Characters Discussed

Angelo

Angelo (AN-jeh-loh), a Viennese nobleman, the duke’s deputy, a man who is cold, arrogant, and unbending in the knowledge of his own virtuous life. He refuses to look with sympathy on the offense of Claudio and stands firm for justice untempered with mercy. He is shocked to find himself tempted by Isabella, but he dismisses all moral scruples and attempts to seduce her, promising to free her brother if she will yield to him. Once he thinks he has had his will, he orders Claudio’s execution to take place. Faced with the duke’s knowledge of his behavior, he, still in character, asks death as the fitting recompense for his sins; mercy is still no part of his character, although it is that quality, meted out by the duke in accord with the pleas of Isabella and Mariana, that ultimately saves him.

Vincentio

Vincentio (veen-CHEHN-see-oh), the duke of Vienna, a rather ambiguous figure who acts at times as a force of divine destiny in the lives of his subjects. He has wavered in the enforcement of his state’s unjust laws. Pretending to go on a trip to Poland, he leaves the government in Angelo’s hands to try to remedy this laxity as well as to test Angelo’s “pale and cloistered virtue.” He moves quietly to counteract the effects of Angelo’s strict law enforcement on Isabella, Claudio, and Mariana.

Isabella

Isabella (eez-eh-BEHL-ah), a young noblewoman who emerges from the nunnery where she is a postulant to try to save the life of her condemned brother. Her moral standards, like Angelo’s, are absolute; she is appalled to find herself faced with two equally dreadful alternatives: to watch her brother die, knowing that it is in her power to save him, or to surrender herself to Angelo. She cannot entirely comprehend Claudio’s passionate desire to live, no matter what the cost. Virtue is, for her, more alive than life itself, and she cannot help feeling a certain sense of justice in his condemnation, although she would save him if she could do so without causing her own damnation. She learns, as Angelo does not, to value mercy, and she is able at the end of the play to join Mariana on her knees to plead for the deputy’s life.

Claudio

Claudio (KLOH-dee-oh), Isabella’s brother, condemned to death for getting his fiancée with child. He finds small consolation in the duke’s description of death, and he makes a passionate defense of life, describing the horrors of the unknown.

Escalus

Escalus (EHS-keh-luhs), a wise old Viennese counselor, left by the duke as Angelo’s adviser. He deals humorously and sympathetically with the rather incoherent testimony of Elbow, the volunteer constable.

Mariana

Mariana (mah-ree-AH-nah), a young woman betrothed to Angelo and legally his wife when he rejected her because of difficulties over her dowry. She agrees, at the duke’s request, to take Isabella’s place in the garden house where Angelo had arranged to meet her. Claiming Angelo as her husband at the duke’s reentry into the city, she asks mercy for his betrayal of Claudio and Isabella.

Lucio

Lucio (LEW-shee-oh), a dissolute young man who brags of his desertion of his mistress and gives the disguised duke bits of malicious gossip about himself. He is sentenced, for his boasting and his slander, to marry the prostitute he has abandoned.

Mrs. Overdone

Mrs. Overdone, a bawd.

Pompey

Pompey, her servant.

Juliet

Juliet, Claudio’s fiancée, who is cared for by the disguised duke.

Elbow

Elbow, a clownish volunteer constable whose malapropisms make enforcement of the...

(This entire section contains 687 words.)

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law more than difficult.

Francisca

Francisca (fran-SIHS-kuh), a nun of the order Isabella is entering.

Froth

Froth, a laconic patron of Mrs. Overdone’s establishment.

Provost

Provost (PROV-uhst), an officer of the state who pities Claudio and helps the duke save him, thus disobeying Angelo’s orders.

Abhorson

Abhorson, the hangman, a man of rather macabre humor.

Barnardine

Barnardine, a long-term prisoner freed by the merciful duke.

Friar Thomas

Friar Thomas and

Friar Peter

Friar Peter, religious men who aid the duke.

Characters Explained

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Last Updated August 23, 2024.

Vincentio the Duke (Duke Vincentio)
Ruler of Vienna. At the beginning of the play, Duke Vincentio plans to leave the city temporarily and appoints the strict Angelo to govern in his stead. However, the Duke remains in Vienna in disguise as Friar Lodowick to secretly observe how Angelo enforces the law. When Angelo misuses his authority by attempting to coerce Isabella into sleeping with him, the Duke orchestrates a "bed-trick," leading Angelo to marry his former fiancée, Mariana, and freeing Claudio to marry Juliet. At the end of the play, the Duke proposes to Isabella.

Escalus
A senior advisor to Duke Vincentio. During the Duke's supposed absence, Escalus serves as Angelo's assistant. Despite having more experience than Angelo, the Duke chooses Angelo over Escalus to test the younger man's capabilities. Escalus is a compassionate and honest individual who is not offended by Angelo's promotion over him.

