What might modern audiences find dramatically interesting about the presentation of the Duke in Measure for Measure?

Authors Avatar

Emma Bone        English Literature        CG

What might modern audiences find dramatically interesting

about the presentation of the Duke in Measure for Measure?

        The Duke in Measure for Measure is one of the main characters. He is also has high status. He rules the city, yet he is one of the most underhand, deceitful characters. Even in our first meeting with the Duke, he is complex and confusing. He praises Escalus, even going so far as to say Escalus knows more about ruling than he (the Duke) does, but then he appoints Angelo as his substitute, and carries on throughout the entire play to contradict himself, to lie and to act hypocritically.

        Act 1 Scene 1 sees the Duke with Angelo and Escalus. He appoints Angelo as his substitute after praising Escalus extremely highly.

“Your own science

Exceeds, in that, the lists of all advice

My strength can give you”

 This would interest a modern audience because it would perplex them. They would be sure to ask why the Duke would leave Angelo, whom he seems to regard as second choice, in charge? This seems a very strange thing to do, unless there is an ulterior motive, which the majority of a modern audience would already begin to expect. There is the possibility however, that he may be letting Escalus down gently, this however, is not a common theory as it is too obvious and that is not Shakespeare’s style.

        In Act 1 Scene 3, we see the Duke defend himself from a friar’s belief that he is in love.

“Throw away that thought,

Believe not that the dribbling dart of love

Can pierce a complete bosom.”

 We find out this conversation is about the Duke wanting to borrow a friar’s habit. The real friar thinks the Duke wants this to woo a lady, but the Duke denies this at length and goes on to explain that he wants to spy on his city and his substitute. This is an odd thing for the Duke to do, and in just the first three scenes he has already convinced us that he is not straightforward or completely honest.

        In this scene he also shows us he is weak, by admitting he feels that it is his fault that the city is in so terrible a state, but he also feels it would be wrong of him to set right what he has let go wrong.

“Sith ‘twas my fault to give the people scope,

‘Twould be my tyranny to strike and gall them

For what I bid them do”

The Duke also asks to be supplied with a habit and instructed how to act like a real friar.

“Therefore I prithee

Supply me with the habit, and instruct me

How I may formally in person bear

Like a true friar”

        We don’t see the Duke again until Act 2 Scene 3 where we learn that the Duke (dressed as a friar) intends to minister to criminals in the prison. He, obviously, has no right to do this however, and, he would be expected, by a modern audience, to know better. I think a modern audience would be shocked by the Duke at this point because he is a man of considerable power, and should be acting like one. He should be acting respectfully and with decency, which by wrongly ministering to those in the prison, he definitely isn’t!

        This is an awful abuse of power. He is taking advantage of peoples’ trust and I cannot see any way in which he could condone what he is doing. It is never right to pretend to be someone else. Even is he feels he must do this, he should be doing this as discreetly as possible, not parading around abusing trust and power.

        In Act 3 Scene 1 the Duke is, again, at the prison. In this passage the audience has the advantage of dramatic irony. We already know Escalus has pleaded with Angelo (Act 2 Scene 1) for Claudio’s life, to no avail. Angelo will not be moved, we aren’t completely sure if the Duke already knows this, though I suspect he probably does.

He asks Claudio if he still has hope for life. The pessimism and unhappy words of his speech separate him from any friar, because it lacks a real spiritual dimension. He does not encourage Claudio to greet death with open arms and prepare to meet God. He tells Claudio how meaningless his love of life is, which a modern audience would find interesting because people of religion are assumed to be happy, optimistic and undaunted by death. People of religion are also seen to be kind, and aren’t meant to tell you how pointless you are and your life has been because they believe everyone is part of “God’s plan”.

Join now!

Talking to Isabella, the Duke calls Angelo “well-seeming” which implies that the Duke does not believe Angelo to be genuine. This makes the audience wonder what the Duke means by this and ponder exactly what it is that the Duke knows and we don’t. This makes us wonder if the Duke is being hypocritical in comparison. How genuine is he? How much good or bad does he intend to do?

The Duke tells Isabella of Mariana and Angelo’s business, which to modern audiences would probably be perceived as no better than gossip mongering and this would not usually be expected ...

This is a preview of the whole essay