Upon doing some secondary reading around the play ‘Measure for Measure’ I discovered an article written by Louise Halper which argued that not only does the play deal with themes of criminality, but that the play itself can be seen as an act of revolution, thereby becoming a criminal act. Griffiths states that “the worlds of crime and the worlds of the dramatist…regularly overlapped on the page, stage, and street”.[1] Halper argues that there is an alternative reading of the play, similar in style to Bertolt Brecht’s adaptation, that ‘not only represents the moment, but intervenes in it’ which causes the play to have anti-Royalist undertones and seemed to agree with the political views of the revolutionaries.[2] This is not the first time that the play has brought up issues, referred to as “[holding] today an unassailable position of a chief ‘problem’ among Shakespeare’s plays”.[3]
In order to fully understand the play we must know the context of the era. King James was new to the throne and this was a time of great political and social instability. James wanted to unify Scotland and England which neither country was happy about, and there was a huge growth in levels of religious discontent, “it was a time of anxiety and vigilance for church men”.[4] The union was later to become one of the key causes of the civil wars in the early 17th century as it removed the monarch figure from his home country and placed him in England where he was distrusted by his subjects.[5] King James was also losing the faith of Parliament, following his tax increase that widened the gap between the rich and the poor, “new and sharper class divisions were arising”.[6] In addition to this, there were many rules surrounding the theatre and the Lord Mayor petitioned the Privy Council twice to abolish plays altogether on the basis that playhouses acted as a crucible of mutiny and dangerous activity. Despite this link between criminality and theatre, King James loved plays and in half the time of his Aunt Elizabeth he managed to stage twice as many as she had done.[7]
The play could be seen as a borderline treacherous text as there are many obvious parallels between the contemporary society and the one set out on the stage. The Duke can be seen as embodying two juxtaposing ideals- that of a godlike figure or alternatively as ‘seedy, sadistic and manipulative’ character due to his subversion of Claudio’s sentence imposed by Angelo, which reflects clearly the competition for dominance between the law and the monarchy at this time.[8] The Duke also tries to seduce Isabella, “the satisfaction that I would require…is your own benefit”, thereby showing his corrupt morals.[9] This sense of immorality is also shown through the language used to describe the “most biting laws” which act as “bits and curbs to the headstrong jades” which show how brutal the Duke is prepared to be towards his subjects.[10] There is a clear link between the Duke and King James, as many of the play’s lines are allusions to the book that King James wrote called Basilikon Doron in 1603.[11] In this text, James likened the King to an actor performing, “a King is as one set on stage, where smallest actions and gestures, all the people gazingly do behold”.[12] There is a clear link between punishment and theatricality, therefore between that of crime and performance. During James’ reign there was a plot to overthrow him that involved Sir Walter Raleigh and therefore was of huge national interest. As the trial concluded all three accused were due to be executed however James “secretly determined that the executions should be stayed even at the instant”, therefore making the whole trial a farce and exerting his phenomenal control over the nation.[13] In a letter written by Sir Dudley Carleton to Mr John Chamberlain on the 27th November 1603, he likens the defendants to “actors being together on the stage (as use is at the end of a play), the Sheriff made a short speech” which clearly confirms a link between theatre and the new King.[14] Even the title of the play, Measure for Measure, alludes to lines from King James’ book, “and above all, let the measure of your love to every one, be according to the measure of his virtue”.[15] Kernan also claims the title echoes the Gospel of Matthew “judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgement ye judge, ye shall be judged and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured unto you again”.[16] This clearly draws a parallel between Gods and Kings, another topic that greatly interested James as both of his books focused on the divine right of Kings, essentially saying he is a God on Earth. As this text so draws so many parallels to King James, it could be seen as a potentially treacherous text.
In conclusion, as the character of the Duke so closely represents King James and with the similar circumstances established on Shakespeare’s stage, it is clear to see that he drew inspiration for the play from the contemporary society in which he lived. As the play deals with issues of corruption and manipulation of power by the Duke, it is not much of a leap to assume that Shakespeare was using the stage as a medium through which to express his dissatisfaction with the new monarch. Due to this fact, it is possible to see Measure for Measure as an act of treason as it implicitly criticises the ruling monarch of the period. There are many clear allusions to the thoughts of King James throughout the play and due to this, it cannot be argued that the play is anything other than a mockery of James’ ideals and therefore essentially a crime in itself.
Bibliography
British Library, Printed Edition of King James VI and I’s Basilikon Doron of ‘The King’s Gift’, 1603 (2018) <https://www.bl.uk/collection-items/printed-edition-of-king-james-vi-and-is-basilikon-doron-or-the-kings-gift-1603> [accessed 14 November 2018]
Griffiths, Paul, ‘Criminal London’, in Oxford Handbook to the Age of Shakespeare, ed. by Malcom Smuts (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2016)
Halper, Louise, ‘Measure for Measure: Law, Prerogative, Subversion’, Cardozo Studies in Law and Literature, 13.2, (2001)
Howell, Thomas Bayly, Cobbett’s complete collection of state trials and proceedings for high treason, and other crimes and misdemeanour from the earliest period to the present time…from the ninth year of the reign of King Henry, the Second, A.D. 1163, to…[George IV A.D.1820] (London: R Bagshaw)
Kernan, Alvin, Shakespeare, the King’s Playwright: Theater in the Stuart Court, 1603-1613 (London: Yale University Press, 1997)
Miles, Rosalind, The Problem of Measure for Measure: A Historical Investigation (New York: Harper Collins, 1976)
National Library of Scotland, James VI and the Union of the Crowns (2018) <https://digital.nls.uk/unionofcrowns/consequences.html> [accessed 14 November 2018]
Shakespeare, William, Measure for Measure, ed. by W.J.Craig (London: Oxford University Press, 1978)
References
[1] Paul Griffiths, ‘Criminal London’, in Oxford Handbook to the Age of Shakespeare, ed. by Malcom Smuts (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2016), p.595.
[2] Louise Halper, ‘Measure for Measure: Law, Prerogative, Subversion’, Cardozo Studies in Law and Literature, 13.2, (2001), 221-264 (p.221).
[3] Rosalind Miles, The Problem of Measure for Measure: A Historical Investigation (New York: Harper Collins, 1976), p.13.
[4]Halper, p.227.
[5] National Library of Scotland, James VI and the Union of the Crowns (2018) <https://digital.nls.uk/unionofcrowns/consequences.html> [accessed 14 November 2018].
[6] Halper, p.244.
[7] Ibid., p.223.
[8] Ibid., p.245.
[9] William Shakespeare, Measure for Measure, ed. by W.J. Craig (London: Oxford University Press, 1978) III.1.151.
[10] Ibid., I.3.19-20.
[11] British Library, Printed Edition of King James VI and I’s Basilikon Doron of ‘The King’s Gift’, 1603 (2018) <https://www.bl.uk/collection-items/printed-edition-of-king-james-vi-and-is-basilikon-doron-or-the-kings-gift-1603> [accessed 14 November 2018].
[12] Halper, p.223.
[13] Ibid., p.224.
[14] Thomas Bayly Howell, Cobbett’s complete collection of state trials and proceedings for high treason, and other crimes and misdemeanour from the earliest period to the present time…from the ninth year of the reign of King Henry, the Second, A.D. 1163, to…[George IV A.D.1820] (London: R Bagshaw), p.54.
[15] Halper, p.225.
[16] Alvin Kernan, Shakespeare, the King’s Playwright: Theater in the Stuart Court, 1603-1613 (London: Yale University Press, 1997), p.67.