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Summary: Act 2, Scene 2
The Provost goes to see Angelo, hoping to convince him to change his mind about Claudio. He mentions Juliet, saying that she is going to give birth soon.
A servant announces that Isabella has arrived. She tells Angelo that she abhors Claudio’s vice, fornication, and that she is sorry to have to beg for his pardon. Yet she asks that Angelo condemn his fault instead of him. Angelo argues that the person who commits a crime must be punished for the crime. Isabella exclaims, “O just but severe law!” (2.2.58), showing that she approves of the law and is already mourning her brother’s death. Lucio whispers to her that she should not give up so easily. He tells her to kneel before Angelo and speak with greater emotional force.
Isabella asks again if Claudio must die, and he says yes. She continues to plead with him, but Lucio again tells her that she is “too cold” (2.2.76). She argues that Claudio would have mercy on Angelo if the roles were reversed, but Angelo tells Isabella to leave and that she is wasting her time. Angelo also argues that he would condemn even his own relative in the same way. Isabella continues to argue her case with greater fervor, and Lucio notes that Angelo is wavering. Angelo finally tells her that he will think about it, and that she should return tomorrow.
Isabella calls out, “Hark how I’ll bribe you” (2.2.177), and Angelo grows interested, replying, “How?” (2.2.178). Isabella responds that she will pray for him, and Angelo again tells her to come back tomorrow. Lucio tells her to obey, and Isabella agrees to return before noon. The scene ends with a soliloquy in which Angelo realizes that he desires Isabella in a sexual way and ponders why.
Read a translation of Act 2, Scene 2.
Summary: Act 2, Scene 3
The Duke, disguised as a friar, visits the prison, saying that he wants to visit the prisoners. Juliet enters, and the Duke asks her if she repents her sin. She replies yes, and the Duke says he will help absolve her. He asks if she loves the man who impregnated her, and she replies that she loves him as much as she loves herself. Realizing that their sexual encounter was consensual, the Duke tells Juliet that she sinned more than her lover, and she says she repents it. The Duke then tells her that he is going to visit Claudio, who must die tomorrow, and Juliet expresses her sorrow.
Read a translation of Act 2, Scene 3.
Analysis: Act 2, Scenes 2 & 3
Measure for Measure reaches an early moment of tension with the encounter between Isabella and Angelo. Significantly, the dispute between these two characters reveals new sides of each. In Isabella’s case, although we might have assumed that she’d appear frail when faced with a male authority figure, she proves more than capable of presenting a powerful moral argument. The argument she makes to Angelo centers on distinguishing between the sinner and the sin. She believes that his job should be to punish the sin while leaving the sinner unharmed. To support her argument, she invokes the Christian notion that all humans are born into sin. Because this condition is universal and inescapable, punishment should be wielded for the purpose of correction and repentance—not extermination.
Isabella struggles to convince Angelo of her logic. She breaks through, however, when she shifts her rhetoric to address Angelo’s own inner life. She directs him: “Go to your bosom, / Knock there, and ask your heart what it doth know / That’s like my brother’s fault” (2.2.166–68). At this point, Angelo’s mind begins to change. He says in an aside, “She speaks, and ’tis such sense / That my sense breeds with it” (2.2.172–73). His language here is suggestive. He indicates that the “sense” of her reason is so powerful that it “breeds” with his own sense. In other words, the force of her rhetoric has inspired his sensual appetite. As such, Angelo suddenly finds himself vulnerable to the same sinful desires for which he has sentenced Claudio to death. This changes his position completely; no longer on a moral pedestal, his concern shifts from carrying out the law to avoiding culpability for his own sinful and criminal behavior.
As Angelo’s change of heart suggests, Isabella’s influence over him is about more than her argument. It’s also about the way she wields her femininity. As Lucio is quick to point out, her first efforts at pleading with Angelo are “too cold” (2.2.62). The primary meaning of cold here is “unemotional,” but the world also strongly connotes a lack of feminine sensuality. Lucio soon repeats his complaint to Isabella: “You are too cold” (2.2.76). This coaching leads Isabella to let loose on Angelo with the full strength both of her rhetorical ability and her emotional power. Thus, Isabella, who was just on the verge of joining a convent and pledging eternal chastity, has now inadvertently used her feminine wiles to soften the strict and emotionally immovable Angelo. Her concluding promise to find a way to “bribe” him leaves the door open for Angelo’s later attempt to coerce her into yielding her chastity.
Meanwhile, the Duke enjoys acting in disguise as a friar. In his discussion with Juliet, he is firm with her about the nature of her sin, but he also expresses sympathy with her situation. It’s therefore clear that he would show more mercy than Angelo, even though he isn’t fundamentally against Angelo’s judgment. What further distinguishes the Duke is his clear desire to wield his power in subtler ways. Rather than assert his authority from the top down, he prefers to move among the various characters involved in the unfolding dispute. His is thus an investigation that moves from the bottom up, collecting evidence he can later use to make a judicious and fair decision about the best course of action.
