Read this if you…
- want a play that's considered problematic now, which can be fun
- like the topic of hypocrisy
- like the classic "Undercover Boss" shtick
Skip this if you…
- aren't willing to go slow, read notes, look up analyses of famous passages (only way to "get" shakespeare)
- foolishly think shakespeare is overrated
- don't like his comedies compared to his tragedies
Why It Matters
Shakespeare's most morally uncomfortable comedy. Justice and mercy crash into each other, nobody gets what they deserve, and the 'happy ending' leaves a bad taste. It's the key text if you care about how law, power, and sex tangle up together. Its refusal to be either a comedy or a tragedy is what makes it one of his most modern plays.
The 
Take
Decent Shakespeare on hypocrisy, classic undercover boss by Shakespeare. And also eye for an eye, measure for measure concept. Nothing amazing though
The lineage through Measure for Measure
- The Gospels by Matthew. Measure for Measure built on it. - The title is lifted whole from Matthew 7: "with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again" - That verse is also the argument — every judge in the play is finally judged by the standard he set - Knowing the Sermon on the Mount behind the title turns the play into a test case for Christ's words on judgment and mercy
Depicted in Art
Isabella visits her brother Claudio in his prison cell; he leans against the barred window as she pleads with him about Angelo's bargain.
William Holman Hunt, 1850
Isabella, gowned as a novice, kneels before the seated deputy Angelo as she pleads for Claudio's life.
William Hamilton, 1793
Escalus and a justice question the tapster Froth and the bawd Pompey, while Elbow the constable hovers — Shakespeare's comic court scene.
Robert Smirke, 1798
Isabella in novice's habit, hands clasped, looks upward in prayerful resolve.
Francis William Topham, 1888
Mariana stands at her embroidery table and stretches her back, gazing wearily through a Gothic stained-glass window into an autumn garden.
John Everett Millais, 1851
Mariana stands by a leaded window of the moated grange, gazing out across a bleak landscape.
Valentine Cameron Prinsep, 1888
Mariana stands before a mirror in a darkened room, head bowed in prayer, her reflection catching the only light.
John William Waterhouse, 1897
Recommended Editions
Folger Shakespeare Library
2004
Folger's the readable one. Text on one page, notes on the facing page, written in plain English instead of textbook-speak. Catches every word and reference you'd otherwise Google, without breaking the scene to do it.
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Deep Dive
What It's About
This summary gives away plot details.
Notable Quotes
“But man, proud man, Drest in a little brief authority, Most ignorant of what he's most assured, His glassy essence, like an angry ape, Plays such fantastic tricks before high heaven As make the angels weep.”
“O, it is excellent to have a giant's strength, but it is tyrannous to use it like a giant.”
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