Measure for Measure
Measure for Measure,a tragi-comedy by Shakespeare , written probably in the summer of 1604 , but not printed until the first folio ( 1623 ). Its chief source is Whetstone 's play Promos and Cassandra, itself based on a story in Cinthio 's Hecatommithi. It has often been categorized as a ‘problem play’ because of the unpleasantness of its subject matter and the complexity of its plot and themes.
The duke of Vienna, on the pretext of a journey to Poland, hands over the government to his virtuous-seeming deputy Angelo, who enforces strict laws against sexual licence which for the past 14 years had been neglected. Angelo at once sentences to death Claudio , a young gentleman who has got his betrothed Julietta with child. Claudio's sister Isabella , who is a novice in a sisterhood of nuns, pleads with Angelo for her brother's life, urged on by Claudio's friend Lucio. In response to her repeated pleas,...
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