Act 3, Scene 2 — Measure for Measure

The argument Outside the prison, Lucio slanders the Duke to his face while the Duke, in friar's disguise, defends himself in the third person; Escalus arrests Mistress Overdone; the Duke closes the scene with a rhyming soliloquy announcing the bed-trick.

Enter Elbow, Pompey and Officers.

ELBOW

Nay, if there be no remedy for it, but that you will needs buy and sell

men and women like beasts, we shall have all the world drink brown and

white bastard.

Nay, if there be no remedy for it, but that you will needs buy and sell men and women like beasts, we shall have all the world drink brown and white bastard.

Nay, if there be no remedy for it, but that you will needs buy and sell men and

"brown and white bastard" 'Bastard' was a sweet Spanish wine. Elbow almost certainly means something about illegitimate children (fitting, given Pompey's trade), but he accidentally produces a perfectly coherent statement about wine. This is Elbow at peak Elbow.

DUKE

O heavens, what stuff is here?

POMPEY

’Twas never merry world since, of two usuries, the merriest was put

down, and the worser allowed by order of law a furred gown to keep him

warm; and furred with fox on lambskins too, to signify that craft,

being richer than innocency, stands for the facing.

’Twas never merry world since, of two usuries, the merriest was put down, and the worser allowed by order of law a furred gown to keep him warm; and furred with fox on lambskins too, to signify that craft, being richer than innocency, stands for the facing.

’Twas never merry world since, of two usuries, the merriest was put down, and th

"two usuries" Pompey is cleverly equating prostitution and moneylending as two forms of 'usury' — charging for the use of something (body or money). His point: the one that's been legalized (banking) is the more harmful one.

"furred with fox on lambskins" Legal robes (worn by judges and wealthy merchants) were often fur-lined. Fox fur over lambskin = cunning over innocence — the predator wearing the prey as decoration.

ELBOW

Come your way, sir.—Bless you, good father friar.

DUKE

And you, good brother father. What offence hath this man made you, sir?

"good brother father" Elbow called the Duke 'good father friar' — the Duke returns the greeting with the same confused double honorific, wryly mocking Elbow's title-stacking.

ELBOW

Marry, sir, he hath offended the law; and, sir, we take him to be a

thief too, sir; for we have found upon him, sir, a strange picklock,

which we have sent to the deputy.

Marry, sir, he hath offended the law; and, sir, we take him to be a thief too, sir; for we have found upon him, sir, a strange picklock, which we have sent to the deputy.

Marry, sir, he hath offended the law; and, sir, we take him to be a thief too, s

DUKE ≋ verse

Fie, sirrah, a bawd, a wicked bawd;

The evil that thou causest to be done,

That is thy means to live. Do thou but think

What ’tis to cram a maw or clothe a back

From such a filthy vice. Say to thyself,

From their abominable and beastly touches

I drink, I eat, array myself, and live.

Canst thou believe thy living is a life,

So stinkingly depending? Go mend, go mend.

Fie, sirrah, a bawd, a wicked bawd; The evil that thou causest to be done, That is thy means to live. Do thou but think What ’tis to cram a maw or clothe a back From such a filthy vice. Say to thyself, From their abominable and beastly touches I drink, I eat, array myself, and live. Canst thou believe thy living is a life, So stinkingly depending? Go mend, go mend.

Fie, sirrah, a bawd, a wicked bawd; The evil that thou causest to be done, That

"cram a maw or clothe a back" A 'maw' is the throat or stomach — the place you cram food into. The Duke is making the most visceral possible argument: your bodily survival depends on others' bodies being exploited.

POMPEY

Indeed, it does stink in some sort, sir. But yet, sir, I would prove—

DUKE ≋ verse

Nay, if the devil have given thee proofs for sin,

Thou wilt prove his. Take him to prison, officer.

Correction and instruction must both work

Ere this rude beast will profit.

Nay, if the devil have given thee proofs for sin, Thou wilt prove his. Take him to prison, officer. Correction and instruction must both work Ere this rude beast will profit.

