Measure for Measure is a Shakespearean drama, often grouped among the problem comedies, set in Vienna. The Duke steps aside and leaves the strict Angelo in charge, who condemns Claudio to death; Claudio's sister Isabella pleads for mercy. It invites reflection on justice, authority and human frailty.
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Cover of the original edition (Project Gutenberg, public domain).
Text source: gutenberg.org · The work is in the public domain.
Opening of the book
This text of Measure for Measure is from Volume I of the ninevolume 1863 Cambridge edition of Shakespeare. The Preface
(e-text 23041) and the other plays from this volume are each available as separate e-texts.
General Notes are in their original location at the end of the play, followed by the text-critical notes originally printed at the bottom of each page. All notes are hyperlinked in both directions. In dialogue, a link from a speaker’s name generally means that the note applies to an entire line or group of lines.
Line numbers—shown in the right margin and used for all notes
—are from the original text. In prose passages the exact line counts will depend on your browser settings, and will probably be different from the displayed numbers. Stage directions were not included in the line numbering.
New original cover art included with this eBook is granted to the public domain.
THE WORKS
OF
WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE
EDITED BY
WILLIAM GEORGE CLARK, M.A.
FELLOW AND TUTOR OF TRINITY COLLEGE, AND PUBLIC ORATOR
IN THE UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE;
ĵƿŠ JOHN GLOVER, M.A. LIBRARIAN OF TRINITY COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE. VOLUME I. Cambridge and London: MACMILLAN AND CO. 1863. Dramatis Personæ Act I Scene 1 An apartment in the Duke’s palace. Scene 2 A street. Scene 3 A monastery. Scene 4 A nunnery. Act II Scene 1 A hall in Angelo’s house. Scene 2 Another room in the same. Scene 3 A room in a prison. Scene 4 A room in Angelo’s house. Act III Scene 1 A room in the prison. Scene 2 The street before the prison. Act IV Scene 1 The moated grange at St Luke’s. Scene 2 A room in the prison. Scene 3 Another room in the same. Scene 4 A room in Angelo’s house. Scene 5 Fields without the town. Scene 6 Street near the city-gate. Act V Scene 1 The city-gate. Endnotes
Critical Apparatus (“Linenotes”) Texts Used (from general preface) MEASURE FOR MEASURE. DRAMATIS PERSONÆ.1