Editing Measure for Measure (section)

{{short description|Play by Shakespeare (1604)}}
{{about|the Shakespeare play|other uses}}
{{italic title}}{{use British English|date=August 2011}}{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2020}}
[[File:John Philip Kemble (1757–1823), as Vicentio in 'Measure for Measure' by William Shakespeare, 1794 British School Victoria and Albert Museum.jpg|thumb|[[John Philip Kemble]] as Vincentio in the 1794 rendition of ''Measure for Measure'']]

'''''Measure for Measure''''' is a play by [[William Shakespeare]], believed to have been written in 1603 or 1604 and first performed in 1604. It was published in the [[First Folio]] of 1623.

The play centers on the despotic and puritan [[Angelo (Measure for Measure)|Angelo]], a deputy entrusted to rule the city of [[Vienna]] in the absence of Duke Vincentio, who instead disguises himself as a humble friar to observe Angelo's regency and his citizens' lives. Angelo persecutes a young man, Claudio, for the crime of [[fornication]], sentencing him to death on a technicality, only to fall madly in love with Claudio's sister Isabella, a chaste and innocent nun, when she comes to plead for her brother's life.

''Measure for Measure'' was printed as a comedy in the First Folio and continues to be classified as one. Though it shares features with other Shakespearean comedies, such as [[word play]], [[irony]], and [[disguise]] and substitution as plot devices, it also features tragic elements such as [[Capital punishment|executions]] and [[Soliloquy|soliloquies]], with Claudio's speech "Ay, but to die, and go we know not where..." in particular having been favorably compared to those of tragic heroes like [[Prince Hamlet]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.shmoop.com/measure-for-measure/tone.html|title=''Measure for Measure'': Tone|website=Shmoop Study Guides|access-date=19 December 2014|archive-date=9 July 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180709184947/https://www.shmoop.com/measure-for-measure/tone.html|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Van Es|first=Bart|title=Shakespeare's Comedies: A Very Short Introduction|publisher=Oxford University Press|date=2016|isbn=9780198723356|location=Oxford}}</ref> Because of this ambiguous tone, it is often cited as one of [[Shakespearean problem play|Shakespeare's problem plays]].