Nay, if the devil have given thee proofs for sin, Thou wilt prove his. Take him

ELBOW

He must before the deputy, sir; he has given him warning. The deputy

cannot abide a whoremaster. If he be a whoremonger and comes before

him, he were as good go a mile on his errand.

He must before the deputy, sir; he has given him warning. The deputy cannot abide a whoremaster. If he be a whoremonger and comes before him, he were as good go a mile on his errand.

He must before the deputy, sir; he has given him warning. The deputy cannot abid

DUKE ≋ verse

That we were all, as some would seem to be,

Free from our faults, as faults from seeming, free!

That we were all, as some would seem to be, Free from our faults, as faults from seeming, free!

That we were all, as some would seem to be, Free from our faults, as faults from

"Free from our faults, as faults from seeming, free" One of the play's most compressed couplets: 'seeming' is both the word for 'appearing to be' and the key term of the play's moral world. To 'seem' virtuous is not the same as being virtuous — Angelo is the proof.

Why it matters The Duke delivers the play's thesis in two lines — to an empty air, because Elbow doesn't notice it.

ELBOW

His neck will come to your waist—a cord, sir.

"His neck will come to your waist—a cord, sir" Friars wore a knotted cord at the waist. Elbow means the hangman's rope will encircle Pompey's neck the same way a cord girdles a friar's waist — an accidental image of death that is also accidentally precise.

Enter Lucio.

POMPEY

I spy comfort, I cry bail! Here’s a gentleman, and a friend of mine.

LUCIO

How now, noble Pompey? What, at the wheels of Caesar? Art thou led in

triumph? What, is there none of Pygmalion’s images, newly made woman,

to be had now, for putting the hand in the pocket and extracting it

clutched? What reply, ha? What say’st thou to this tune, matter, and

method? Is’t not drowned i’ th’ last rain, ha? What say’st thou, trot?

Is the world as it was, man? Which is the way? Is it sad and few words?

Or how? The trick of it?

How now, noble Pompey? What, at the wheels of Caesar? Art thou led in triumph? What, is there none of Pygmalion’s images, newly made woman, to be had now, for putting the hand in the pocket and extracting it clutched? What reply, ha? What say’st thou to this tune, matter, and method? Is’t not drowned i’ th’ last rain, ha? What say’st thou, trot? Is the world as it was, man? Which is the way? Is it sad and few words? Or how? The trick of it?

How now, noble Pompey? What, at the wheels of Caesar? Art thou led in triumph? W

"at the wheels of Caesar" Roman triumphs had conquered enemies marched in chains behind the victor's chariot. Lucio greets Pompey's arrest with mock-epic grandeur, as if he's been conquered by a great general rather than arrested by Elbow.

"Pygmalion's images, newly made woman" Pygmalion sculpted a statue of a woman so beautiful it came to life. Here Lucio uses it as slang for prostitutes — 'newly made women,' artifice brought to life, available for a fee.

DUKE

Still thus, and thus; still worse!

LUCIO

How doth my dear morsel, thy mistress? Procures she still, ha?

POMPEY

Troth, sir, she hath eaten up all her beef, and she is herself in the

tub.

Troth, sir, she hath eaten up all her beef, and she is herself in the tub.

"she is herself in the tub" The 'tub' or 'powdering tub' was the treatment for syphilis — a hot enclosed bath where the patient sweated out the disease. Mistress Overdone has contracted a sexually transmitted infection from her own trade.

LUCIO

Why, ’tis good. It is the right of it. It must be so. Ever your fresh

whore and your powdered bawd; an unshunned consequence; it must be so.

Art going to prison, Pompey?

Why, ’tis good. It is the right of it. It must be so. Ever your fresh whore and your powdered bawd; an unshunned consequence; it must be so. Art going to prison, Pompey?

