Measure for Measure" We See

¶ … Measure for Measure" we see substitution in the characters, in the role the characters take on, in the key events, in the language and in the themes. Substitution occurs throughout the entire play, which only adds to the overall meaning of the play, the nature of substitution in that it is a part of human life, especially in relation to the choices an individual must make in the course of their life. Firstly, we see the substitution of the characters in the play, substituting one human for the other.

Angelo substitutes for the Duke, in taking his place as Deputy and looking after the state in the Duke's absence. In describing Angelo as the substitute the Duke says: Elected him our absence to supply, Lent him our terror, dress'd him with our love, and given his deputation all the organs of our own power: what think you of it?" (I.i.) it is noted here that the Duke is not merely allowing Angelo to take his place.

He wants him not just to take on the role but to be an actual substitute for himself. The words 'lent', 'dress'd' and 'given' all show that the Duke does not see that Angelo can do it as the man that he is. Later in the play, Mariana substitutes for Isabella, where Mariana takes Isabella's place in sleeping with Angelo. Isabella later asks Angelo to put himself in Claudio's place, which he does.

After the bed-trick, Barnardine substitutes for Claudio taking his place in being beheaded and finally Ragozine substitutes for Barnardine. The substitute theme is also continued where we see the dual roles of the characters. The Duke is the obvious example, where he purposefully takes on a dual role going undercover as the Friar. Other characters take a dual role not as different characters but as how we view their characters. Angelo initially seems to be a symbol of righteousness.

By the end of the play he has broken the rules that he created and thus reveals himself as a hypocrite.

Isabella also offers to take on a new role, where she offers to assume the guilt for Claudio, essentially offering to take his place as the guilty one,."..you granting of my suit, if that be sin, I'll make it my morn prayer to have it added to the faults of mine and nothing of your answer." (II.iv.) We can then look at the events of the play and how these relate to substitutions.

The bed-trick is one of the key events in the play and is itself a substitution, where Mariana substitutes for Isabella. Not only this, but it brings into question the whole significance of substitution and especially the difficulty in choosing between two things. In the scene Angelo is set up to sleep with Mariana, in the play this is represented as being acceptable and in the society of the time, it was acceptable as the two were married.

In contrast Claudio and Juliet are not married and so them sleeping together is unacceptable. For the audience however, it seems more acceptabe for the latter two as they are very much in love. This shows just how difficult choices can be, in that the choice that appears right is not always the right one. The overall language in the play also plays on the substitute theme. The name of the play is the most obvious examples, suggesting substituting one thing for another.

The 'eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth' idea is another example. Elbow also plays on language, where he substitutes part of words for others, such as where he confuses benefactors and malefactors.

Elbow: "I do lean upon justice, sir, and do bring in here before your good honor two notorious benefactors." Angelo: "Benefactors? Well; what benefactors are they? Are they not malefactors?" (II.i.) Other plays on language occur where things that normally go together are reserved, such as the line, "Some rise by sin, and some by virtue fall," (II.i.) Normally this saying would be reserved, with some rising by virtue and falling by sin.

In the end, this combination of references to substitution relates back to the overall theme of the play, the nature of choices and how to choose one over the other. This is especially in relation to moral values and virtues. The question is raised as to which values to select over others. The combination of references to substitution also serves to make the point that making choices and choosing one thing over another is unavoidable. This unavoidable nature relates to the fact that substitution is part of society.

We also see where substitution is of benefit to a person. Elbow is one example, he owes his job to substitution, as he says "as they are chosen, they are glad to choose me for them." (II.i) This leads to one of the themes of the play, corruption, a theme that touches on substitution. In fact there are many themes of the play that relate to substitution. Some of the themes are a choice between two things, where one must be substituted by the other. Action vs.

words is one example. This theme is especially important as it also relates to the nature of appearances, in that what appears is not always actual. The Duke is one example, he announces that he will be leaving the city but sneaks back in disguise. This relates to another theme, appearance vs. reality. Angelo appears to be a good man, but we find that he is not. Disguise is another theme, where disguise can be seen as substituting the real person for another.

The Duke takes on a disguise as the Friar. While this is an obvious disguise there are also the less obvious. Angelo is disguised as a good man, in the end he is shown not to be. It is significant that it is the Duke's disguise that is the downfall of Angelo's. This suggests that it is in the purpose of the disguise that the importance lies. Manipulation is also a key component in the play, manipulation is the reason for the events of the play.

Without it Claudio would have died, Angelo would have remained unexposed, and Mariana would not have gotten married. Manipulation is in itself a substitution, the process of substituting what is real for that the manipulator wants you to believe. In the play manipulation is not a bad thing, disguise is for the Duke but not for Angelo, reality is seen to triumph over appearances in the end and action is seen to triumph over words.

All of these themes relate back to substitution, the difficulty is that the combination of many similar themes leaves the audience with no clear meaning as to the nature of substitution. Just as in the play and in life itself, the choice is not.