bible had just begun yet lawlessness run rampant in London. Within sight of Shakespeare's own Globe Theater were houses of prostitution.
Mr.Shakespeare had an idea for a play but that ol proclamation was a problem. So to keep himself out of trouble he simply changed the setting of this play from London to Vienna.
There were no English proclamations about stage plays concerning Vienna Vice.

Within this story the majority of Vienna's residents have little or no respect for the law. Especially those laws concerning fornication. One reason for this is the Duke of Vienna's unwillingness to enforce these laws. He doesn't want citizens to think of him as an overbearing ruler. But the Duke does realize his citizens of sin need reining in. So he devises a plan: He informs those in authority under him that he must leave Vienna on a diplomatic mission. Then he instructs them that in his absence they are to enforce the city laws. Instead of actually leaving the city the Duke disguises himself under the cloak of friar in order to watch the interim authorities in action. Shakespeare did a great job here writing enough character hypocrisy to shock the reader and at other times using a very humorous dialogue.
By the plays conclusion the Duke is forced to man up, revealing himself from under disguise and issuing biblical justice.

So yes,Shakespeare knew very well that patrons attending this play had to pass by brothels in order to get there. William Shakespeare was a rebel.


Matthew 7 New King James Version 1)“Judge not, that you be not judged. 2) For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you. 3) And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye?"

page 92
the Duke transfers power to Angelo
"So fare you well. To th'hopeful execution do I leave you
Of your commissions.
Your scope is as mine own
So to enforce or qualify the laws as to your soul seems good."

page 93
Lucio speaking with other Gentleman of the transfer of power and it's hypocrisy,
even Shakespeare picks on pirates
Lucio:"Thou conclud'st like the sanctimonious pirate that went to sea with the ten commandments, but scraped one out of the table."
1 Gentleman:"Thou shalt not steal?"
"There's not a soldier of us all that, in the thanksgiving before meat, do relish the petition well that prays for peace."

page 95/96
Mistress Overdone and Gentleman
Mistress Overdone: "Well, well; there's one yonder arrested and carried to prison was worth five thousand of you all."
Gentleman 1: 'Claudio to prison? Tis not so."
Mistress Overdone:'I saw him arrested, saw him carried away, and, which is more, within these three days his head to be chopped off !"
"I am sure of it: and it is for getting Madam Julietta with child."

page 125/126
narration
Angelo speaks his thoughts on his lust for Isabella
"What's this? What's this? Is this her fault, or mine? The tempter or the tempted, who sins most, ha?
Not she: nor doth she tempt: but it is I."
"Dost thou desire her foully, for those things that make her good? Most dangerous is that temptation that doth goad us on to sin..."
"Never could the strumpet with all her double vigour, art and nature, once stir my temper; but this virtuous maid subdues me quite."

page 135/136
Angelo blackmailing Isabella(novitiate training Nun), Claudio's sister
Angelo; "Plainly conceive, I love you."
Isabella: "My brother did love Juliet and you tell me that he shall die for't."
Angelo; "He shall not, if you give me love."
'Believe me on mine honour, my words express my purpose."
Isabella: "Ha! Little honour to be much believed ..."
"I will proclaim thee, Angelo, look for't. Sign me a present pardon for my brother, or with an outstretched throat I'll tell the world aloud what man thou art."
Angelo: "Who will believe thee, Isabel? My unsoiled name, th'austereness of my life, My vouch against you, and my place i'th'state ..."
"Lay by all nicety and prolixious blushes by yielding up thy body to my will, or else he must not only die the death but thy unkindness shall his death draw out ..."

page 147
"Nay, if there be no remedy for it we shall have all the world drink brown and white bastard."
This comment was really of no significance, I just wanted to know what Shakespeare meant.
I did have some idea due to I sometimes buy a Fat Bastard brand of wine for guest, because I like the name. I don't drink wine.
Shakespeare simply meant a brown or white sweet wine ... He liked the name as well.

page 196
The Duke of Vienna, no longer disguised as a friar, begins his claim for justice.
"The very mercy of the law cries out ... An Angelo for Claudio, death for death ... and measure still for measure."
"We do condemn thee to the very block where Claudio stooped to death,"