Why, ’tis good. It is the right of it. It must be so. Ever your fresh whore and

"your fresh whore and your powdered bawd" The 'powdering' is double — Mistress Overdone is being powdered (treated for syphilis in a powdering tub) while also being described as 'powdered' in the sense of salted/preserved, like old meat. A neat and brutal metaphor.

POMPEY

Yes, faith, sir.

LUCIO

Why, ’tis not amiss, Pompey. Farewell. Go, say I sent thee thither. For

debt, Pompey? Or how?

Why, ’tis not amiss, Pompey. Farewell. Go, say I sent thee thither. For debt, Pompey? Or how?

Why, ’tis not amiss, Pompey. Farewell. Go, say I sent thee thither. For debt, Po

ELBOW

For being a bawd, for being a bawd.

LUCIO

Well, then, imprison him. If imprisonment be the due of a bawd, why,

’tis his right. Bawd is he doubtless, and of antiquity, too. Bawd born.

Farewell, good Pompey. Commend me to the prison, Pompey. You will turn

good husband now, Pompey; you will keep the house.

Well, then, imprison him. If imprisonment be the due of a bawd, why, ’tis his right. Bawd is he doubtless, and of antiquity, too. Bawd born. Farewell, good Pompey. Commend me to the prison, Pompey. You will turn good husband now, Pompey; you will keep the house.

Well, then, imprison him. If imprisonment be the due of a bawd, why, ’tis his ri

"you will keep the house" A double meaning: 'to keep house' meant to run a household, but also to stay indoors — i.e., to be imprisoned. Lucio is making a joke about Pompey finally 'keeping house' (in prison) when his whole career has been running a house (brothel).

POMPEY

I hope, sir, your good worship will be my bail.

LUCIO

No, indeed, will I not, Pompey; it is not the wear. I will pray,

Pompey, to increase your bondage. If you take it not patiently, why,

your mettle is the more. Adieu, trusty Pompey.—Bless you, friar.

No, indeed, will I not, Pompey; it is not the wear. I will pray, Pompey, to increase your bondage. If you take it not patiently, why, your mettle is the more. Adieu, trusty Pompey.—Bless you, friar.

No, indeed, will I not, Pompey; it is not the wear. I will pray, Pompey, to incr

"your mettle is the more" 'Mettle' means spirit or courage — but it's a pun on 'metal,' suggesting that Pompey, like iron, becomes stronger when forged (i.e., tested). Lucio is half-mocking, half-complimenting.

DUKE

And you.

LUCIO

Does Bridget paint still, Pompey, ha?

ELBOW

Come your ways, sir, come.

POMPEY

You will not bail me then, sir?

LUCIO

Then, Pompey, nor now.—What news abroad, friar? What news?

ELBOW

Come your ways, sir, come.

LUCIO

Go to kennel, Pompey, go.

[_Exeunt Elbow, Pompey and Officers._]

What news, friar, of the Duke?

DUKE

I know none. Can you tell me of any?

LUCIO

Some say he is with the Emperor of Russia; other some, he is in Rome.

But where is he, think you?

Some say he is with the Emperor of Russia; other some, he is in Rome. But where is he, think you?

Some say he is with the Emperor of Russia; other some, he is in Rome. But where

DUKE

I know not where, but wheresoever, I wish him well.

LUCIO

It was a mad fantastical trick of him to steal from the state and usurp

the beggary he was never born to. Lord Angelo dukes it well in his

absence. He puts transgression to’t.

It was a mad fantastical trick of him to steal from the state and usurp the beggary he was never born to. Lord Angelo dukes it well in his absence. He puts transgression to’t.

It was a mad fantastical trick of him to steal from the state and usurp the begg

"usurp the beggary he was never born to" Lucio means the Duke has taken on voluntary poverty like a friar — something he was never bred for, unlike the poor who have no choice. The Duke is hearing himself called a poseur who chose poverty as a costume.

🎭 Dramatic irony Lucio tells 'the friar' that the Duke's disappearance was a 'mad fantastical trick' — a theatrical stunt. He's right, and he's talking to the Duke, who has staged the most elaborate theatrical production in the play.

