Part Of The Play The Duke example essay topic

Measure for Measure: Textual Analysis of (1.3. 19-54) and study of the motives behind the Dukes imminent absence. In this part of the play the Duke meets Friar Thomas and explains the reasons for his temporary retirement from office and also speaks about the laxity into which the laws of the city have fallen in the past. The Duke makes it clear that Vienna needs a new figure of authority to implement the reinforcement of the long forgotten rules regarding sex before marriage and other moral issues.

This is also a key passage because the audience find out that the Duke intends to remain in Vienna disguised as a Friar giving some glimpse of the intricate plot lying ahead. The main purpose of this scene is to add to our knowledge about the Duke and to expose the reasons why he is entrusting all of his power in Angelo. Friar Thomas merely seems to be in the scene to prevent it from being an extremely long monologue and because it seems his interjections serve only to prompt the Duke to speak. The Friar leads the Duke into telling the audience more about his complicated decision and to answer some of the questions posed by his conduct at the very beginning of the play. At the begging of his speech the Duke paints a picture of a world turned upside down because of the current looseness in the enforcement of the laws of the state. He uses a combination of animal and social imagery to convey this disturbed state of the city and his first image is of a mixed metaphor, which could also imply that he is not fully convinced about his decision to leave Angelo in charge.

The needful bits and curbs to headstrong weeds This line begins with the imagery of riding and controlling a horse and turns to the visual picture of an un-weeded garden as a symbol of politica disorder. This is very effective because Vienna is like a garden that was once flourishing because the laws were strict but now it has fallen into disarray therefore the weeds symbolism the sexual immorality of the cities inhabitants. The garden is in a repairable state but the weeds merely need to be removed which so far seems to be the task that awaits Angelo. The law has become like an overgrown lion in a cave which does not even bother to go and hunt. This simile properly conveys the picture of a once terrible and peacekeeping beast run down to indulgence and indifference. The Duke then goes on to explain how a cane can be a simple preventative measure to dissuade a child from misbehavior, if it is never implemented it becomes merely mocked and no longer fulfils its role.

Just as the cane, the law once stood tall above the population of Vienna but through indifference it was never used to its full extent and now it is mocked because people know they can get away with anything. The people pluck justice by the nose implying that because they are seemingly free to do what they want they can laugh at the principles of law and order. The image of the baby beating the nurse makes another comparison with an unnatural situation as an indication of how far out of hand the situation in Vienna really is. Instead of receiving discipline from the nurse the infant himself dispenses the punishment and seems that the Duke believes that this role reversal is unacceptable. The Dukes language seems to be quite violent probably because he feels strongly about the situation or maybe he feels guilty for letting the city arrive at this state. His view of the law in this scene seems to be as solely a punitive instrument of the state rather than a protector of the populace, which contrasts with his mercy for Angelo at the end of the play.

Friar Thomas intervention in line 32 is very significant because the Friar wants to know why the Duke didnt unloose this tied up justice himself, instead of expecting Angelo to do it. This image of justice being tied up is also very unnatural because it should be justice doing the imprisoning rather than being imprisoned itself. The Dukes response is that he is scared to unleash tyranny on the people without warning, the laws have gone unchecked for so long that for the Duke to suddenly enforce them now would be extremely unnatural and shocking for the people. twas my fault to give the people scope This line is very significant because the audience can see that the Duke is acknowledging that this gradual descent into lawlessness is his own fault and he lays the blame only on himself. Scope is also important because it shows that the Duke was attempting to give his people a degree of liberty without realising what the long-term consequences could be.

From this part of the speech we can see that the Dukes reason for leaving office is psychological and that leaving Angelo in charge is his first step towards freeing himself from his public role and from the blame of the cities gradual degradation. This extract is critical for the audience because they are made aware of the Dukes decision to remain in Vienna in disguise. All the other characters are later taken in by the disguise yet the audience has this superior knowledge that somehow makes the play more enjoyable. In a way the audience are held in suspense because they want to find out whether any of the other characters will see through the disguise and the audience almost want to give the Duke away later on in the play. The Dukes reasons for leaving almost turn on their own head at the end of his speech, Hence we shall see, / If power change purpose, what our see mers be The positioning of these lines at the end of the scene both add emphasis to this pronouncement which suggests that the Dukes primary reason is to test his suspicions about Angelos virtue and honour. The Duke has a plan at this early stage in the play and hence we shall see seems to imply that he is inviting the audience to watch this intricate story unfold.