Essay
The Theme of Slander in Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure
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AO1/AO5 Essay tackling the problem of Slander in Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure - specifically the character of the Duke.
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Slander in measure for measureMeasure for measure seems to explore various themes throughout the play. Arguably, the theme
that drives the plot of the play is slander. One may interpret that the Duke’s delegation of power is
to set up slander at the end and it is the notion of slander that the Duke seems to mediate with,
whether it is the slander of himself, Angelo or others. In doing so , Shakespeare portrays to us the
corruption that lies Viennese society since it the head of state that inhibits such characteristic. It is
for this reason that F.S Boas (1896) believes that Measure for Measure is a ‘problem play.’
On one hand, the Duke seems to find slander offensive and punishable by law. Through examining
the Duke’s reaction to the character of Lucio, it is evident that the Duke possesses some sort of
insecurity in terms of his status and reputation. It is therefore sensible to argue that it is for that
reason that he punishes slander. Critics such as Levin 1982 believe that Lucio takes on the role of the
‘eironist’, the truth teller, where Shakespeare uses Lucio to send light on the corruption that lives in
Vienna through slander, hence the name ‘Lucio’ referencing light. In Act 3, when Lucio slanders the
Duke scene when he is disguised as a ‘friar’, he seems to become extremely aggravated and
offended, nearly letting his disguise slip by telling Lucio that the Duke will ‘know you better.’ When
Lucio descibes him as ‘Ignorant, superficial, unweighing’ Kaplan believes that there are
some ‘elements of truth’ in the statement . This is evident though his selection of Angelo which
seem seems unconsidered considering he had choice of Escalus. Therefore Kaplan believes that
these ‘fictitious remarks contain truths that call into question the duke's ability to rule, and therefore
they constitute seditious slander.’ Furthermore, Lucio sheds light on the fact that the Duke is more
concerned about his own reputation rather than enforcing laws to prevent the moribund life that
the Viennese citizens are living where the city is ‘is ringed round by prospering whorehouses’
according to Trombetta (1976). This is evident at the end where the Duke punishes Lucio on the
basis that "Slandering a prince deserves it." However we may infer that the duke is clearly much
more concerned about enforcing laws against criticism of the ruler than laws against fornication that
he let slip, by his own admission, for ‘fourteen years.’ The extent to which the Duke has allowed such
immorality is highlighted in the Joe Hill Gibbins’ 2015 production at the Young Vic where ‘the plastic
sex dolls evoke the hedonistic decay into which Duke Vincentio’s Vienna has fallen’ (Billington 2015).
Therefore, Cynthia Lewis (1983) suggests that the ‘Public infers from Lucio’s lines that the Duke’s
real failing has been his refusal to make public his stance toward Crime and punishment.’ Hence, in is
it clear that the Duke’s discomfort with slander lies from the fact that through slander his flaws are
exposed, hence why the truth-teller, Lucio, is seen as a problem for the Duke and therefore is the only
subject that is punished at the end which is reinforced by W.H Lawrence (1958) who believes that
Lucio ‘is punished not on account of the Kate Keepdown business, but because he has called the Duke
"a fool, a coward, one all of luxury, an ass, a madman.’
Although the Duke seems to be critical of slander, one critical interpretation suggests that in the
Duke’s delegation of power to Angelo, there was an ulterior motive in place which involved a public
slander at the end of the play in order for the Duke to reaffirm his authority. This viewpoint is taken
from Lindsey Kaplan who states that there was some ‘strategic fiction’ in the Duke’s planning in
order to ‘test’ and ‘debunk’ Angelo’s supposes virtuousness. Furthermore, although critics such as
Tombetta (1976) argue that the Duke plays the role of the ‘mediator’ between life and death in
through helping Isabella ‘redeem [her] brother from the angry law’ and through comforting Claudio
through advising him that only ‘fools’ hold onto life, critics such as Lindsey Kaplan reinforce that the
Duke’s ‘primary aim is to humiliate Angelo.’ This is evident in the fact that the Duke shapes Isabella’s
anger towards Angelo to suit his purposes. He dissuades her from confronting the deputy
immediately, counselling her instead to slander Angelo in front of an audience and ‘ Acuse him home
and home.’ Instead of telling Isabella the truth about her brother, ‘instead with grim irony, he
destroys her hopes’ , Levin (1982), by telling her that Angelo hath ‘releas’d him from the world’
which the Duke cleverly uses to fuel her anger, in which he can use to his advantage of exposing
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