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A LEVEL revision notes Measure for Measure
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Measure for Measure1. ‘In Measure for Measure Isabella does little to sustain her relationship with her brother.’ In the
light of this view, discuss how Shakespeare presents the relationship between Isabella and
Claudio in this extract and elsewhere in the play.
2. ‘For a play that ends happily Measure for Measure has a lot to say about death.’ Using your
knowledge of the play as a whole, show how far you agree with this view of Measure for
Measure. Remember to support your answer with reference to different interpretations.
Measure for Measure
Extract from Examiners Report:
“This fairly popular question was often answered very well, and it provided candidates with an
opportunity to write effectively about aspects of the set play which seemed to engage them
considerably. Many candidates chose to question both the fact that the play “ends happily” and
that it “has a lot to say about death” and interesting critical choices were often cited to back up
views. This often led to discussion of the ‘problematic’ status of the play with consideration of the
views of Tillyard and others. Discussion of genre more broadly (comedy; tragedy; the fusion of the
two) featured in many answers. Indeed, more sophisticated answers sometimes offered a view
that the mixing of ideas and approaches in the play suggested something about the complexity
both of Shakespeare’s art and of the human experience.”
EXTRACT FROM MARK SCHEME:
This question may invite candidates to consider aspects of genre in this ‘problematic’ play and
represents a good opportunity for answers to include consideration of different possible critical
interpretations and performance approaches. Some productions focus on the dark moments and
choices, others on the breezy feeling that all will turn out right in the end. There is plenty of
comic material in the play for candidates to cite and this takes place on a number of levels – from
the broadly comic world (in both plot structure and linguistic expression) of the Vienna
underclass, to the sophisticated havoc created by characters like Lucio, to hints (even if rather
uncomfortable ones, often involving the Duke’s subterfuges) that things will come out right in
the end. The fact that death sits alongside comedy is a key aspect of the play’s ‘problematic’
genre. Candidates might cite the critical ideas of Tillyard and others who have written of
‘problem plays’ as a specialised grouping. Death drives various elements of the plot (most
notably the threatened punishment of Claudio – as illustrated in the 3(a) passage) and flavours
the tone of events throughout (including the celebrated antiphonal speeches ‘Be absolute for
death’ and ‘Ay, but to die, and go we know not where’). Barnadine has been on death row for a
long time. Some will argue the elements of comedy and death are not incongruous but – rather –
work together to create a play of unusual subtlety in portraying the human condition. This
indicative content is intended to indicate aspects of questions that may feature in candidates’
answers. It is not prescriptive, nor is it exclusive; examiners must be careful to reward original
but well-focused answers and implicit as well as explicit responses to questions. This guidance
should be used in conjunction with the Level Descriptors Section 1, part (b): Shakespeare.
, 3. ‘In the literature of love, deception and trickery often demean and devalue relationships
that should be based on honesty.’ In the light of this view, discuss how Shakespeare
presents the collaboration between Isabella and the Duke in the play.
4. ‘No more evasion’. Discuss the ways Shakespeare addresses the issue of ‘evasion’ in
Measure for Measure.
5. The ending of Measure for Measure can take on different meanings depending on the way that
the last scene is staged. In some productions of the play, Isabella's silence shows that she's
completely powerless. In other versions, her silence can be interpreted as power - even if the
Duke marries her and has her body, her silence will ensure that he never traps her spirit.
6. What do you think Isabella's silence means? Does it show power or the lack of it?
7. ‘Claudio: This day my sister should the cloister enter.’ What do Isabella’s religious faith and
intention to become a nun contribute to the play’s meanings and effects?
8. ‘The play Measure for Measure suggests that almost any human fault may be forgiven.’ How far
and in what ways do you agree with this view of Measure for Measure?
Extract from a Mark Scheme:
The answer is in itself a response to a critical view, but may make reference to the views of other
audiences and readers and discuss changing critical views of the play over time. Answers should
be informed by an understanding of contexts, which can include both historic and contemporary
performances of the play. The title of the play advises wariness in judging others. It is taken from
St Matthew’s account of Christ’s Sermon on the Mount: ‘for with what judgment ye judge, ye
shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again’ (Matt 7:2).
Lucio, whose habits of a lifetime include whoring, lying and slandering almost anyone, including
the duke himself, is nevertheless allowed to voice one of the play’s key messages of mercy,
thinking it unreasonable, ‘For the rebellion of a cod-piece, to take away the life of a man.’ Lucio is
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