Please join us in November when we discuss "Measure for Measure" by William Shakespeare
Image above: William Shakespeare
Location: ZOOM. If you are signed up for this meeting, the link to this event is found by scrolling down to the bottom right-hand side of this webpage. The correct link will not appear until RSVPs are closed.
We are now meeting once a month, almost always the last Tuesday of the month, online via Zoom. [On occasion we might have a meeting at an accessible restaurant in Oakland, probably on a Saturday afternoon.]
The discussion will start at the normal 6:30 PM time. Please sign in 5 minutes early so that we are all ready to start promptly on time. If you have not used Zoom before, it is suggested you download it sometime before the meeting starts.
It is difficult to know where to begin to summarize the themes and the plot elements of “Measure for Measure”: mercy versus justice; hypocricy; abuse of power; obscenity in one scene, saintliness in the next; a whole cast of fascinating characters; a Duke of Vienna who is seemingly omnipotent, but strikingly human; a holier-than-thou prig, Angelo, who rules Vienna with an iron fist during the Duke’s absence; and there is Claudio who has been condemned to death by Angelo for fornication; and Claudio’s sister, Isabella, a saintly young woman, who is urged by her brother, Claudio, to sleep with Angelo in order to save her brother’s life.
These famous lines are spoken by Isabella to Angelo:
"but man, proud man,
Drest in a little brief authority,
Most ignorant of what he's most assured,
His glassy essence, like an angry ape,
Plays such fantastic tricks before high heaven
As make the angels weep;"
I would urge folks who want to attend the meeting to watch a production of “Measure for Measure”. It is difficult, if not impossible, to really grasp this drama without seeing it. A fairly recent production on DVD directed by Gregory Doran, easily acquirable, would be a good choice.
From goodreads.com:
Measure for Measure is among the most passionately discussed of Shakespeare’s plays. In it, a duke temporarily removes himself from governing his city-state, deputizing a member of his administration, Angelo, to enforce the laws more rigorously. Angelo chooses as his first victim Claudio, condemning him to death because he impregnated Juliet before their marriage.
Claudio’s sister Isabella, who is entering a convent, pleads for her brother’s life. Angelo attempts to extort sex from her, but Isabella preserves her chastity. The duke, in disguise, eavesdrops as she tells her brother about Angelo’s behavior, then offers to ally himself with her against Angelo.