In William Shakespeare 's dark comedy Measure for Measure, an aspiring nun, Isabella, has a brother who is sentenced to death for the crime of “fornication” and she is faced with an impossible choice of trading her virginity or letting her brother die. This play is one of the many that was created during the Elizabethan era. Shakespearean theatre refers to the theatre of England between 1562 and 1642 which was considered to be one of the most brilliant periods in the history of English theatre. This research investigation is going to examine the actor Angelo on how to prepare for his role in order to fulfill the acting requirements of Shakespearean theatre. …show more content…
It is expressed by many caesuras breaks where the mood and the pace keep changing; “Not she; nor doth she tempt, but it is I” and “Corrupt with virtuous seaosn. Can it be” and “When judges steal themselves. What, do I love her” all show and help the actor understand that Angelo has agonising questions that spring from a neurotic mind, the text is given a complex series of changing rhythms and changing tempos which aids the actor on how to interpret it, whether to slow down their speech or . He starts with “What’s this? What’s this? Is this her fault or mine? The tempter of the tempted, who sins most, ha?” The rhetorical questions indicate his temptation towards Isabella, but it also implies involving the audience and challenging them since he is directly speaking to them. “Not she; not doth she tempt, but it is I” this lines defines the antithesis with “I” and “She” making it clear that the actor must shape and clarify the thought and put emphasis on those two specific words when speaking it. Throughout the whole soliloquy there are extreme contrasts that hint that Angelo’s mind is in torment and is in extreme insecurity. Lines like “Do as the carrion does, not as the flower” and “Having waste ground enough shall we desire to raze the sanctuary” show those intense