Angelo And The Treachery: Underlying Themes

In Shakespearian literature, there are many underlying themes and messages that can be accounted for. Almost every line of every single play that he has ever written can be interpreted with meaning and gusto for those who ascertain to be a literary genius. His word choice and used of literary terms only help to convey the theme and messages of his plays. Every word of each one of his plays plays an instrumental part in defining the actions, setting and characters of a given play. In Shakespeare’s play, Measure for Measure, people make some drastic judgements in their rulings and people are meant to suffer from it. Young Claudio has fornicated with the fair Juliet and thus is sentenced to execution by strict Angelo. The title seems to gain more and more meaning as the play goes in. The title, Measure for Measure, stands for the treachery that happens in the play.

First of all, every action has an equal and opposite reaction and this holds to be evident in the play. When the play first begins, the Duke goes on a faraway visit that is of utmost importance. As he goes on this urgent visit, he leaves Lord Angelo in charge of the fair city of Vienna. One of the first things that Angelo does when he is in control is to enforce the laws of fornication and slanderous lechery. This includes Mistress Overdone’s brothel and other houses of prostitution except the ones that are owned by the wealthy business man. This is ironic because later in the play, he has problems with controlling himself around women. He initiates a measure to prevent rampant crime but it only causes another needs measure, which will be presented by the