Thalia @ Pictures in the Words

Measure for Measure was perhaps my least favorite Shakespeare play I read in my class a couple semesters back. I sometimes have difficulty grasping the concept of Shakespeare’s “comedies,” because I am used to comedies being funny instead of simply having everyone get married to different people at the end. Measure for Measure also featured a strong female lead who ended up being forced to marry someone completely random for the sake of the genre, which confused me then and still confuses me now. However, it did have a couple good speeches, and although I wasn’t really sold on the whole thing, I didn’t loathe the experience, which is a little bit of a plus.

What I Liked: Spoilers!

• Isabelle is a grand character, and I loved her throughout the play. I think she is not only one of the kindest, but also one of the strongest women I’ve read in a Shakespeare play thus far, and I’m impressed by that fact. Isabelle never let her morals fail, never did something she regretted or had reason to be ashamed of. Even when her brother, Claudio, attempted to get her to relinquish her values to save his life, she wouldn’t do it. To some, sleeping with a man to save your brother isn’t even a question of right or wrong, but of duty—however, I admired Isabelle’s courage to stand up to Angelo, who wanted her wrongfully, and to Claudio, who wanted her to make a sacrifice she believed would jeopardize her salvation. She was easily the best part of the story, and if I got nothing else out of reading it, I’m glad I was introduced to Isabelle.

What I Didn’t Like:

• The whole story just seemed so haphazard. I had difficulty keeping track of who was who sometimes, and that kept me thoroughly confused throughout the story. Especially when it came down to Angelo’s lost, wronged love. I wasn’t quite sure how Isabelle finding another woman to do what she believed was wrong helped anybody, and that’s where I especially got lost, but everything just kind of…popped out at the end and tied itself into a neat little bow. I couldn’t keep up with the seemingly random plot.

• The Duke was my least favorite character in this story. Throughout, he pretends to be a friar in order to keep an eye on Angelo, but he behaves in such a way that is embarrassing and even shameful. The Duke manipulates characters throughout the story for his own devices and advantage, even when he seems to have no idea what he’s really trying to accomplish. He sets up the women, especially, to be in confusing and disgraceful positions, at his whim. Furthermore, at the end of the play, he pretty much orders Isabelle to marry him, even though she has only just realized he’s the Duke instead of a friar. He disregards her desire to become a nun (which is why they went through everything in the first place) and just…commands her to do what he wants. Granted, I’m interpreting quite a bit, but it is true that Isabelle says absolutely nothing after his declaration in the play, and we’re left just wondering where she stands with this decision. It didn’t sit right with me, though, and I didn’t like the feeling that our “hero” seemed pretty slimy to me.

Overall: I think you could probably skip this particular play if you’re not a big fan of Shakespeare. Perhaps more invested readers will want to go into this one, and if you’re looking for a stronger female role in one of the plays, this is certainly the place to go. Isabelle is strong and independent, all things considered, even if she doesn’t get the ending she entirely deserves. The Duke irritated me, though, and that kind of hampered my experience. I wouldn’t recommend it unless you’re really trying to cover all your bases.

(http://thaliasbooks.tumblr.com/post/123878479302/measure-for-measure-review)