Isabella monologue measure for measure. Measure for Measure: Isabella — Shakespeare with Sarah 2022-10-09
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In William Shakespeare's play "Measure for Measure," Isabella is a complex and nuanced character who undergoes a significant arc throughout the course of the play. As the younger sister of Claudio, a man sentenced to death for fornication, Isabella pleads with the tyrannical Duke Vincentio to spare her brother's life. In doing so, she delivers a powerful monologue that reveals her strong moral code and her unwavering commitment to upholding justice.
At the start of the play, Isabella is a novice nun, preparing to take her vows and dedicate her life to the service of God. She is a devout and virtuous woman, and her monologue reflects this. When the Duke offers to spare Claudio's life in exchange for her virginity, Isabella is outraged and refuses to compromise her values. She argues that the Duke's offer is an affront to her virtue and a betrayal of her commitment to God.
Isabella's monologue reveals her strength of character and her refusal to be swayed by the Duke's threats or manipulations. She stands up for what she believes in, even in the face of adversity, and refuses to be swayed by the Duke's threats or manipulations. She argues that the Duke's offer is not only wrong, but also hypocritical, as he claims to be a just and righteous ruler while simultaneously demanding that Isabella compromise her own values.
Despite her initial refusal, Isabella eventually agrees to the Duke's proposal, though only after he agrees to spare Claudio's life without requiring her to betray her own values. In this way, Isabella's monologue serves as a testament to her conviction and her ability to stand up for what she believes in, even in the face of overwhelming pressure.
Ultimately, Isabella's monologue is a powerful expression of her moral code and her commitment to justice. Despite the challenges she faces, she remains unwavering in her beliefs and refuses to compromise her values, even in the face of great adversity. Through her monologue, Isabella emerges as a strong and courageous character who is willing to fight for what she believes in, no matter the cost.
Measure for Measure, Act 5, scene 1
LUCIO 375 Do you so, sir? Modern Translation Who is going to believe you, Isabel? My perfect reputation, my moral way of living, my respected word against yours, and my position in this city will all outweigh your accusation. Not she; nor doth she tempt; but it is I That, lying by the violet in the sun, Do as the carrion does, not as the flower, Corrupt with virtuous season. LUCIO 320 My lord, here comes the rascal I spoke of, here with the Provost. Heaven shield your Grace from woe, ACT 5. I find an apt remission in myself; And yet here's one in place I cannot pardon. It's like when the subjects of a king, wishing him well, all crowd up to him; since they don't know how to show affection, it actually comes off as offensive.
The fundamental flaw in her character is thus self-contradiction. And feast upon her eyes? Prolixious: Time-wasting, tedious, protracted. We shall find 305 this friar a notable fellow. By profession, I'm a teacher and I'm fond of folk music too. ESCALUS Such a fellow is not to be talked withal. It is especially important with this monologue to prepare it in a way that is flexible.
ISABELLA O, give me pardon That I, your vassal, have employed and pained Your unknown sovereignty. Then, good prince, No longer session hold upon my shame, But let my trial be mine own confession. Make not impossible That which but seems unlike: 'tis not impossible But one, the wicked'st caitiff on the ground, May seem as shy, as grave, as just, as absolute As Angelo; even so may Angelo, In all his dressings, characts, titles, forms, Be an arch-villain; believe it, royal prince: If he be less, he's nothing; but he's more, Had I more name for badness. Answer me to-morrow, Or, by the affection that now guides me most, I'll prove a tyrant to him. The nuptial finished, Let him be whipped and hanged. This monologue is his response… Full synopsis: Step 2: Understanding the Monologue Original Text Act 2 Scene 4 ANGELO: Who will believe thee, Isabel? I recommend reading as many as you can and then sitting with each for a few days. Claudio, who the play centres around, has committed the act of fornication and is sentenced to death.
