Wednesday, October 28, 2015
Not sure who to root for
The play I've been studying, measure for measure, is perfect for my topic : the morals and motivations of characters and whether the heroes are really acting valiantly. Like most comedies, the morals and verdicts are funny on at face value, and sketchy once you start pondering what their actions mean. No one in this play is really perfect, which is nice because it's true to life, but the Duke let his kingdom live in debauchery for years and then used a scapegoat to take the heat for being the bad cop. The person he chooses is also someone he knows will be too harsh, which is irresponsible let in itself, and he takes advantage of this so he comes out looking like the merciful, just hero and leader. Angelo of starts the play with righteous motives, he wants to get rid of all the brothels, protect the women in the city, and reclaim the importance of virtue. He perhaps hands out too harsh a punishment for claudio, but he only wishes to make an example of him so that the city will rethink their values. He does end up being a hypocrite but most of the characters are. There is no black and white in this play which I like, there is no clear good or bad, hero an d villain, and this ties in perfectly with my paper.
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This play really does always make me think... Maybe just me, but it's almost depressing sometimes... way to much like real life :P
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