DUKE

He does well in’t.

LUCIO

A little more lenity to lechery would do no harm in him. Something too

crabbed that way, friar.

A little more lenity to lechery would do no harm in him. Something too crabbed that way, friar.

A little more lenity to lechery would do no harm in him. Something too crabbed t

DUKE

It is too general a vice, and severity must cure it.

LUCIO

Yes, in good sooth, the vice is of a great kindred; it is well allied;

but it is impossible to extirp it quite, friar, till eating and

drinking be put down. They say this Angelo was not made by man and

woman after this downright way of creation. Is it true, think you?

Yes, in good sooth, the vice is of a great kindred; it is well allied; but it is impossible to extirp it quite, friar, till eating and drinking be put down. They say this Angelo was not made by man and woman after this downright way of creation. Is it true, think you?

Yes, in good sooth, the vice is of a great kindred; it is well allied; but it is

DUKE

How should he be made, then?

LUCIO

Some report a sea-maid spawned him; some, that he was begot between two

stockfishes. But it is certain that when he makes water, his urine is

congealed ice; that I know to be true. And he is a motion ungenerative;

that’s infallible.

Some report a sea-maid spawned him; some, that he was begot between two stockfishes. But it is certain that when he makes water, his urine is congealed ice; that I know to be true. And he is a motion ungenerative; that’s infallible.

Some report a sea-maid spawned him; some, that he was begot between two stockfis

"sea-maid spawned him" A mermaid — half-fish, cold-blooded. The joke is that Angelo is so cold and inhuman that even his origin must be non-human.

"begot between two stockfishes" Stockfish were dried, cured fish — cold, stiff, preserved, absolutely without warmth or life. Two pieces of dried fish cannot produce offspring, which is Lucio's point about Angelo's sexuality.

"a motion ungenerative" A 'motion' was a puppet — lifeless, mechanical. 'Ungenerative' means incapable of generation/reproduction. Angelo is being called a puppet who cannot create life — a hollow form without the warmth of humanity.

DUKE

You are pleasant, sir, and speak apace.

LUCIO

Why, what a ruthless thing is this in him, for the rebellion of a

codpiece to take away the life of a man! Would the Duke that is absent

have done this? Ere he would have hanged a man for the getting a

hundred bastards, he would have paid for the nursing a thousand. He had

some feeling of the sport; he knew the service, and that instructed him

to mercy.

Why, what a ruthless thing is this in him, for the rebellion of a codpiece to take away the life of a man! Would the Duke that is absent have done this? Ere he would have hanged a man for the getting a hundred bastards, he would have paid for the nursing a thousand. He had some feeling of the sport; he knew the service, and that instructed him to mercy.

Why, what a ruthless thing is this in him, for the rebellion of a codpiece to ta

"the rebellion of a codpiece" A codpiece was a padded flap covering the male crotch — often exaggeratedly large in Elizabethan fashion. 'The rebellion of a codpiece' means a sexual urge — the body's insurrection against the mind's authority.

DUKE

I never heard the absent Duke much detected for women; he was not

inclined that way.

I never heard the absent Duke much detected for women; he was not inclined that way.

I never heard the absent Duke much detected for women; he was not inclined that

LUCIO

O, sir, you are deceived.

DUKE

’Tis not possible.

LUCIO

Who, not the Duke? Yes, your beggar of fifty; and his use was to put a

ducat in her clack-dish. The Duke had crotchets in him. He would be

drunk too, that let me inform you.

Who, not the Duke? Yes, your beggar of fifty; and his use was to put a ducat in her clack-dish. The Duke had crotchets in him. He would be drunk too, that let me inform you.

Who, not the Duke? Yes, your beggar of fifty; and his use was to put a ducat in

"put a ducat in her clack-dish" A clack-dish was a wooden bowl with a lid that beggars clacked to draw attention. Putting a coin in a beggar's clack-dish — or being intimate with a beggar woman — is Lucio's slander. The Duke had a thing for poor older women, allegedly.

