Angelo in Measure for Measure - Essay Example

Angelo in Measure for Measure William Shakespeare’s comedic play “Measure for Measure” tells the story of a man who, being placed in a position of power, neglects to pay attention to his own actions as he deals out punishment to others. Although Claudio and Juliette are engaged to be married, in a structure that is so binding that it is nearly marriage itself without the preacher’s blessing, the fact that Juliet is pregnant proves the couple did not wait as they were supposed to until after the wedding day. Angelo, Vienna’s new governor while the Duke is away, condemns Claudio to death for breaking the law against fornication and no amount of begging from anyone will change Angelo’s mind. However, begging from Claudio’s sister Isabella stirs the same kind of lustful feelings in Angelo that were stirred in Claudio and Juliet and Angelo promises Isabella that if she will give her virginity to him, he will let her brother free, a promise he does not keep for fear of what the brother may do to him once he learns of how he came to be free. Thanks to the intervention of the Duke, the story receives a happy ending, but the course of the story reveals a detailed look at the character of Angelo. When we first meet Angelo, he is pillar of moral strength and steadfast dedication to the Duke. However, upon his introduction to Isabella, he becomes a normal man and his insistence upon her cooperation and subsequent betrayal of her trust reveals him to be no better, and many times worse, than the man he has condemned to death. Being entrusted with the care of the city while the Duke is absent reveals the high degree of respect Angelo has from the honorable Duke, but his actions later in the play reveal him to be no better than the common Lucio, who is shown to be a backstabbing and slanderous womanizer. At the beginning of the play, Angelo is revealed to be a man of unquestionable honor, unswerving dedication and uncommon moral fortitude. This is done both in the speech of others as well as his own presentation. Escalus, in discussing the Duke’s decision to place Angelo in power, comments that “if any in Vienna be of worth / to undergo such ample grace and honor, / It is Lord Angelo” (I, i, 22-24). The Duke seems to be in agreement in that, although he holds Escalus’ judgment to be equal or better than his own, it remains Angelo whom he places in charge of the city. Yet the Duke seems to have some of his own suspicions as he instructs Angelo: “Nature never lends / The smallest scruple of her excellence / But like a thrifty goddess she determines / Herself the glory of a creditor” (I, i, 36-39). Through this, he warns Angelo that Nature can sometimes reveal things kept hidden, but then reminds himself and Angelo that he has no concerns regarding Angelo’s subsequent behavior: “But I do bend my speech to one that can my part in him advertise” (I, i, 40-41). Angelo, for his part, displays his humility when invested with this power by the Duke by begging “Let there be some more test made of my mettle / Before so noble and so great a figure / Be stamped upon it” (I, i, 48-50), never dreaming the test that was to come before him. Through this scene, the reader (or viewer) is able to understand that all three of the characters involved consider Angelo to be of uncommon moral fiber, that he will uphold justice and the law with honor and dignity in the Duke’s absence and that the city is left in perhaps more capable hands than it was when it still belonged to the Duke. As we read later, Angelo’s character is indeed part of the reason why the Duke left on vacation as there were several laws that had been written but not enforced during the Duke’s governance that the Duke knew Angelo would enforce. Angelo seems to be working along the lines the Duke had set out for him, but neglects to remember the one thing the Duke has over him, mercy and consideration of extenuating circumstances, something that his acquaintance with Isabella will teach him. Although Claudio and Juliet were engaged to be married, the engagement had not yet been announced as they were hoping for a dowry from her family, a fact that Angelo refused to consider although begged by more than one person to do so. Once he meets Isabella, Claudio’s sister, his honor seems to go out the window as he plots to meet with her again and then hatches his plan to coerce her carnal cooperation in an effort to save her brother. Isabella points out this very human failing before Angelo succumbs to it: “If he had been as you, and you as he, / You would have slipped like him; but he, like you, / Would not have been so stern” (II, ii, 64-66). In other words, if Angelo had been in a similar position to Claudio with Juliet, Isabella is saying that Angelo would have slipped as well, but Claudio, as judge, would have been more lenient, understanding the nature of the relationship involved and the manner in which the baser instincts can seem to take control, a fact that Angelo denies but that he is falling prey to even as she continues speaking. As Isabella continues to beg for Claudio’s life, Angelo can be seen to be slipping in his manly resolve as he begins to call her “fair maid” and works to convince her instead of his mercy for those others he would save by making an example of Claudio. As he begins to lose control over his own senses, he says in an aside: “She speaks and ‘tis / Such sense that my sense breeds with it” (II, ii, 141-142), indicating that he is becoming aroused by her sincere pleading and instructs her to come to him again the next day. Upon her next visit, Angelo quickly brings up the heart of his reasons for requesting her to attend on him again: “Which had you rather, that the most just law / Now took your brother’s life, or to redeem him / Give up your body to such sweet uncleanness / As she that he hath stained?” (II, iv, 52-55). Throughout this second meeting, he continues to throw hints such as this at her, which Isabella, in her innocence, does not recognize for what they are until he finally brings out his request bluntly. Despite wringing the promise out of her to meet with him, and the belief that the meeting was indeed carried out as it had been planned, Angelo still orders the death of Claudio the following morning, revealing a cowardly and base side to his character that had not been previously suspected. At the end of the tale, Angelo is more easily compared to the shrinking Lucio than he is to the honorable Duke as he works through deceit and finally grudging honesty when confronted by the two women he has wronged. When he is confronted, in front of the returned Duke, by Isabella with his wrongdoings, Angelo first falls back on deceit to protect his honor: “My lord, her wits, I fear me, are not firm. / She hath been a suitor to me for her brother / Cut off by course of justice” (V, i, 33-35). Although the Duke listens to Isabella’s story, he gives off the appearance of disbelief in favor of Angelo’s high stature as Mariana, Angelo’s long-neglected betrothed, comes forward to plead her own case. While he pretends ignorance through Mariana’s speech, when finally confronted with her face, he admits he does know her, but again falls back upon lies to try to protect his station: “My lord, I must confess I know this woman, / And five years since there was some speech of marriage / Betwixt myself and her, which was broke off” (V, i, 214-216), continuing on to indicate that not only is she a poor woman, but one who is of loose reputation from whom he has distanced himself completely since. It is not until the Duke is revealed to be the selfsame monk who has been advising the women that Angelo finally breaks down to tell the truth: “I should be guiltier than my guiltiness / To think I can be undiscernible / When I perceive your grace, like power divine, / Hath looked upon my passes” (V, i, 363-66). To give him credit, though, Angelo does not expect any form of mercy, but instead requests that he be provided that same measure of justice he provided to Claudio: “Let my trial be my own confession. / Immediate sentence, then, and sequent death” (V, i, 368-69). The two women begging for his life, along with the revelation that Claudio has not been killed, enable the Duke to spare Angelo’s life as well. Although Angelo is portrayed as being one of the most upstanding citizens in the play as he is seen through his own eyes and the eyes of others, his actions as the play progresses prove him to be just as fallible as the next man, perhaps even more so. As he acts out in more debased form the same crime he has just condemned another man to die for, Angelo seems to fail to find the connection, instead trying to hide his acts behind his reputation when confronted with the women he has wronged. It isn’t until he is confronted with the knowledge that the Duke was witness to all of the occurrences of which the women speak that he finally admits to himself and the Duke that he did indeed commit these crimes. Although he does not expect any treatment different from what he has meted out, by the end of the play he has a very different perspective on the need for mercy and constraint in dealing out justice as it pertains to the law. Works Cited Shakespeare, William. “Measure for Measure.” William Shakespeare: The Complete Works. Alfred Harbage (Ed.). New York: Penguin Group, 1969, pp. 403-431. Read More

