Duke VincentiOMG This Play

Before I begin, I would like to give a shout out to mis compadres de español, Anita y Sarita, for having amazing blog posts just before me, therefore setting the bar ultra high and adding pressure. Gracias. To give you an idea of my thoughts towards this play, refer to the imbedded picture of a sneering Isabella. After my initial ire towards Isabella upon beginning Measure for Measure, I figured that the general feelings of distaste/confusion/skepticism this play evokes in me would dissipate. However, with all due respect to The Bard, I find myself wondering what the heck Shakespeare was doing with this seemingly pointless novel. For me, it is the contradictory nature of the characters – the Duke and Isabella in particular – that makes this novel so…annoying. To streamline my thoughts, I will provide a list of discrepancies I encountered in the final act of Measure for Measure:

     1) Lucio accuses the friar of slamming the Duke when Lucio is the one that actually slams him

     2) The Duke tells Isabella exactly what to say when he is disguised as the friar, only to entirely discount her when he returns as the Duke and she carries out his plan

     3) The Duke decides to jail Isabella and execute Angelo and Pompey, only to turn around and pardon all three and then propose to Isabella

     4) At first Angelo wants mercy, but then he comes back and says “immediate sentence then, and sequent death, is all the mercy I beg"

     5) The Duke reinforces Isabella’s belief that Claudio is dead, knowing full well he’s alive – wasn’t his whole plan to save Claudio’s life anyway? Why would he drag out Isabella’s grief?

Keep in mind these are just from the last scene. I could go on all day with the entire play. But after all this emotional back-and-forth within the characters, I found myself ready to flail the play across the room, but figured it would be inappropriate as I read this on a stationary bike at the Y. Anyway. I’m still left with my big question: WHY? The Duke pretty much undoes everything he intended to do in the first place, so what is his motive in a) leaving, and b) coming back. Please share your bright and insightful ideas with me.

- Little sparrow