DUKE

You do him wrong, surely.

LUCIO

Sir, I was an inward of his. A shy fellow was the Duke; and I believe I

know the cause of his withdrawing.

Sir, I was an inward of his. A shy fellow was the Duke; and I believe I know the cause of his withdrawing.

Sir, I was an inward of his. A shy fellow was the Duke; and I believe I know the

"I was an inward of his" An 'inward' was an intimate companion — someone trusted with private matters. Lucio claims insider access to the Duke's character, which of course makes the slanders worse.

🎭 Dramatic irony Lucio claims to have been the Duke's intimate ('an inward of his') — which would mean the Duke, who is present, knows whether this is true. The joke is that Lucio's 'insider knowledge' is entirely invented.

DUKE

What, I prithee, might be the cause?

LUCIO

No, pardon. ’Tis a secret must be locked within the teeth and the lips.

But this I can let you understand: the greater file of the subject held

the Duke to be wise.

No, pardon. ’Tis a secret must be locked within the teeth and the lips. But this I can let you understand: the greater file of the subject held the Duke to be wise.

No, pardon. ’Tis a secret must be locked within the teeth and the lips. But this

DUKE

Wise? Why, no question but he was.

LUCIO

A very superficial, ignorant, unweighing fellow.

Why it matters The insult lands perfectly because it directly contradicts what the Duke just agreed to — and because the Duke cannot respond without revealing himself.

DUKE

Either this is envy in you, folly, or mistaking. The very stream of his

life, and the business he hath helmed, must upon a warranted need give

him a better proclamation. Let him be but testimonied in his own

bringings-forth, and he shall appear to the envious a scholar, a

statesman, and a soldier. Therefore you speak unskilfully. Or, if your

knowledge be more, it is much darkened in your malice.

Either this is envy in you, folly, or mistaking. The very stream of his life, and the business he hath helmed, must upon a warranted need give him a better proclamation. Let him be but testimonied in his own bringings-forth, and he shall appear to the envious a scholar, a statesman, and a soldier. Therefore you speak unskilfully. Or, if your knowledge be more, it is much darkened in your malice.

Either this is envy in you, folly, or mistaking. The very stream of his life, an

LUCIO

Sir, I know him, and I love him.

DUKE

Love talks with better knowledge, and knowledge with dearer love.

LUCIO

Come, sir, I know what I know.

DUKE

I can hardly believe that, since you know not what you speak. But, if

ever the Duke return, as our prayers are he may, let me desire you to

make your answer before him. If it be honest you have spoke, you have

courage to maintain it. I am bound to call upon you, and I pray you

your name?

I can hardly believe that, since you know not what you speak. But, if ever the Duke return, as our prayers are he may, let me desire you to make your answer before him. If it be honest you have spoke, you have courage to maintain it. I am bound to call upon you, and I pray you your name?

I can hardly believe that, since you know not what you speak. But, if ever the D

Why it matters The Duke is taking Lucio's name with full intention to use it — this exchange has a direct consequence in Act 5.

LUCIO

Sir, my name is Lucio, well known to the Duke.

DUKE

He shall know you better, sir, if I may live to report you.

LUCIO

I fear you not.

DUKE

O, you hope the Duke will return no more; or you imagine me too

unhurtful an opposite. But indeed, I can do you little harm. You’ll

forswear this again.

O, you hope the Duke will return no more; or you imagine me too unhurtful an opposite. But indeed, I can do you little harm. You’ll forswear this again.

O, you hope the Duke will return no more; or you imagine me too unhurtful an opp

LUCIO

I’ll be hanged first! Thou art deceived in me, friar. But no more of

this. Canst thou tell if Claudio die tomorrow or no?

I’ll be hanged first! Thou art deceived in me, friar. But no more of this. Canst thou tell if Claudio die tomorrow or no?

I’ll be hanged first! Thou art deceived in me, friar. But no more of this. Canst

Why it matters Lucio swears he'd be hanged before denying his slanders — and in Act 5, the Duke gives him exactly that choice.

