Measure for Measure

Measure for Measure is a play by <a href="/facts/William_Shakespeare/ohI96JTv">William Shakespeare</a>, believed to have been written in 1603 or 1604 and first performed in 1604. It was published in the <a href="/facts/First_Folio/qBX9hVT5">First Folio</a> of 1623.
The play centers on the despotic and puritan <a href="/facts/Angelo_(Measure_for_Measure)/WAJjxQAK">Angelo</a>, a deputy entrusted to rule the city of <a href="/facts/Vienna/NSpIURsA">Vienna</a> in the absence of Duke Vincentio, who instead disguises himself as a humble friar to observe Angelo's regency and his citizens' lives. Angelo persecutes a young man, Claudio, for the crime of <a href="/facts/Fornication/49rmfpzv">fornication</a>, sentencing him to death on a technicality, only to fall madly in love with 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 <a href="/facts/Word_play/1UHRfUd4">word play</a>, <a href="/facts/Irony/w8oHsT9Q">irony</a>, and <a href="/facts/Disguise/z2n69NUt">disguise</a> and substitution as plot devices, it also features tragic elements such as <a href="/facts/Capital_punishment/4pbmeUIb">executions</a> and <a href="/facts/Soliloquy/mFQvXJD0">soliloquies</a>, with Claudio's speech "Ay, but to die, and go we know not where..." in particular having been favorably compared to those of tragic heroes like <a href="/facts/Prince_Hamlet/gSRl8guK">Prince Hamlet</a>. Because of this ambiguous tone, it is often cited as one of <a href="/facts/Shakespearean_problem_play/4CMCIEAz">Shakespeare's problem plays</a>.

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Measure for Measure