Measures for Measure - William Shakespeare

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Résumé :
Measure for Measure is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in 1603 or 1604. Originally published in the First Folio of 1623, where it was listed as a comedy, the play's first recorded performance occurred in 1604. The play's main themes include justice, morality and mercy in Vienna, and the dichotomy between corruption and purity: some rise by sin, and some by virtue fall. Mercy and virtue prevail, as the play does not end tragically, with virtues such as compassion and forgiveness being exercised at the end of the production. While the play focuses on justice overall, the final scene illustrates that Shakespeare intended for moral justice to temper strict civil justice: a number of the characters receive understanding and leniency, instead of the harsh punishment to which they, according to the law, could have been sentenced.Measure for Measure is often called one of Shakespeare's problem plays. It continues to be classified as a comedy, albeit a dark one, though its tone may defy those expectations.SYNOPSISVincentio, the Duke of Vienna, makes it known that he intends to leave the city on a diplomatic mission. He leaves the government in the hands of a strict judge, Angelo.In the next scene, we find a group of soldiers on a Vienna street, expressing their hopes, in irreverent banter, that a war with Hungary is afoot, and that they will be able to take part. Mistress Overdone, the operator of a brothel frequented by these same soldiers, appears and tells them there's one yonder arrested and carried to prison was worth five thousand of you all. She tells them that it is Signor Claudio, and that within these three days his head to be chopped off as punishment for getting Madam Julietta with child. Lucio, one of the soldiers who is later revealed to be Claudio's friend, is astonished at this news and rushes off. He then informs Mistress Overdone of Angelo's new proclamation, that All houses [of prostitution] in the suburbs of Vienna must be plucked down. CHARACTERSIsabella, a novice and sister to Claudio,Mariana, betrothed to AngeloJuliet, beloved of Claudio, pregnant with his childFrancisca, a nun.

Biographie:
A Midsummer Night's Dream is a comedy written by William Shakespeare in 1595/96. It portrays the events surrounding the marriage of Theseus, the Duke of Athens, to Hippolyta, the former queen of the Amazons. These include the adventures of four young Athenian lovers and a group of six amateur actors (the mechanicals) who are controlled and manipulated by the fairies who inhabit the forest in which most of the play is set.The play is one of Shakespeare's most popular works for the stage and is widely performed across the world. It is unknown exactly when A Midsummer Night's Dream was written or first performed, but on the basis of topical references and an allusion to Edmund Spenser's Epithalamion, it is usually dated 1595 or early 1596. Some have theorised that the play might have been written for an aristocratic wedding (for example that of Elizabeth Carey, Lady Berkeley), while others suggest that it was written for the Queen to celebrate the feast day of St. John, but no evidence exists to support this theory. In any case, it would have been performed at The Theatre and, later, The Globe. Though it is not a translation or adaptation of an earlier work, various sources such as Ovid's Metamorphoses and Chaucer's The Knight's Tale served as inspiration. According to John Twyning, the play's plot of four lovers undergoing a trial in the woods was intended as a riff on Der Busant, a Middle High German poem. According to Dorothea Kehler, the writing period can be placed between 1594 and 1596, which means that Shakespeare had probably already completed Romeo and Juliet and had yet to start working on The Merchant of Venice. The play belongs to the early-middle period of the author, when Shakespeare devoted his attention to the lyricism of his works.