🎭 Dramatic irony Lucio swears he'd be hanged before denying his slanders about the Duke — speaking to the Duke himself. In Act 5, the Duke will offer him approximately that choice.

DUKE

Why should he die, sir?

LUCIO

Why? For filling a bottle with a tun-dish. I would the Duke we talk of

were returned again. This ungenitured agent will unpeople the province

with continency. Sparrows must not build in his house-eaves because

they are lecherous. The Duke yet would have dark deeds darkly answered.

He would never bring them to light. Would he were returned! Marry, this

Claudio is condemned for untrussing. Farewell, good friar, I prithee

pray for me. The Duke, I say to thee again, would eat mutton on

Fridays. He’s now past it; yet, and, I say to thee, he would mouth with

a beggar though she smelt brown bread and garlic. Say that I said so.

Farewell.

Why? For filling a bottle with a tun-dish. I would the Duke we talk of were returned again. This ungenitured agent will unpeople the province with continency. Sparrows must not build in his house-eaves because they are lecherous. The Duke yet would have dark deeds darkly answered. He would never bring them to light. Would he were returned! Marry, this Claudio is condemned for untrussing. Farewell, good friar, I prithee pray for me. The Duke, I say to thee again, would eat mutton on Fridays. He’s now past it; yet, and, I say to thee, he would mouth with a beggar though she smelt brown bread and garlic. Say that I said so. Farewell.

Why? For filling a bottle with a tun-dish. I would the Duke we talk of were retu

"filling a bottle with a tun-dish" A tun-dish was a funnel used to fill wine casks. The phrase describes sexual intercourse through the most mundane domestic implement possible — Lucio's persistent talent for deflationary metaphor.

"ungenitured agent" Ungenitured = without genitals, or sexually inert. Another variant on Lucio's running joke about Angelo being non-human and incapable of desire.

"he would eat mutton on Fridays" Friday was a fast day — no meat. 'Eating mutton on Fridays' is slang for keeping a mistress or engaging in illicit sex. Lucio is saying the Duke violated religious fasting rules both literally and metaphorically.

[_Exit._]

DUKE ≋ verse

No might nor greatness in mortality

Can censure ’scape. Back-wounding calumny

The whitest virtue strikes. What king so strong

Can tie the gall up in the slanderous tongue?

But who comes here?

No might nor greatness in mortality Can censure ’scape. Back-wounding calumny The whitest virtue strikes. What king so strong Can tie the gall up in the slanderous tongue? But who comes here?

No might nor greatness in mortality Can censure ’scape. Back-wounding calumny Th

"Back-wounding calumny" Calumny is slander or false accusation. 'Back-wounding' — striking from behind, unseen, like an arrow in the back. The Duke can't defend himself from slanders delivered to his face while in disguise.

Why it matters The Duke's meditation on slander is genuine and personal — Lucio has gotten under his skin, which will have consequences in Act 5 out of all proportion to the actual slanders.

Enter Escalus, Provost and Officers with Mistress Overdone, a Bawd.

ESCALUS

Go, away with her to prison.

BAWD

Good my lord, be good to me. Your honour is accounted a merciful man,

good my lord.

Good my lord, be good to me. Your honour is accounted a merciful man, good my lord.

Good my lord, be good to me. Your honour is accounted a merciful man, good my lo

ESCALUS

Double and treble admonition, and still forfeit in the same kind? This

would make mercy swear and play the tyrant.

Double and treble admonition, and still forfeit in the same kind? This would make mercy swear and play the tyrant.

Double and treble admonition, and still forfeit in the same kind? This would mak

PROVOST

A bawd of eleven years’ continuance, may it please your honour.

BAWD

My lord, this is one Lucio’s information against me. Mistress Kate

Keepdown was with child by him in the Duke’s time; he promised her

marriage. His child is a year and a quarter old come Philip and Jacob.

