Measure for Measure

A dark, sometimes bitter play, Measure for Measure is a comedy that often feels more like the tragedies Shakespeare was writing in the same period. Its preoccupation with themes of sex, morality, and the law are far removed from A Midsummer Night's Dream's and As You Like It's lovers frolicking in green woods. Set in urban Vienna, Measure for Measure depicts a near-criminal underworld that many Elizabethans would have associated with the world of the public theatres themselves.

• Sex and morality
• Crime and punishment
• The debate between justice and mercy in early drama
• Measure for measure in the Bible
• Religious orders
• Problem marriages

See also:

• A modern text of Measure for Measure.
• An old-spelling text of Folio 1.
• A list of book facsimiles that contain Measure for Measure.
• The essential facts about the play.*