Angelo, for his part, displays his humility when invested with this power by the Duke by begging “Let there be some more test made of my mettle / Before so noble and so great a figure / Be stamped upon it” (I, i, 48-50), never dreaming the test that was to come before him. Through this scene, the reader (or viewer) is able to understand that all three of the characters involved consider Angelo to be of uncommon moral fiber, that he will uphold justice and the law with honor and dignity in the Duke’s absence and that the city is left in perhaps more capable hands than it was when it still belonged to the Duke.

As we read later, Angelo’s character is indeed part of the reason why the Duke left on vacation as there were several laws that had been written but not enforced during the Duke’s governance that the Duke knew Angelo would enforce. Angelo seems to be working along the lines the Duke had set out for him, but neglects to remember the one thing the Duke has over him, mercy and consideration of extenuating circumstances, something that his acquaintance with Isabella will teach him. Although Claudio and Juliet were engaged to be married, the engagement had not yet been announced as they were hoping for a dowry from her family, a fact that Angelo refused to consider although begged by more than one person to do so.

Once he meets Isabella, Claudio’s sister, his honor seems to go out the window as he plots to meet with her again and then hatches his plan to coerce her carnal cooperation in an effort to save her brother. Isabella points out this very human failing before Angelo succumbs to it: “If he had been as you, and you as he, / You would have slipped like him; but he, like you, / Would not have been so stern” (II, ii, 64-66). In other words, if Angelo had been in a similar position to Claudio with Juliet, Isabella is saying that Angelo would have slipped as well, but Claudio, as judge, would have been more lenient, understanding the nature of the relationship involved and the manner in which the baser instincts can seem to take control, a fact that Angelo denies but that he is falling prey to even as she continues speaking.

As Isabella continues to beg for Claudio’s life, Angelo can be seen to be slipping in his manly resolve as he begins to call her “fair maid” and works to convince her instead of his mercy for those others he would save by making an example of Claudio. As he begins to lose control over his own senses, he says in an aside: “She speaks and ‘tis / Such sense that my sense breeds with it” (II, ii, 141-142), indicating that he is becoming aroused by her sincere pleading and instructs her to come to him again the next day.

Upon her next visit, Angelo quickly brings up the heart of his reasons for requesting her to attend on him again: “Which had you rather, that the most just law / Now took your brother’s life, or to redeem him / Give up your body to such sweet uncleanness / As she that he hath stained?” (II, iv, 52-55). Throughout this second meeting, he continues to throw hints such as this at her, which Isabella, in her innocence, does not recognize for what they are until he finally brings out his request bluntly.

Despite wringing the promise out of her to meet with him, and the belief that the meeting was indeed carried out as it had been planned, Angelo still orders the death of Claudio the following morning, revealing a cowardly and base side to his character that had not been previously suspected. At the end of the tale, Angelo is more easily compared to the shrinking Lucio than he is to the honorable Duke as he works through deceit and finally grudging honesty when confronted by the two women he has wronged.

When he is confronted, in front of the returned Duke, by Isabella with his wrongdoings, Angelo first falls back on deceit to protect his honor: “My lord, her wits, I fear me, are not firm. / She hath been a suitor to me for her brother / Cut off by course of justice” (V, i, 33-35).

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