Angelo
One of Duke Vincentio's deputies, with Escalus being the more senior one. On the pretense of leaving Vienna for a while, the Duke gives Angelo full authority to enforce the city's laws. Angelo's initial actions include closing down Vienna's brothels and sentencing Claudio to death for impregnating his fiancée, Juliet. When Claudio's sister, Isabella, pleads for mercy, Angelo becomes infatuated with her innocence and tries to force her into a sexual relationship in exchange for her brother's life. With Isabella's assistance, the disguised Duke tricks Angelo into sleeping with his former fiancée, Mariana, and then commands Angelo to marry her.

Lucio
A fashionable and debauched gentleman, and a friend of Claudio. He convinces Isabella to appeal to Angelo to save Claudio's life. Lucio unwittingly slanders the disguised Duke to his face. At the play's conclusion, the Duke initially sentences Lucio to marry a prostitute he impregnated and to be whipped and hanged. However, the Duke later reduces Lucio's punishment to just marriage.

Two other gentlemen (First Gentleman and Second Gentleman)
Friends of Lucio. These two gentlemen are present when the brothel-keeper Mistress Overdone reveals that Claudio has been arrested and sentenced to death for fornication. They leave with Lucio to confirm the truth of Overdone's story.

Mistress Overdone (Bawd)
She operates a brothel that is shut down due to Angelo's strict enforcement of Vienna's laws. Later in the play, Elbow mentions that she has reopened her establishment under the guise of a bathhouse. She is eventually arrested and imprisoned by Escalus.

Pompey (Clown)
Though he claims to be a bartender, Pompey Bum is actually a pimp working for Mistress Overdone, making him part of Vienna's illegal underworld. Pompey is imprisoned for pandering and possessing "a strange picklock." While in jail, he takes on the role of assistant to the executioner, Abhorson.

Claudio
Isabella's brother and Juliet's fiancé. Under orders from the newly appointed Angelo, Claudio is sentenced to death for having premarital sex with Juliet. Claudio requests Lucio to inform Isabella of his predicament, hoping she will convince Angelo to show mercy. This request sets off the main conflict of the play, as Isabella's appeals ignite Angelo's desire for her.

Provost
The warden of the prison where Claudio is detained. In Act I, he escorts Claudio to jail. In Act II, he receives Angelo's orders for Claudio's swift execution. Throughout the rest of the play, he assists the disguised Duke in his plan to save Claudio from death.

Juliet
Claudio's pregnant fiancée who, like Claudio, is imprisoned by Angelo for fornication. However, unlike Claudio, Juliet is not sentenced to death, likely due to her pregnancy.

Thomas (Friar Thomas)
One of the two friars in the play (the other being Friar Peter; Friar Lodowick is actually the Duke in disguise). The Duke confides in Friar Thomas about his plan to disguise himself as a monk to secretly observe Angelo's enforcement of Vienna's laws.

Isabella
Claudio's sister, who becomes a novice at the order of Saint Clare on the same day her brother is arrested and condemned to death for fornication. When she pleads with Angelo to spare her brother, he demands she sleep with him in exchange for her brother's pardon. She refuses and is appalled when her brother asks her to save his life by complying with Angelo's demand. She later joins the Duke's scheme to reunite Angelo with his abandoned fiancée, Mariana. At the end of the play, the Duke asks Isabella to leave her nun's life to marry him.

Francisca (a nun)
A nun at the convent where Isabella is accepted as a novice. She appears at the play's beginning, instructing Isabella on the convent's rules and privileges.

Elbow
A constable who arrests the pimp Pompey and the foolish gentleman Froth, bringing them before Angelo and Escalus for judgment. Elbow is a comedic character known for his frequent use of malapropisms.

Froth
A "foolish gentleman" who, along with the pimp Pompey, is arrested by Elbow at a brothel operated by Mistress Overdone and brought before Angelo and Escalus for sentencing.

Servant
An attendant to Angelo. He announces Isabella's arrival when she comes to plead for her brother Claudio's life.

Mariana
Mariana was once engaged to Angelo. The Duke explains that their engagement fell apart when Mariana's brother, Frederick, died at sea, taking her dowry with him. Angelo, unwilling to marry her without the dowry, broke off the engagement, falsely claiming that she was not a virgin. Despite his betrayal, Mariana continues to love Angelo and spends her days in seclusion at a "moated grange."

Abhorson
Abhorson is the executioner at the prison where Claudio is incarcerated.

Barnardine
Barnardine is a hardened criminal imprisoned alongside Claudio. When the Duke arranges with the Provost to have Barnardine executed instead of Claudio, Barnardine refuses, claiming he is too drunk to die. Ultimately, he is pardoned at the end of the play.

Peter (Friar Peter)
Friar Peter is one of the two friars in the play, the other being Friar Thomas. He assists the Duke in orchestrating the final scene, where Angelo's hypocrisy is exposed and Mariana claims her right to marry Angelo. Friar Peter also conducts the offstage marriage ceremony between Mariana and Angelo.