Introduction Timeline Pictures Author(s) -Shakespeare, William --1564 - 1582: William Shakespeare's Stratford Beginnings --1582 - 1592: William Shakespeare's Marriage, Parenthood and Early Occupation --1592 - 1594: William Shakespeare's Life In London, part 1 --1594 - 1611: William Shakespeare's Life In London, part 2 --1594 - 1611: William Shakespeare's Life In London, part 3 --1611 - 1616: William Shakespeare - Back to Stratford The context of Measure for Measure -Social / political context --The Catholic heritage --The Tudor monarchy --The grounds for divorce --Separating from the Catholic church --Protestant versus Catholic --The situation in Shakespeare's day --The Stuart monarchy ---More on James' mother, Mary Queen of Scots ---Act II, scene iv -Religious / philosophical context --Divine right of kings ---More on rebellion against the king --The Renaissance --The Reformation -The Theatre --Mystery and morality plays --Permanent Theatres --Design of theatres --The role of women Measure for Measure Synopses -Act I --Act I, scene i --Act I, scene ii ---More on sexually transmitted diseases --Act I, scene iii --Act I, scene iv -Act II --Act II, scene i ---More on justice versus mercy --Act II, scene ii ---More on justice and mercy in Shakespeare --Act II, scene iii -Act III --Act III, scene i --Act III, scene ii -Act IV --Act IV, scene i --Act IV, scene ii ---More about life and death imagery --Act IV, scene iii --Act IV, scene iv --Act IV, scene v -Act V --Act V, scene i Structure -Juxtaposition of scenes -Dramatic irony -Time-scale -Mariana -The bed-trick -The ambiguous ending Characterisation -The Duke -Isabella -Angelo -Lucio -Claudio -Escalus -Juliet -Mistress Overdone -Mariana -The Provost -Pompey -Elbow -Abhorson -Froth -Barnardine Themes and significant ideas -Setting Measure for Measure within a Christian world view -Judgement on earth and in heaven -The nature of humanity -The role of government Imagery and symbolism -Disguise and seeming -Money and materialism Shakespeare's Language -The evolution of the language -Thee, thou and you -The royal plural -Blank verse, prose & rhyme -Variations from the norm -Language as a weapon Settings -Vienna -The Duke's court -The city streets -The court of justice -The prison -The friary -The nunnery -Angelo's garden -The moated grange Critical analysis -How to approach the question -A worked example -Sample essay answer Approaching exams and essays -What makes a good English exam answer? -How to plan an essay -Possible essay questions -Engaging with the text Resources and further reading -Booklist -Website resources -Theatre and media -Worksheet downloads
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Typing in ‘Shakespeare Measure for Measure’ to Google produces more than a million responses! Some are editions of the text, some study guides, some essays. Although you will certainly find some useful material, remember that none of it is going to help you understand the play if you do not already have a thorough knowledge of the text from reading it yourself.
Useful links:
www.rsc.org.uk/measure/home/home.html
An interesting website which really looks at the play as drama is the RSC’s guide based on their 2003 production
http://shakespeare.palomar.edu/
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