Dec 20, 2009

Measure for Measure | Characters

Vincentio the Duke (Duke Vincentio)
Ruler of Vienna. As the play opens, Duke Vincentio is preparing to leave the city for a while, so he deputizes the puritanical Angelo to govern during his absence. In fact, the Duke does not leave Vienna after all, but disguises himself as Friar Lodowick so that he can observe undetected the way in which Angelo administers law and order. After Angelo abuses his power by trying to force Isabella to have sex with him, the Duke orchestrates a "bed-trick," whereby Angelo is ultimately forced to marry his jilted fiancée, Mariana,...