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— CH. 1 · ORIGINS AND AUTHORSHIP DEBATES —

Measure for Measure

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  • The play Measure for Measure first appeared in print within the First Folio of 1623, though scholars believe it was written during 1603 or 1604. The earliest recorded performance took place on St. Stephen's night, the 26th of December 1604. This date marks a specific moment when audiences first witnessed the story unfold on stage. Gary Taylor and John Jowett argue in their book Shakespeare Reshaped that parts of the text are not original to William Shakespeare but were revised by Thomas Middleton after the Bard's death. They present stylistic evidence suggesting Middleton altered the setting from Italy to Vienna. David Bevington offers an alternate theory crediting professional scrivener Ralph Crane with some of the better texts found in the Folio. A garbled sentence during the Duke's opening speech represents a lost line possibly due to printer error. Because the folio is the only source, this missing line cannot be recovered today.

  • Duke Vincentio disguises himself as Friar Lodowick to secretly observe the city while his deputy Angelo rules. Angelo sentences Claudio to death for fornication because he impregnated Juliet out of wedlock. Isabella, a novice nun and Claudio's sister, pleads for her brother's life before the strict judge. Angelo offers to spare Claudio if Isabella yields her virginity to him. She refuses and threatens to expose his lechery. Vincentio arranges a bed trick where Mariana takes Isabella's place in the dark. Angelo believes he sleeps with Isabella but actually consummates his betrothal to Mariana. Afterward, Angelo sends a message ordering Claudio's execution. The head of Ragozine the pirate replaces Claudio's head since the criminal Barnardine refused to die while drunk. This subterfuge allows Vincentio to return and reveal the truth about Angelo's corruption.

  • Measure for Measure was printed as a comedy in the First Folio yet continues to be classified as one despite its tragic elements. The play features executions and soliloquies that share features with other Shakespearean comedies like wordplay and disguise. Claudio's speech "Ay, but to die, and go we know not where..." has been favorably compared to those of tragic heroes like Prince Hamlet. Because of this ambiguous tone, critics often cite it as one of Shakespeare's problem plays. Mercy and virtue prevail as the play does not end tragically. Several characters receive understanding and leniency instead of harsh punishment under civil law. Vincentio's reappearance is considered an early use of the deus ex machina in English literature. The final scene illustrates that moral justice should temper strict civil justice.

  • During the Restoration, Sir William Davenant inserted Benedick and Beatrice from Much Ado About Nothing into his adaptation called The Law Against Lovers. Samuel Pepys saw the hybrid play on the 18th of February 1662 and described it in his diary as "a good play, and well performed." Davenant rehabilitated Angelo so he only tested Isabella's chastity rather than corrupting her. Charles Gildon returned to Shakespeare's text in a 1720 production at Lincoln's Inn Fields entitled Beauty the Best Advocate. Gildon removed all low-comic characters and made both couples secretly married. He eliminated almost all illicit sexuality central to Shakespeare's original play by integrating scenes from Henry Purcell's opera Dido and Aeneas. In late Victorian times, Adelaide Neilson appeared as Isabella causing an outcry over the subject matter. The Oxford University Dramatic Society edited the play when staging it in February 1906 with Gervais Rentoul as Angelo and Maud Hoffman as Isabella.

  • Notable twentieth-century productions include Charles Laughton as Angelo at the Old Vic Theatre in 1933. Peter Brook staged the play in 1950 at the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre with John Gielgud as Angelo and Barbara Jefford as Isabella. John Houseman directed a 1957 production at the Phoenix Theatre in New York City starring Nina Foch and Richard Waring. Jerry Stiller appeared in the minor role of Barnardine during that run. The Royal Shakespeare Company staged a version in 1962 directed by John Blatchley starring Marius Goring as Angelo and Judi Dench as Isabella. Michael Rudman presented an all-black cast version at London's National Theatre in 1981 before restaging it in New York in 1993. Robert Falls directed a 2013 version set in seedy 1970s Times Square available for streaming from April to May 2021. Josie Rourke directed a gender-reversal production at the Donmar Warehouse in 2018 where Jack Lowden and Hayley Atwell alternated roles.

  • The play draws on two distinct sources including "The Story of Epitia" from Cinthio's Gli Hecatommithi first published in 1565. Cinthio also published the story with small differences as a play which Shakespeare may have been aware of. George Whetstone adapted Cinthio's story in his 1578 two-part closet drama Promos and Cassandra adding comic elements and tricks. Peter Meilaender argues Measure for Measure is largely based on biblical references focusing on sin, restraint, mercy, and rebirth. The Gospel of Matthew has been viewed as a source for the title line appearing as dialogue. A 2016 essay by literary critic Giuseppe Leone analyzes parallels between Claudio's supposed beheading and John the Baptist narrated in Matthew 14:1, 12. Leone argues Angelo's pleasure in power mirrors Herodias' daughter demanding John Baptist's head on a platter. Neither Cinthio nor Whetstone included such details showing satisfaction through obtaining remains.

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Common questions

When was Measure for Measure first performed?

The earliest recorded performance of Measure for Measure took place on St. Stephen's night, the 26th of December 1604.

Who wrote Measure for Measure and did anyone else contribute to it?

