Measure For Measure: ‘Some Rise by Sin, and Some by Virtue Fall’
Episode 207
Whereas the larger-than-life characters in ‘Othello’ left us with no moral ambiguities, but plenty of questions about the nature of the outsider and society’s attitude towards those who are different. Shakespeare’s next offering, ‘Measure for Measure’ was a very different piece with few of those certainties.
The dating and earliest performance of the play
The early print history of the play
Changes made by Thomas Middleton
The source material for the play
A brief synopsis of the play
Comedy of Tragicomedy?
Issues with the structure of the play
Justice and mercy
The premise of the play examined
How the characters avoid easy categorisation
The role of the duke
The role of Isabella
The role of Angelo
The role of Lucio
The ending of the play and Isabella’s response to the duke
The mixed critical response to the play
The later performance history of the play
Measure for Measure on film
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