Shakespeare’s dramatic works fit into four genres: histories, tragedies, romances and comedy. Many of the works— including Richard III, Hamlet, The Winter’s Tale, and As You Like It respectively— fit cleanly into these genres and define the genre. However, to which of these genres does Measure for Measure belong?
Measure for Measure is not
It is easiest, in regards of Measure for Measure, to start with what it definitively is not. It is not a history, seeing as it is a fictional work following fictional characters in fictional circumstances. It is not a tragedy, seeing as a character's flaw does not lead to unrecoverable fatality— most obviously, there aren’t several onstage deaths or destruction of the state by the end of Measure for Measure. However, should it be classified as a romance or a comedy, seeing as it can be argued to be either, both or neither?
Measure for Measure as romance?
Renaissance romance is a work which threatens tragedy, but the character responsible recognizes and reverses their fault before things become unrecoverable. Like tragedy, romances typically feature characters of higher status with elevated stakes. In other words, it is a work which in exposition could very realistically become a tragedy but finds a comedic end. Often, Renaissance romances begin with a heavy tone which later contrasts with a more lighthearted tone as tragedy is averted.
For example, in Shakespeare's The Winter’s Tale, the future state of Sicily is threatened by Leontes’ jealousy and approaches tragedy as the king casts away his second born, his heir dies and the queen is said to be dead. However, in the last act, the lost heir returns with a husband and the Paulina reintroduces the queen to the kingdom. This plot’s exposition proposes a very real threat that the king’s crimes will cause Sicily to lose the monarch line but this is reversed sixteen years later before the monarch line ends.
In Measure for Measure, The Duke leaves Angelo with the same “scope is as [his] own so to enforce or qualify the laws,” a scope which the Duke does not readily apply (I, 1). Angelo does and sentences Claudio to death for the crime of “getting Madam Julietta with child” out of wedlock (I, 2). However, the irony is that this news arises in a brothel in an already crime-ridden Vienna. The threat of his sentence nearly materializes before the Duke discovers Angelo’s tyrannical disposition. However, his death would simply be an unmerciful punishment to the individual, not an unavoidable community downfall, seeing as Claudio comes from the lower class.
If like in Hamlet and Othello, the character with a fatal flaw must be of a higher status, then the duke must be the hand to cause tragedy. Duke’s own life is never threatened. His fatal flaw could be the root of his plan to leave Angelo in power, a decision which ultimately threatens something that resembles tragedy. However, I tend to wonder if a Renaissance audience would view the possibility of Claudio and prostitute deaths as tragedy or the late consequences of corrupt government. If the answer is the latter, can a work which would not have been said to approach tragedy then, be considered to do so now?
Regardless, even if this exposition justifies being called near tragedy— which I think it does not, but rather acts as a sort of political and religious commentary— the resolution is questionably comedic (see below). I think that there are too many problems with both tragedy and comedy regarding Measure for Measure to consider it a romance.
Measure for Measure as comedy?
A Renaissance comedy is a work which features deceit, familial drama which often includes a reunion and typically ends in or with the promise of marriage. Although there is a threatening antagonist, often there is no suggestion of actual danger. Often, Renaissance comedies are lighthearted throughout the entirety of the work.
For example, in the comedy As You Like It, the entire work carries a fun-tempered tone throughout the entirety of its work as characters jest with one another, even when cross-dressing and lying about their identities, such as Rosalind as Ganymede. The threat of Duke Fredrick and Oliver are not severe once the characters leave the court, and resolve themselves without confrontation by the end of the work, allowing the reunion of brothers, father, and daughter, and restoring the rightful distribution of power.
Similarly, the duke in Measure for Measure spends most of the plot disguised as a friar in order to spy on his temporarily-empowered cousin Angelo. The duke deceives Angelo, telling him he must leave Vienna for urgent business. This repositioning establishes the primary plot line as Angelo oversteps his new power. The familial drama begins when Claudio is sentenced to death but internalizes when Isabella tells Claudio: “If I would yield him my virginity, thou mightst be freed” (III, 1). Claudio asks her to do so, knowing well she is “a very virtuous maid,” set on being a nun (II, 2). She would give her life, but not her body or her values; she then promises to find another way. Because of Isabella’s unwillingness to take Angelo’s offer, the duke offers a morally questionable plan which he justifies as his false status as a friar, then deceives Isabella after she conducts the plan by telling her that her brother’s sentence comes early. The resolution comes as the comedic convention of marriage and reunion. Isabella is reunited with her brother after Angelo’s downfall and the expectations of marriage are fulfilled. However, although there are three (four if you think Isabella said yes to the duke) marriages, only Claudio's is happy. Angelo and Lucio's are instead punishment for their crimes.
Can a comedic resolution be punishment, even if that punishment fulfills the expectation of marriage? Furthermore, the constant threat of Claudio’s death, Isabella’s struggle to straddle familial and religious duty, and Angelo’s presence refuse the lighthearted tone conventional of comedy. Perhaps, this could be considered a dark comedy if far removed from the reputation of Shakespeare’s other comedies. Even with these failure, I think I would categorize Measure for Measure among the comedies, but only because it fulfills more comedic conventions than romantic. I think this is the best assignment, but is comedy actually the work’s genre, or simply the best of the available options?
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