The character of Isabella, simply described by many writers as a young girl of virtue and chastity, is one to whom the audience are initially inclined to be much more sympathetic towards. Her puritanical beliefs and intentions to join the nunnery at a young age, “but rather wishing a more strict restraint upon the sisters stood, the votarists of Saint Clare”, would have been seen as a sympathetic and admirable trait to members of Shakespeare’s early seventeenth century audiences, particularly in the more academic circles to which this play was more commonly performed. However, this element of Isabella’s character is somewhat foreign to an audience today, many of whom are unfamiliar with such restrained beliefs, and it can be said that as general social attitudes towards sex and religion have become increasingly liberal, the amount of sympathy felt towards Isabella, upon her introduction at least, has decreased. On the other hand, Shakespeare also puts Isabella in a situation to which her response makes her appear a much more sympathetic character. Upon hearing about Claudio’s arrest, Isabella is coerced by Lucio in to trying to help, despite her protests that she is powerless to change Angelo’s orders, “Alas, what poor ability’s in me to do him good”. Lucio persuades Isabella to act feminine and flirty towards Angelo, “Go to Lord Angelo, and let him learn to know, when maiden’s sue, men give like Gods, but when they weep and kneel all their petitions are as freely theirs”, despite the fact that Isabella’s devout beliefs would usually prohibit her from speaking to a man unless in the presence of a senior nun. The fact that Isabella responds, “I’ll see what I can do”, endears her to an audience irrespective of context, as she agrees to behave in a way so contradictory to her religious beliefs in order to try and help her brother, a loyal and fairly brave thing to agree to doing when she has no confidence in succeeding at all. At this point in the play, it would appear as though Isabella, although a character with morals that are less popular today, appears to be a truly sympathetic character. Her lack of shock at the situation Claudio and Juliet are in before they are officially married further cements the notion that she is a sympathetic character, and also can be seen as to suggest that situations such as her brother’s were not unfamiliar and not completely frowned upon and her lack of harsh judgement of the pair, despite it contradicting her strong religious morals, reveals a level of compassion that is very rarely seen elsewhere within Measure for Measure.
Lord Angelo, the harsh deputy appointed by the Duke is a character who is perhaps the most complex throughout the entire play, from his ambiguous and evil nature to his somewhat changing attitudes much later on in the play. Angelo is introduced by Shakespeare as a harsh and strict leader, someone who is supposedly chosen because he has the capabilities to restore order in a city whose moral foundations have been crumbling for a considerable amount of time. Angelo is also portrayed by the Duke though to be a very noble and worthy man, “If any in Vienna be of worth to undergo such ample grace and honour, it is Lord Angelo”, but once more this description is closely linked with what the Duke intends Angelo to do in power. Indeed when Angelo speaks to Duke in Act one, scene one, “Now my good lord, let there be some more test made of my metal, before so noble and great a figure be stamped upon it”, it indicates that he is respectful and honoured to have the position bestowed upon him, giving hint to a sympathetic side, but this proves to be much more deeply concealed until further on in the play. At this point, Angelo is perceived by the Duke and other characters, namely Claudio, Lucio and Isabella, as being a harsh and irrefutably unsympathetic character who intends on making an example of Claudio in order to set a new expectation of moral standards in Vienna and restore forgotten laws. In context however, and to an audience perhaps familiar with a slipping awareness of the correct moral code, Angelo seems controlled and to have the interests of the state at heart, “we must not make a scarecrow of the law”, again perhaps an appeal to the educated audiences, most likely to be seated at the Inns of Court, that the play would have been mostly performed to. It can be argued that Shakespeare’s social commentary can be seen in Angelo’s dialogue with Escalus in Act two, scene one, which enable more empathy, when he shows awareness that, “I do not deny that the jury passing on the prisoner’s life may in the sworn twelve have a thief or two”. This speech also demonstrates that he has the courage in his convictions because he appears to truly believe that his actions to punish Claudio are just, “Let mine own judgement pattern out my death, and nothing come in partial, Sir he must die”. To a modern day audience, much like in the case of Isabella, this contributes to the perception of him as an unsympathetic character, as the punishment of Claudio set by Angelo seems unnecessarily harsh, “See that Claudio be executed by nine tomorrow morning”, and an unjust punishment for the ‘crime’ he is seen to have committed, but equally may have portrayed him as an unsympathetic but strong leader to an audience of the time. Despite the initial unsympathetic perception of Lord Angelo, he further on in the play becomes led more by his instincts and sexual desires as opposed to the measures rationality we are familiar with, a point which to some makes him more sympathetic because he appears to be controlled by human emotions and desires like many of the citizens of Vienna, whereas it can be more strongly argued that the hypocrisy of his decisions secures his position as a truly unsympathetic character within the play.
Other characters within Measure for Measure can also be discussed in terms of how sympathetic they are, as despite not being particularly dramatic characters, their roles are important within the play as a whole. Lucio, for example, on one hand attracts sympathy because he appears to genuinely be supportive of his friend Claudio’s plight. Despite appearing to take this seriously, his approach to Isabella, typical of his language throughout the play, exudes some of the vulgarities which the authorities in Vienna are keen to get rid of and negate some of the sympathy that may be directed towards him, as he appears rude and mocking of Isabella. This can also be seen with characters such as Madame Overdone and much of the language used between the more minor characters, which is full of innuendo and references to sexual exploits and diseases such as syphilis in banter between characters, such as, “you that have worn your eyes almost out in the service” and “groping for trouts in a peculiar river”.
In conclusion, it is very difficult to attribute any character within the play Measure for Measure with the label of truly sympathetic, as although many have sympathetic traits – namely Isabella, and some are placed in situations which attract a certain amount of empathy – such as Claudio – many characters also have flaws to their character which, sometimes according to context, diminish how sympathetic a character they are seen to be. Critic Keith Sagar comments that, “We are not sure what Shakespeare expects us to feel about these characters. There are no heroes or villains, no blacks and whites, only shades of grey”, which supports the view that whilst the characters are fairly simple, they are characters which at points may be seen as sympathetic, but yet it is not a consistent attribute amongst any character that could fairly support them being labelled as truly sympathetic, as this would imply no deviation from a particular and acceptable way of behaving, which is difficult to prove true for even the most overall sympathetic characters in the play.
Ashley Coffey – Miss Sanovic English 6.10.07