Monday, February 28, 2011

The Duke's Dirty Work

One of the most powerful characters in Measure for Measure is the Duke. The Duke gives his power to Angelo to enforce Vienna’s rules. Although he sees Angelo to be the perfect man to take over his responsibilities, he does not fully trust him. He disguises himself as a friar to spy on Angelo, but none of the other characters know this. He plays with the other character’s emotions throughout the play, and proves himself to be one of the most evil characters in the play.

When the Duke returns to Vienna as the Friar, he learns what Angelo has done to Isabella, and comes up with a plan. He wants to expose Angelo as the jerk that he is, but also save Isabella’s virginity and Claudio’s life. As he tries to do this, he causes conflicts in the other characters lives. An example of this is in scene 4.2 when Angelo demands Claudio’s head, so the Duke executes Barnardine instead so Claudio can survive. Even worse in scene 4.3, the Duke tells Isabella that her brother is dead even though he’s not:

“The tongue of Isabel. She’s come to know
If yet her brother’s pardon be come hither;
But I will keep her ignorant of her good,
To make her heavenly comforts of despair
When it is least expectd” (4.3.99-103).

In scene 5.1, after revealing his identity as the Duke, he takes everything a little too far. He calls Mariana a “pernicious woman” (5.1.237), and basically sticks up for Angelo, and let’s Isabella feel like she’s betrayed her religious beliefs. Also, he leaves Claudio to think he is about to be executed, and has no idea what will happen to Juliet and their child.

Basically, the Duke is more concerned with himself than anyone else. He takes his games too far, and wants to look like the hero when he “saves” everyone. In the end, his plan works and everyone in the play has a happy ending, but he makes himself look like a manipulator and a cruel man to the reader.

3 comments:

Andre Lancaster said...

Right, Jessica, The Duke's actions to make things right go wrong. I think this reading of the Duke's function is right on. He's the propelling farcical energy.

Jennifer Raimondo said...

Very interesting post. I definitely agree that the Duke attempts to come off as the hero, but his true manipulative behavior is something that the reader/audience member should notice. Which made me ponder this: regarding saving Isabella's virginity; did he do it because he truly wanted to help her and therefore seem like the hero? OR because he wanted to be the one to take her virginity first and therefore fulfill his own desires? His proposal at the end suggests the latter. Perhaps the two connect.

Cyrus Mulready said...

There is a real dichotomy on the board this week between those who see the Duke as heroic, and those who find him to be cruel and manipulative (as articulated here nicely by Jessica). Maybe the play is revealing to us the dual nature of power--both awesome and cruel?