Jennifer Heim ‘06
William Shakespeare seemed interested in exploring theological concepts in many of his plays. Measure for Measure is one such play by Shakespeare, and it specifically explores the ethical principles of the Bible. The title itself alludes to Matthew 7:2, “For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” Branching off of this central theme are several Biblical principles, including the Four Daughters of God – Justice, Mercy, Truth, and Peace, treating others as one would want to be treated, the sin of committing adultery, and the importance of forgiveness and love. Looking at Measure for Measure from a Scriptural perspective allows the reader to interpret the entire play as a parable from the Bible, with the characters of the play representing certain characters from the Bible, and a lesson to be learned in the end.
The central theme of one being judged the same way one judges is conveyed mainly through two characters, Duke Vincentio and Angelo. The play begins with the Duke announcing to Angelo and his advisor, Escalus, that he would be leaving on business and that Angelo would be filling the Duke’s position in the meantime. The Duke’s real plan is to come back to the city, disguised, and observe two things. The first thing he plans to watch is his people’s reactions to Angelo harshly enforcing the laws that the Duke has let slip for so long. The second, and more important, issue the Duke wants to see is whether or not Angelo stands by his strict, personal morals when he’s given such power (Marx, sec.2). The Duke had explained to Angelo that, “Heaven doth with us as we with torches do…”(1.1.32), which parallels with the Bible’s principle of not hiding one’s light under a bushel (Smith 127). Angelo took this to heart, and with his higher moral standards began harshly enforcing the long-disregarded laws, “razing the brothels and imposing capital punishment for sexual infractions” (Marx, sec. 2). One person who comes under his wrath is Claudio, the brother of Isabella, who is the woman that brings about Angelo’s “fall from grace.” Angelo becomes infatuated with Isabella and propositions her to indulge in the very sin that her brother was going to be punished for committing. The Duke, disguised as a friar learns of Angelo’s hypocrisy and, when he returns to the city as the Duke, he sets Angelo up, forcing him to confess in the end. Angelo receives the same judgment he had given Isabella’s brother, Claudio – death.
Another Biblical principle that is addressed is the Four Daughters of God – Justice, Mercy, Truth, and Peace, which are found in Psalm 85: 8-12. Justice and Mercy seem to more of the focus of the play. The first daughter, Justice, is something that Shakespeare tries to define throughout the play. The Duke had let some of the laws slide and had given lesser punishments to people who broke those laws because he himself didn’t keep those laws either. Angelo “stuck to the letter” in Claudio’s sentence of death for committing adultery, yet allowed himself to be overcome by the power he had, and he broke the very same law (Marx, sec.2). However, unlike the Duke, he didn’t lessen Claudio’s sentence after breaking the law. Escalus, on the other hand, seems to have studied the law and come to understand it with all of its complexities (Smith 133). As the Duke describes him, “The nature of our people,/ Our city’s institutions and the terms/ For common justice, you’re as pregnant in/As art and practice hath enriched any/That we remember” (1.1.9-13). He seems to understand that the laws must be upheld, but that all the laws are subject to the circumstances of each individual case (Smith 133). At the conclusion of the play, it seems that Shakespeare finds a common ground for all three, conveying that justice cannot be without forgiveness and grace.
Mercy, the second daughter, is a Biblical concept that is taught to the pious characters Angelo and Isabella as the play progresses. Angelo was much like the unmerciful servant in one of Jesus’ parables (Knight 91). Escalus was there to remind him that he should do unto others as he would want done to him, but Angelo disregarded this, putting himself above other me, which inevitably led to his fall (Smith 139). He was unmerciful to Claudio, but when he was caught in his lawlessness at the end of the play, he realized the he deserved no more mercy than what he had extended to Claudio. He even condemned himself earlier in the play, saying, “When I, that censure him, do so offend,/ Let mine own judgment pattern out my death,/ And nothing come in partial” (2.1.29-31). On the other hand, Isabella has trouble extending mercy because she is so caught up in her own righteous motives. As Marx explains, “She is guilty not because of her choice to preserve her chastity and refuse the cruel bargain, but because of her righteous malice that now, like Angelo's, would condemn her brother to death” (sec. 2). At the center of all of this conflict lies a clear concept from the Old Testament, committing adultery is wrong. Exodus 20:14 states, “You shall not commit adultery.” Angelo was faced with the decision of what to do with Claudio, a man who had consummated his engagement to Juliet. No one knew about their recent engagement and therefore, the act was against the law. Angelo seemed justified in punishing Claudio, however harsh the judgment. However, when he saw Isabella, he eventually broke the same law, twice! Matthew 5:27-28 states, “You have heard that it was said, ‘Do not commit adultery.’ But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” Angelo committed adultery in his heart when he turned to lustful thoughts of Isabella, but then he committed adultery by sleeping with Marianna in the garden. These events led to a lot of conflict and confusion when the Duke returned. Marianna’s love for Angelo was so great that she threw herself at the Duke’s feet. Through Marianna’s pleading with the Duke for Angelo’s life, Isabella was able to identify herself with Marianna and so she joined Marianna. The Duke saw that Isabella had finally grasped the idea of forgiveness and love from Luke 6:35 and he conceded to Marianna’s wish (Smith 151).