I have kept it myself; and see how he goes about to abuse me.

My lord, this is one Lucio’s information against me. Mistress Kate Keepdown was with child by him in the Duke’s time; he promised her marriage. His child is a year and a quarter old come Philip and Jacob. I have kept it myself; and see how he goes about to abuse me.

My lord, this is one Lucio’s information against me. Mistress Kate Keepdown was

"come Philip and Jacob" The feast day of Saints Philip and James (Jacob), May 1st — Mistress Overdone uses it as a precise date marker, indicating the child was born around May 1st the previous year.

Why it matters This is the first we hear of Kate Keepdown — a woman Lucio has impregnated and abandoned. This information is the trap that closes on Lucio in Act 5.

ESCALUS

That fellow is a fellow of much license. Let him be called before us.

Away with her to prison. Go to, no more words.

That fellow is a fellow of much license. Let him be called before us. Away with her to prison. Go to, no more words.

That fellow is a fellow of much license. Let him be called before us. Away with

[_Exeunt Officers with Bawd._]

Provost, my brother Angelo will not be altered; Claudio must die

tomorrow. Let him be furnished with divines, and have all charitable

preparation. If my brother wrought by my pity, it should not be so with

him.

PROVOST

So please you, this friar hath been with him, and advised him for th’

entertainment of death.

So please you, this friar hath been with him, and advised him for th’ entertainment of death.

So please you, this friar hath been with him, and advised him for th’ entertainm

ESCALUS

Good even, good father.

DUKE

Bliss and goodness on you!

ESCALUS

Of whence are you?

DUKE ≋ verse

Not of this country, though my chance is now

To use it for my time. I am a brother

Of gracious order, late come from the See

In special business from his Holiness.

Not of this country, though my chance is now To use it for my time. I am a brother Of gracious order, late come from the See In special business from his Holiness.

Not of this country, though my chance is now To use it for my time. I am a broth

"the See" The Holy See — the seat of the Pope in Rome. The Duke's cover story involves direct papal authority, giving his disguise maximum clerical credibility.

ESCALUS

What news abroad i’ th’ world?

DUKE

None, but that there is so great a fever on goodness that the

dissolution of it must cure it. Novelty is only in request, and as it

is as dangerous to be aged in any kind of course as it is virtuous to

be constant in any undertaking. There is scarce truth enough alive to

make societies secure; but security enough to make fellowships

accursed. Much upon this riddle runs the wisdom of the world. This news

is old enough, yet it is every day’s news. I pray you, sir, of what

disposition was the Duke?

None, but that there is so great a fever on goodness that the dissolution of it must cure it. Novelty is only in request, and as it is as dangerous to be aged in any kind of course as it is virtuous to be constant in any undertaking. There is scarce truth enough alive to make societies secure; but security enough to make fellowships accursed. Much upon this riddle runs the wisdom of the world. This news is old enough, yet it is every day’s news. I pray you, sir, of what disposition was the Duke?

None, but that there is so great a fever on goodness that the dissolution of it

"such a fever on goodness that the dissolution of it must cure it" The fever metaphor: illness was sometimes treated by 'breaking' the fever — letting it peak and collapse. The Duke is saying goodness in the world is so sick that only its total crisis will heal it. A very dark reading of the play's moral universe.

ESCALUS

One that, above all other strifes, contended especially to know

himself.

One that, above all other strifes, contended especially to know himself.

Why it matters Escalus's characterization of the Duke as primarily interested in self-knowledge is both the most flattering and most damning thing anyone says about him — and a friar's disguise is exactly what a man obsessed with self-knowledge might wear.

DUKE

What pleasure was he given to?

ESCALUS

Rather rejoicing to see another merry, than merry at anything which

professed to make him rejoice. A gentleman of all temperance. But leave

we him to his events, with a prayer they may prove prosperous, and let

me desire to know how you find Claudio prepared. I am made to

understand that you have lent him visitation.

