Just an intro

I thought I would share the start of my paper, it's almost finished with the review process, but here's a little taste of what I have going so far:

"It is an age-old war raged from the beginning of time: justice versus mercy. In Christian belief the relationship between the two began in the heavens with God’s plan for the Atonement – to have Jesus Christ suffer on the cross to pay the price of justice and provide mercy to the world. And yet still in this day one can struggle daily to find the balance between the two without a proper leading example. In William Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure the character Angelo provides a great example to the human soul and our struggle for justice and mercy within our own selves.

            The Elizabethan Era could be considered a frustrating time for law and order. Punishments for crime were doled out based on class standing (Wagner, 2010). When trials were performed they were almost always designed in favor of the prosecutors, with the victim or defendants refused any legal representative (Wagner, 2010).

            In most reviews of Measure for Measure, Angelo’s character is seen as the antagonist, the scum of the earth- “the wickedness of Angelo is so atrocious” (Bowdler, 2). On top of this, many critics see Angelo as getting off easy from his crime and his unmerciful being. “This monster of iniquity appears before the Duke, defending his cause with unblushing boldness; and after the detection of his crimes, he can scarcely be said to receive any punishment” (Bowdler, 2). Not surprisingly, this review come from a “family” edition of Shakespeare’s plays. It is easy for one to find the need to pick out the good and evil in literature, it is what is taught in every high school English class; it is an easy theme to pick out in any story. Not only that but it creates an easy foundation for teaching moral lessons. But what if the focus was not on the black versus white, the good versus evil, but on showing more of humanity and reality."