Isabella's Triumph in Shakespeare's Measure for Measure

"Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again" (Matt. 7:1-2, KJV). This biblical supplication was the framework for Shakespeare's play Measure For Measure. As the ruler in absentia for the Duke, Angelo forgoes mercy in favor of restrictive common law judgments.Early in the play the Duke tells Angelo "...to enforce or qualify the laws/ as to your soul seems good" (I.ii.65-66). Therefore, Angelo was given reign to act above the law in applying fair and equitable measures. Yet, when given the opportunity to advance equity over the rigid scope of the law, he fails to act with integrity and compassion. This contrasts sharply with Isabella's impassioned pleas for fair play. Further, Isabella's superior moral arguments and evolving strategies juxtaposed with Angelo's monotone rigidity clearly reveal that Isabella controls the scene (Act II, Scene ii).

Angelo calls into question his integrity by denying his range of powers, setting himself up as his own straw man opponent. Although the Duke has given Angelo the authority to be merciful, he tells Isabella: "It is the law, not I, condemn your brother. / Were he my kinsman, brother, or my son, / It should be thus with him..." (II.ii.80-82). This contradiction of his real powers is irrefutable evidence of his inability to act as a moral leader. Dissimilarly, although Isabella admittedly abhors her brother's crime, she asks Angelo to judge the sin not the sinner. She pleads for an equitable solution in his case. As evident in later scenes in the play, however, equity is a mercurial commodity in Angelo's straw world.

As her pleas for mercy and equitable dispensation are denied, Isabella brilliantly changes her strategies as each prior one fails. Next, she protests the immediacy of her brother's scheduled execution by saying her brother is not prepared for death: "Even for our kitchens/ We kill the Fowl of Season. Shall we serve Heaven/ With less respect than we do minister/ to our gross selves? (II.ii.84-87) In the face of Angelo's stone-cold reaction, Isabella presses harder by likening him to mortals' misuse of Jove's powers. She annihilates him when she says, "...proud man, / Dress'd in a little brief authority, /Most ignorant of what he's most assur'd/ (his glassy essence), like an angry ape..." (II.ii.117-120). When her scathing review of Angelo's behavior falls on deaf ears, Isabella changes course. She softens her approach, appealing to the authority she just insulted, which even though flawed, is "...a kind of medicine in itself":

"Knock there, and ask your heart what it doth know

That's like my brother's fault. If it confess

A natural guiltiness such as is his,

Let it not sound a thought upon your tongue

Against my brother's life." (II.ii.135-41)

After this impassioned speech, Angelo finally concedes to himself that Isabella's argument is sensible, yet dismisses her without revealing his thoughts.

Not missing a beat, Isabella forestalls the interview's end with an offer to bribe him. Although she quickly attempts to clarify her offer as a pious one-- "...with true prayers / that shall be up at heaven...(151-152)" -- her language is provocative and ambiguous. Like Queen Elizabeth in dealing with her subjects, Isabella was quickly learning to adapt her behavior to her shifting environment. And, although Isabella had entered Angelo's presence with inner conflict about the correctness of her brother's sentence, she pleaded brilliantly on his behalf. Isabella commanded the scene because she believed in mercy over justice; empathy over self-serving ideals. Further, she was a dynamic strategist versus a monolithic bore.

Isabella's ability to look beyond the harsh ideals that she herself adhered to, and consider the individual circumstances was a message from Shakespeare to King James to do the same. More than likely the king took this message with equanimity. Further, the implication that he be careful to whom he delegates his powers to was probably greeted with equal aplomb. However, King James may have focused more on the adversarial discourse between Angelo and Isabella. Assuredly, he would not have been amused by this scene if he perceived himself as Angelo and Queen Elizabeth as Isabella. Ultimately - measure for measure- Angelo cannot measure up to Isabella in cogent reasoning of the human experience and the upholding of natural laws of equity and justice.