Measure for Measure (Wordsworth Classics) - Softcover

Shakespeare, William

Softcover

ISBN 10: 185326251X ISBN 13: 9781853262517

Publisher: Wordsworth Editions, 1995

Synopsis

Edited, introduced and annotated by Cedric Watts, M.A., Ph.D., Emeritus Professor of English, University of Sussex.

In the hope of saving her brother's life, should a woman submit to rape? Should the law be respected when its administrator is corrupt? How powerful in the state should religion become? Although Measure for Measure ends like a comedy, with reconciliations, forgiveness and marriages, it has often been regarded as one of Shakespeare's problem plays. The drama shows the difficulty of effecting an appropriate balance between judicial severity and mercy, between sexual repression and decadence, and between political vigilance and social manipulation. These problems remain topical, and, in Measure for Measure, they are given immediacy by vivid character-conflicts and memorably intense poetry. This is one of Shakespeare's most probing and powerful works.

About this title

About the Author

William Shakespeare (1564-1616) needs little introduction. As we approach the four-hundredth anniversary of his death, his reputation as one of the greatest writers in the English language is undeniable - except by those who attribute his works to other writers.

From the Back Cover

When Claudio breaks the new laws against vice in Vienna by getting his fiancee, Julietta, pregnant, a series of ethical issues is brought under scrutiny. His sister's virtue is held to ransom by the deputy ruler of the city until justice is done, mercy shown, and order restored.

Edition details

• Publisher: Wordsworth Editions
• Publication date: 1995
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 185326251X
• ISBN 13: 9781853262517
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 144
• Editor: Watts M.A. Ph.D. Professor Cedric