Scholars believe William Shakespeare wrote Measure for Measure during 1603 or 1604, but Gary Taylor and John Jowett argue that Thomas Middleton revised parts of the text after Shakespeare's death.

What is the plot summary of Measure for Measure regarding Angelo and Isabella?

Angelo sentences Claudio to death for fornication and offers to spare him if Isabella yields her virginity, but she refuses and a bed trick occurs where Mariana takes Isabella's place in the dark.

Why do critics classify Measure for Measure as a problem play?

Critics cite Measure for Measure as one of Shakespeare's problem plays because its ambiguous tone features executions and soliloquies that share characteristics with tragic heroes like Prince Hamlet.

How was Measure for Measure adapted during the Restoration period?

Sir William Davenant inserted characters from Much Ado About Nothing into his adaptation called The Law Against Lovers and rehabilitated Angelo so he only tested Isabella's chastity rather than corrupting her.

What sources inspired the story of Measure for Measure?

The play draws on two distinct sources including The Story of Epitia from Cinthio's Gli Hecatommithi first published in 1565 and George Whetstone's 1578 closet drama Promos and Cassandra.

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All sources

47 references cited across the entry

  1. 1webMeasure for Measure: Tone
  2. 2bookShakespeare's Comedies: A Very Short IntroductionBart Van Es — Oxford University Press — 2016
  3. 3journalMeasure for Measure: Shakespearean Morality and the Christian EthicRoger Whitlow — 1978
  4. 4newsIn a Decadent Vienna, Constancy Is Shown the DoorsBen Brantley — 2014-03-02
  5. 5journalPublic Justice and Private Mercy in Measure for MeasureStacy Magedanz — 2004
  6. 6journalMarriage and the Law: Politics and Theology in Measure for MeasurePeter C. Meilaender — 2012
  7. 7bookThe Wheel Of FireWilson Knight — Methuen — 1949
  8. 8bookLaw and the humanities: Cultural perspectivesPaul Raffield — De Gruyter — 2019
  9. 9journal'Let Me Have Claudio's Head' The Beheading of John the Baptist as a Remote Source in Measure for MeasureGiuseppe Leone — September 2016
  10. 10bookMeasure for MeasureWilliam Shakespeare — The Arden Shakespeare — 2020
  11. 11bookThe Complete WorksWilliam Shakespeare — Addison-Wesley Longman — 1997
  12. 12bookA Shakespeare Companion 1564–1964F. E. Halliday — Penguin — 1964
  13. 13news'Measure for Measure' at Oxford23 February 1906
  14. 14newsAdelphi Theatre21 March 1906
  15. 15webArchive theatre review: Measure for Measure18 December 2008
  16. 16webMeasure for Measure — Phoenix Theatre, Jan 22, 1957 – Feb 17, 1957
  17. 17webMeasure for Measure — Billy Rose Theatre: Opening Date: Dec 26, 1973. Closing Date: Jan 05, 1974
  18. 18bookShakespeare, Race and Performance: The Diverse BardMichael MacMillan — Routledge — 2016
  19. 19journalAs Who Likes it?John Simon — 2 August 1993
  20. 20newsFalls makes no half MeasuresChris Jones — 18 March 2013
  21. 21webMeasure for Measure Encore
  22. 22webPrevious Productions: information – Measure for Measure10 April 2015
  23. 23newsMeasure for Measure reviewLyn Gardner — 19 April 2015
  24. 24newsMeasure for Measure gender swap may be theatrical firstMark Brown — 24 April 2018
  25. 25inlineSnow, Georgia. "Hayley Atwell and Jack Lowden to swap roles in Donmar Warehouse Measure for Measure". The Stage. 24 April 2018.
  26. 26webMeasure for Measure review – Shakespeare’s sleazy sex scandal chimes with our timesArifa Akbar — 24 September 2025
  27. 27citationMeasure for MeasureJosephine Rogers et al. — 2006-09-01
  28. 28citationM4M: Measure for MeasureHoward Adler et al. — 2013-02-28
  29. 29webBBC Genome23 April 1950
  30. 30webBUFVC, Measure for Measure 1950
  31. 31webBBC Genome20 June 1951
  32. 32webBUFVC, Measure for Measure 1951
  33. 33webBBC Genome27 March 1955
  34. 34webBUFVC, Measure for Measure 1955
  35. 35webBBC Genome13 November 1964
  36. 36webBUFVC, Measure for Measure 1964
  37. 37webBBC Genome7 March 1976
  38. 38webBUFVC, Measure for Measure 1976
  39. 39webBBC Genome19 June 1994
  40. 40webBUFVC, Measure for Measure 1994
  41. 41webMeasure for Measure (2004): BBC, BBC Radio 3 | BBA Shakespeare
  42. 42webBBC Radio 3 – Drama on 3, Measure for Measure
  43. 43bookTennyson and traditionRobert Pattison — Harvard University Press — 1979
  44. 44bookWith Shakespeare's Eyes: Pushkin's Creative Appropriation of ShakespeareCatherine O'Neil — University of Delaware Press — 2003
  45. 45bookBertolt Brecht: A literary lifeStephen Parker — Bloomsbury — 2014
  46. 46bookEyeless in GazaAldous Huxley — Vintage Classics — 2004
  47. 47bookThe Educational Prophecies of Aldous HuxleyRonald Lee Zigler — Routledge — 2015