What different views of the Duke are presented in acts 1-3?

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Lauren Tubb

What different views of the Duke are presented in acts 1-3?

Written in the early 17th century, ‘Measure for Measure’ was one of the many plays that Shakespeare wrote to entertain his King, which at the time was James I. Shakespeare used this play to present his own views of the King, and his ideals of a King through his presentation of the Duke Vincentio.

A more complex character than first believed, Shakespeare transforms the Duke throughout the play. As the Duke set out on a quest to not only escape the pressures of his role, but to learn from his experiences and find himself. The Duke is the first person to speak; this is one of Shakespeare’s common techniques to indicate who he deems most important in the play. Even if it appears that the story evolves around the character of Angelo, under the surface it is evident that the Duke is the catalyst behind it all.

At the start of the play we see that the Duke is a man with general morals, complimenting the people under him. This is Shakespeare showing us from the start that he wishes the Duke to be seen as a good man. In the first scene we learn that for the head of a city he does not enjoy being in the public eye, “I love the people, but do not like to stage me to their eyes”. This quote also shows us that he is an honourable and caring Duke as he loves his people, but he doesn’t have the confidence to assert his authority.

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In the beginning of the play the view of the Duke is formulated to be that he is nice but a little spineless; allowing his streets to be filled with sin, “bawds”, “thief’s”. To re-enforce the opinion that Duke is honourable, Shakespeare makes the Duke accept fault for the state that the town is in, “’twas my fault to give the people scope”, although he still doesn’t do anything about it.

When the Duke is talking to Pompey in act three scene two, we see a different character emerging. From his ‘real life’ experience he appears to have ...

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