Rather rejoicing to see another merry, than merry at anything which professed to make him rejoice. A gentleman of all temperance. But leave we him to his events, with a prayer they may prove prosperous, and let me desire to know how you find Claudio prepared. I am made to understand that you have lent him visitation.

Rather rejoicing to see another merry, than merry at anything which professed to

DUKE

He professes to have received no sinister measure from his judge, but

most willingly humbles himself to the determination of justice. Yet had

he framed to himself, by the instruction of his frailty, many deceiving

promises of life, which I, by my good leisure, have discredited to him,

and now he is resolved to die.

He professes to have received no sinister measure from his judge, but most willingly humbles himself to the determination of justice. Yet had he framed to himself, by the instruction of his frailty, many deceiving promises of life, which I, by my good leisure, have discredited to him, and now he is resolved to die.

He professes to have received no sinister measure from his judge, but most willi

ESCALUS

You have paid the heavens your function, and the prisoner the very debt

of your calling. I have laboured for the poor gentleman to the

extremest shore of my modesty, but my brother justice have I found so

severe that he hath forced me to tell him he is indeed Justice.

You have paid the heavens your function, and the prisoner the very debt of your calling. I have laboured for the poor gentleman to the extremest shore of my modesty, but my brother justice have I found so severe that he hath forced me to tell him he is indeed Justice.

You have paid the heavens your function, and the prisoner the very debt of your

"he hath forced me to tell him he is indeed Justice" A devastating compliment: to be 'Justice' and nothing but Justice — no mercy, no equity, no human flexibility — is not praise. Escalus is saying Angelo has become an abstraction, not a person.

↩ Callback to 2-1 Escalus's 'he is indeed Justice' echoes his quiet grief at the end of Act 2 Scene 1 — 'but yet, poor Claudio!' — the same man, still trying and still failing to soften Angelo.

DUKE

If his own life answer the straitness of his proceeding, it shall

become him well; wherein if he chance to fail, he hath sentenced

himself.

If his own life answer the straitness of his proceeding, it shall become him well; wherein if he chance to fail, he hath sentenced himself.

If his own life answer the straitness of his proceeding, it shall become him wel

Why it matters The Duke, in friar's disguise, is quietly announcing the principle that will govern the final act — and he knows exactly how Angelo has already violated it.

ESCALUS

I am going to visit the prisoner. Fare you well.

DUKE

Peace be with you.

[_Exeunt Escalus and Provost._]

He who the sword of heaven will bear

Should be as holy as severe,

Pattern in himself to know,

Grace to stand, and virtue go;

More nor less to others paying

Than by self-offences weighing.

Shame to him whose cruel striking

Kills for faults of his own liking!

Twice treble shame on Angelo,

To weed my vice, and let his grow!

O, what may man within him hide,

Though angel on the outward side!

How may likeness, made in crimes,

Make practice on the times,

To draw with idle spiders’ strings

Most ponderous and substantial things!

Craft against vice I must apply.

With Angelo tonight shall lie

His old betrothed but despised.

So disguise shall, by th’ disguised,

Pay with falsehood false exacting,

And perform an old contracting.

[_Exit._]

The Reckoning

This is the comedy of the play at its most uncomfortable — a ruler listening to his own subjects dismiss, ridicule, and defame him while unable to say a word in his own defense without blowing his cover. The Duke's soliloquy at the end shifts abruptly to verse and righteousness, suggesting he has taken every word personally. He goes away from this encounter not just with a plan, but with a grudge.

If this happened today…

Imagine a CEO who is secretly sitting in on a coffee chat between two junior employees — in disguise as an outside consultant — and hears one of them spend twenty minutes telling the 'consultant' that the CEO is secretly a drunk who sleeps with interns, is probably terrible in bed, and only hired Angela from operations because he had a thing for her. The CEO nods, deflects, attempts gentle pushback ('I think you might be mistaken about him'), while the employee doubles down. Then the CEO goes back to his office and types a very careful email that begins: 'When you have a moment, I'd like to discuss some things.'

Continue to 4.1 →