Act Summaries

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Act I
As Duke Vincentio prepares to leave Vienna, he appoints Angelo to govern the city in his absence and assigns the wise "old Escalus" as Angelo's aide. Concerned that he has been too lenient in maintaining order, the Duke has no real intention of departing. Instead, he plans to disguise himself as Friar Lodowick to observe how the strict enforcement of laws by Angelo impacts the citizens and to see if wielding power changes Angelo. Angelo's initial actions include shutting down all suburban brothels and sentencing young Claudio to death for impregnating his fiancée, Juliet. On his way to prison, Claudio encounters his friend Lucio, who promises to ask Claudio's sister, Isabella, to plead for his life before Angelo. Lucio finds Isabella at the convent, where she has recently become a novice, and informs her of Claudio's situation. Troubled by the news, she agrees to approach Angelo.

Act II
Escalus attempts to convince Angelo to reduce Claudio's harsh sentence, but Angelo insists and orders the Provost to execute Claudio the next morning. Constable Elbow brings the "bawd" Pompey and a gentleman named Froth before Angelo and Escalus, and Angelo leaves Escalus to unravel Elbow's confusing complaint against the two detainees. Meanwhile, Isabella arrives to plead with Angelo for her brother's life, with Lucio coaching her to be more persuasive. Impressed by Isabella's virtue, Angelo instructs her to return the next day for his decision. The disguised Duke Vincentio visits the prison, conversing with the remorseful Juliet and the imprisoned Claudio. The following day, when Isabella meets with Angelo, he tells her she must sleep with him to save her brother. Outraged, Isabella threatens to expose Angelo's hypocrisy, but he retorts that his unblemished reputation will protect him from any accusations. Devastated and alone, Isabella refuses Angelo's demand, declaring, "More than our brother is our chastity," and prepares her brother for his impending execution.

Act III
Disguised as Friar Lodowick, Duke Vincentio visits Claudio in prison and helps him come to terms with his death sentence. However, when Isabella informs her brother of the deputy's proposition, Claudio loses his resolve and, to Isabella's dismay, pleads with her to yield to Angelo. "O Isabel! …" he cries, "Death is a fearful thing." The disguised Duke steps in. He tells Isabella about Mariana, a woman once betrothed to Angelo, who was cruelly abandoned by him after her dowry was lost at sea. The Duke proposes a plan where Mariana, still in love with Angelo, would secretly take Isabella's place and sleep with Angelo. This would reclaim her fiancé, save Claudio's life, and keep Isabella's chastity intact. Isabella gratefully agrees to this "bed-trick." Meanwhile, Pompey is arrested again and taken to jail, along with his employer, the brothel-keeper Mistress Overdone. Unaware of the friar's true identity, Lucio engages in conversation with him and, foolishly pretending to know the Duke well, describes Vincentio as a fool, a drunkard, and a libertine. The Duke concludes Act III with a condemnation of his deputy: "Twice treble shame on Angelo, / To weed my vice and let his grow!"

Act IV
The disguised Duke, Mariana, and Isabella gather to finalize the details of their plan. However, after Angelo sleeps with the woman he believes to be Isabella, he breaks his promise to spare her brother and instead sends a note to the Provost, instructing him to deliver Claudio's head as proof of execution. The disguised Duke collaborates with the Provost to save Claudio by substituting the head of Barnardine, a drunken criminal also sentenced to death, for Claudio's head. However, Barnardine is too inebriated to be executed....

(This entire section contains 919 words.)

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Fortunately, a pirate who resembles Claudio has died in his sleep, so it is the pirate's head that is eventually sent to Angelo. Isabella arrives, and the disguised Duke informs her that Angelo has broken his promise and that her brother is dead. He then advises the mourning Isabella to publicly denounce Angelo when he meets the returning Duke at the city gate the next day. Meanwhile, Angelo feels guilty about his betrayal and worries whether Isabella will dare to accuse him publicly in front of the Duke. He also regrets insisting on Claudio's execution, fearing that Claudio, if alive, would have joined his sister in exposing Angelo's crime. "Alack," he laments, "when once our grace we have forgot, / Nothing goes right; we would, and we would not."

Act V
At the city gate, Angelo and Escalus greet Duke Vincentio upon his return. Following the Duke's instructions, Isabella accuses Angelo of being "a virgin-violator" and of murdering her brother, though she does not yet reveal that it was Mariana who slept with him. Angelo, calling Isabella deranged, denies any misconduct. The Duke feigns belief in Angelo and orders Isabella's arrest. Mariana then arrives, asserting that Angelo is her rightful husband and explaining that he slept with her, not Isabella. The Duke momentarily exits, only to return disguised as Friar Lodowick to back Mariana's and Isabella's claims. When Friar Lodowick is accused of false testimony, his hood is removed during his arrest, uncovering his true identity as Duke Vincentio. The Duke immediately mandates that Angelo marry Mariana and then sentences him to death, proclaiming "An Angelo for Claudio, death for death!" Despite Mariana's and Isabella's appeals for mercy, the Duke initially stands firm on the sentence. The resolution comes when Claudio is revealed to be alive. The play concludes with the Duke proposing to Isabella, pardoning Angelo, reminding Claudio to wed Juliet, and ordering Lucio to marry the prostitute he impregnated.

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