GCSE: Measure For Measure

How Does Shakespeare Create Dramatic Interest in Act1 Scene2 Of Measure for Measure

Pompey adds humour to the scene, with a comic exchange between him and Mistress Overdone. Mistress Overdone: "What has he done?" Pompey: "A woman," Mistress Overdone: "But what is his offence?," Pompey: "Groping for trouts in a peculiar river." Pompey's subtle, but at the same time pointed, humour shows that he is a sharp, relatively intelligent, devious and witty character, and is not being used by Shakespeare simply to provide comic relief. Pompey uses the words 'woman,' and 'groping,' clearly giving the audience an image of the type of relationship Claudio and Juliet, his sweetheart, had.

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