Measure For Measure Act 1 Scene 1 Analysis

Scene one and TwoThe major characters and situations are laid out. The plot revolves around the new leader's treatment of sexual offenses, particularly fornication, which is considered a sin. The characters also fit into groups depending on their opinions about sexual behavior. Claudio is the middle-of-the-road thinker, not involved in prostitution and possessing only noble beliefs about his relationship with Juliet, but unable to prevent himself from desiring her sexually and therefore culpable. His sister Isabella presents one extreme, abstaining from sexual activity entirely in order to become a nun. Mistress Overdone is at the other end of the spectrum, managing the prostitution business in Vienna.
The only mobile character on the spectrum is Angelo, who is here presented as a strict but virtuous leader who is given free reign in the Duke's absence. Angelo begins to enforce laws that have been dormant for some time. He hopes to clean up the city, shutting down brothels and requiring abstinence before marriage. This will make illegitimate births a thing of the past and protect the city's women, so it is not harmful in itself. He oversteps the framework of justice, however, when he sentences Claudio to death for having sexual intercourse with his lover before marriage. This is, of
Isabella, originally on the verge of becoming a nun, finds herself about to marry the Duke. It is interesting that she is not given a chance to respond to the Duke's marriage proposal in the play. She is assumedly very happy to become the wife of the town's leader, particularly since he has saved her brother's life. But at the same time this situation reinforces her loss of sexual independence. The central conflict in the play revolves around Isabella's refusal to follow the ways of most of the women in Vienna. Her marriage to the Duke confirms her virtue while denying her