Measure for Measure

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Measure for Measure is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in 1603 or 1604 and first performed in 1604. It was published in the First Folio of 1623. The play centres on the despotic and puritan Angelo, a deputy entrusted to rule the city of Vienna in the absence of Duke Vincentio. Vincentio has not actually left the city, but disguised himself as a humble friar to observe Angelo's regency and his citizens' lives. Angelo persecutes a young man, Claudio, for the crime of fornication, sentencing him to death on a technicality. Angelo then attempts to exploit Claudio's sister Isabella, a chaste and innocent nun, when she comes to plead for her brother's life. Measure for Measure was printed as a comedy in the First Folio and continues to be classified as one. Though it shares features with other Shakespearean comedies, such as word play, irony, disguise and substitution as plot devices, it also features tragic elements such as executions and soliloquies, with Claudio...

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