Each of the concepts previously discussed account for the play’s similarity to a Biblical parable. If the entire play was viewed as completely alluding to Scripture, the reader would see parallels between the play’s characters and Biblical characters. The Duke seemed to parallel God in the New Testament. The Duke seems to guide Isabella, helping her hatch the “bed trick” plan, just as God guided Jesus. “Both figures are said to use the same strategies of positioning deputies in power, testing these chosen enforcers, adopting human disguises [the Friar and Jesus], implementing interrogation during entrapment, and dramatically revealing themselves once humanity appears most humiliated” (Loberg 356). Lucio would resemble Lucifer, “the fallen angel” and the “father of lies,” especially when he lied about the friar’s actions to the Duke in the last act of the play (Marx, sec.1). Isabella also resembled Jesus in the way the Duke guided her and how Angelo suggested that she sacrifice her chastity for the life of her brother (Smith 148). Putting these characters together and using the conflict in the story to teach a lesson of mercy, forgiveness, and love resembles a few parables, such as the Parable of the Unmerciful Servant (Matthew 18: 21-35) in the New Testament.
Another aspect uncovered by the research was that this may be Shakespeare’s subtle way of mocking Puritans through the representations of Angelo and Isabella. By the play’s resolution, both Angelo and Isabella have learned that if they open themselves up to the world, they will learn that some of their views were simply illusions (Smith 156). Once they were in the middle of the circumstances, they both were able to realize that their views were distorted by their “self-conscious, self-protected righteousness” (Knight 84). G. Wilson Knight explained that the central theme to Measure for Measure was negated in the end of the play. Justice couldn’t possibly be dealt fairly since man is a sinner, and therefore, cannot possibly be the one to judge a fellow sinner (83). This brings up the question of who, or what, is allowed to condemn men. If the law is inerrant and it is the thing that is condemning man for his wrongs, then, it should be dealt fairly despite the fact that it is carried out by man himself. However, law is based on the interpretation of man, so how can justice possibly ever be met, since the true, inerrant meaning of law is lost in man’s interpretations? The only possible answer that Shakespeare seems to give for this in the play goes back to Escalus and the Duke with the ideas that man must carry out the law according to the circumstances of each case and man should only be as harsh in punishing fellow sinners as he would want in being punished.
Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure seems to center around several Biblical principles. The central theme is taken from the title, which alludes to the verse in the Bible about whatever measure one gives out, one will also be measured in the same way. Shakespeare also explores the concepts of Justice and Mercy, showing how they both seemingly go hand-in-hand. Around the central conflict of adultery, he uses the characters Angelo and Isabella to represent morally superior people who both fall when they are pulled out of the righteous fortress they hide behind: chastity. Shakespeare’s God-like Duke brings about the resolution, teaching all who are involved that justice must come with forgiveness and love because nobody’s perfect. As Jesus said in John 8:7, “If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone…”
Works Cited
Greenblatt, Stephen, Walter Cohen, Jean E. Howard, and Katharine E. Maus, eds. The Norton Shakespeare: Based on the Oxford Edition. New York: W.W. Norton & Co., 1997.
Knight, G. Wilson. The Wheel of Fire: Essays in Interpretation of Shakespeare’s Sombre Tragedies. London: Oxford University Press, 1930.
Loberg, Harmonie. Rev. of Shakespeare and the Bible, by Steven Marx. Wayne State University Press: 2002: 355-358.
Marx, Steven. “True Lies and False Truths: Measure for Measure and the Gospels.” College of Liberal Arts. 11 Nov. 2003. http://cla.calpoly.edu/~smarx/courses/431/TrueLies.html
Smith, Marion Bodwell. Dualities in Shakespeare. Canada: University of Toronto Press, 1966.
The Student Bible: New International Version. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1996.