Act II, Scene 1
To no avail, Escalus pleads with an adamant Angelo to have pity on the life of Claudio. Angelo does not really consider Claudio's crime to be something major, but he is intent on carrying out the "measure of the law" and to be strict with all offenders who break the law. As a result, he orders Claudio to be executed the next morning. Escalus is grieved over Claudio's fate, but is helpless to stop the execution.
Elbow, a constable, enters with Froth and Pompey in custody, both guilty of immoral acts. When Escalus questions them about their crimes, they give long and ridiculous answers. Angelo, disgusted with their chatter, asks Escalus to settle the case and leaves the place. Although Escalus is dismayed by the
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The prisoners come across as normal human beings, with human foibles. Their language, though crude, provides entertainment and need not be taken seriously. This comic relief has been injected at the opportune moment, between Claudio's arrest and his scheduled execution.
Act II, Scene 2
The scene opens with the Provost questioning Angelo about his decision to execute Claudio. Angelo has not wavered in his decision. The execution is still to take place the next day.
Lucio brings Isabella to Angelo's house to beg him to spare the life of Claudio. Before he departs, the Provost, realizing why she is present, wishes Isabella good luck with Angelo. Isabella is dramatic in her pleas before Angelo, making reference to Christian forgiveness. (Remember she is about to become a nun.). In spite of her noble efforts and lofty language-, she is not successful. Angelo professes to be a stickler for rules and refuses to oblige her requests. Angelo, however, deceitfully states that there is some sense in her arguments and asks her to visit him the next day. After Isabella and Lucio leave, Angelo indulges in a soliloquy. He reveals that he is tempted by Isabella's beauty and feels ill at ease to have a desire that he considers a sin in others.
Notes
Isabella, the pious sister of Claudio, has been persuaded by Lucio to plead for her brother's life. She is brought to Angelo by Lucio, but the Deputy refuses to free or forgive the prisoner. She accuses Angelo of being a
She is vain, petulant, spoilt, full of doubt and have very little patience. She has a masochistic enjoyment of enforced separation because it enables her to dramatize their situation, lament, moan, send messages, etc. When her and Lelio do meet they are almost always tongue-tied and need interpreters who proceed to misinterpret their statements, either through stupidity (Zanni), malicious desire for revenge (Brighella) or calculated self-interest (Columbina). Isabella's attention span is short like a young child's and her fear that she might be a nobody keeps her hyper-animated.
In this novel “Otranto”, Manfred has a son that gets killed and no one knows how or why. His son is to be married to Isabella, but things go a different direction when she finds out that Manfred wants to marry her now. When Manfred pursues Isabella in a sexually way, his demand for a divorce from his wife Hippolita seems unreal, due to the incestuous nature of both relationships. Manfred’s logic seems to be lost and his justification, and his reasoning for his actions makes very little sense. What makes this Gothic is, this is a dark way of living, and how evil it is to live this way.
Claudio's sister Isabella is dragged out of the convent to plead for him, on the assumption that her superior virtue might move Angelo's heart to pardon her brother. Does it? No. Rather, it pierces right through Angelo's cold Puritanism and sets his heart and other bits on fire. We see through this carefully controlled man into the roaring pit that he has tried so hard to conceal. He falls a victim to the very passion he is prosecuting in Claudio; in doing so, he comes to represent the conflict between good and evil in Vienna as he struggles with the knowledge that he cannot control his own desires.
Her honor is disgraced for her “actions” and Claudio will no longer accept her as his wife because of the dishonor she has caused him.
Measure 11. This is the law that gives people a mandatory minimum sentence starting at 5 years 10 months, and going up all the way to 25 years in prison. The law gives a list of about 21 crimes that, if committed by a person, come with a set amount of time that must be served day for day by the offender, without any chance of good-time, work-time, or the possibility of a second look. Applying to ages 15 and up, this law takes the power out of the judge’s hands when it comes to sentencing someone, and forces the judge to give a mandatory minimum sentence regardless of the specific circumstances involving the case at hand. The Measure 11 laws, which range from Arson to Murder, carry a heavy minimum sentence starting at 5 years 10 months to
How ironic that Claudio’s quick decision to shame Hero at the alter shows his extreme lack of honor and virtue. Rather than stand by his fiancée’s side, he chooses to believe a rumor and instantly disowns her.
Leonato deceived Claudio and Don Pedro by telling them Hero had died because of Claudio's words; when in reality her death was portrayed to prove the innocence of Hero. The news devastated Claudio, and is instantly feeling guilty for the accusing her and humiliating the young bride in front of all of Messina.
Parks advocates that divisions have autonomy in pricing their products and that Joe Tisch, Chief Controller for Sub-Micron would not stand in their way.
A. a term used to refer to the cultural groups within a region or nation
Angelo has even fooled those within the lower class strata into thinking that he is pure and holy. Lucio is one of the first to complain to Isabella about Angelo's purity:
Isabella is immediately established as a rare female character when her brother describes her with the statement,
Don John's malevolent plan to ruin Claudio and Hero's wedding was to take effect the night before they were to wed. The malicious Don John constructed, or rather misconstructed, the scheme that insinuated Claudio's belief in Hero's faithlessness. It is Don John who reports to Claudio and Don Pedro that Hero is having an affair, and he who stage-manages an elaborate charade featuring his own henchman Borachio and an unwitting stand-in for Hero to lend credence to this fiction. Perhaps the most significant thing to be noted in connection with this deception is that the spectator does not witness the crucial scene in which Claudio overhears the counterfeit exchanges between Margaret and Borachio that persuade him of Hero's guilt. We learn of this episode only at second hand, when Borachio boasts of his exploit (Lucking).
In Act 2 Scene 2 Shakespeare portrays Angelo as precise, intelligently dealing with the pleas of Isabella to save the life of her brother by reversing the death sentence that has been handed down to him.
The citizens of Vienna having lived under relaxed laws have grown accustomed to breaking them, and Escalus, an old lord with experience in government, warned Angelo (in vain) of the consequences of harsh action; however, Angelo would not be deterred. An excellent insight to Angelo's style of law enforcement comes from the convicted brother of Isabella, Claudio. While in prison and given to many thoughts, Claudio speculates on the motives of Angelo:
Disguised as young lawyer Balthazar, who speaks with heightened eloquence to beg Shylock to show mercy. Portia’s speech about the quality of mercy is wasted to Shylock. It's almost as if Shylock got his way, revenge. After all these years it is time for him to complete his deed. His deed to eliminate Antonio. As his moment arrives it is all dismantled by the intelligence of Portia. Portia turns Shylock’s greatest weapon-the law-against him, Portia delivers once last chance of mercy to Shylock. Shylock is warned if even a drop of blood is spilled he will be accused of conspiring a life against another Venetian citizen all of his land and goods will be confiscated by the state. Shylock agrees to take thrice the sum. Shylock drops the case, but Portia deems him guilty for threatening another Venetian citizen. Half his property and land shall go to Antonio and the other half to the state. “I pardon thee thy life before thou ask it.” The Duke of Venice demonstrates mercy even after what the Jew had committed. The court could have acted on revenge against Shylock but they knew mercy was far greater than revenge. Shakespeare urges mercy is preferable than revenge. He tells us that even those who have wronged deserve mercy. Acting towards revenge will not prosper but mercy can be replenishing. Shakespeare shows us one can show mercy and that it is not forced.