DUKE VINCENTIO Your husband's the one that teased you with a husband. First, his integrity Stands without blemish; next, it imports no reason 130 That with such vehemency he should pursue Faults proper to himself. That Angelo is an adulterous thief, An hypocrite, a virgin-violator; Is it not strange and strange? First hath this woman Most wrongfully accused your substitute, Who is as free from touch or soil with her 165 As she from one ungot. Your brother's death, I know, sits at your heart; And you may marvel why I obscured myself, Labouring to save his life, and would not rather Make rash remonstrance of my hidden power Than let him so be lost. ANGELO, ESCALUS Happy return be to your royal Grace.
Be you judge Of your own cause. Then, Isabel, live chaste, and, brother, die: More than our brother is our chastity. DUKE Why you are nothing, then, neither maid, widow, nor wife? As for you, Say what you can, my false o'erweighs your true. And my place in the government will outweigh your accusation to the point that you'll be ruined by your own report, and be filled with shame. Although she begins as a flawed character, she eventually learns wisdom and charity.
Isabella Character Analysis in Measure for Measure
ISABELLA In short to skip over all the unimportant details, like how I begged, and prayed, and kneeled, and how he argued against me, and how I replied, since all of this took a long time I'll say—shamefully and sadly—how it ended up. Let this friar be found. That, had he twenty heads to tender down On twenty bloody blocks, he'ld yield them up, Before his sister should her body stoop To such abhorr'd pollution. The Duke Dare no more stretch this finger of mine than he 355 Dare rack his own. They have confessed you did.
Else imputation, For that he knew you, might reproach your life And choke your good to come. ANGELO This is a strange abuse. ISABELLA And is this all? My business in this state Made me a looker on here in Vienna, Where I have seen corruption boil and bubble Till it o'er-run the stew; laws for all faults, But faults so countenanced, that the strong statutes Stand like the forfeits in a barber's shop, As much in mock as mark. She is a bundle of contradictions and as bright in her intellect as Portia. DUKE 95 I wish you now, then. Never could the strumpet With all her double vigour, art and nature, Once stir my temper: but this virtuous maid Subdues me quite. But, peace be with him! Duke: Be absolute for death; either death or life Shall thereby be the sweeter.
Measure for Measure: Isabella — Shakespeare with Sarah
Oh, sweet girl, his death came so quickly, and I thought we had more time. LUCIO O, thou damnable fellow! I'll give you a promotion. And my heart is filled with the steady, growing evil of my thoughts. LUCIO But yesternight, my lord, she and that friar, I saw them at the prison. Working on your Measure for Measure Monologue Measure for Measure is more complex than most of If there are unfamiliar words, or references, look them up. DUKE A widow, then? Did you really think that you could support a testimony against someone as perfectly unshakably worthy and believable as Angelo , just because you swore by all the saints in heaven? They can make the law do whatever they want—doing right or wrong to feed their own appetite as it grows! Do you have to insult the man to his face, and call him a "villain? ISABELLA I do, my lord. I have stood by, my lord, and I have heard Your royal ear abused.
You may also be interested in exploring some more. . ANGELO My lord, I have to admit I know this woman. DUKE Against all sense you do importune her. ANGELO My lord, I must confess I know this woman, 245 And five years since there was some speech of marriage Betwixt myself and her, which was broke off, Partly for that her promisèd proportions Came short of composition, but in chief 250 For that her reputation was disvalued In levity. Where is the Provost? Step 3: Notes on Interpretation Angelo is dealing with a lot of new feelings.
ANGELO O my dread lord, I should be guiltier than my guiltiness 415 To think I can be undiscernible, When I perceive your Grace, like power divine, Hath looked upon my passes. My perfect reputation and disciplined life will work against you. Even if you would deny it, you can't escape. But Angelo, he didn't do the thing that he intended. I have begun, And now I give my sensual race the rein: Fit thy consent to my sharp appetite; Lay by all nicety and prolixious blushes, That banish what they sue for; redeem thy brother By yielding up thy body to my will; Or else he must not only die the death, But thy unkindness shall his death draw out To lingering sufferance.
