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Work #1018 · Mature

Measure for Measure

William Shakespeare
c. 1603-04 · English (Early Modern)
Problem comedy / dark comedy in five acts · Elizabethan-Jacobean English Renaissance drama

"Measure for measure" — a deeply ambiguous drama of sexual ethics, judicial power, and the relation between mercy and justice

Attribute Fingerprint

Rows where works disagree are highlighted in gold. The full ontology grid is shown.

Attribute Measure for Measure (Mature)
Time · Extent Infinite
Time · Ontological Status Substantival
Time · Grain Continuous
Time · Freedom Non-Deterministic
Time · Traversability Linear
Time · Dimensionality One
Time · Direction Uni-directional
Space · Extent Infinite
Space · Ontological Status Substantival
Space · Curvature Flat
Space · Dimensionality Three
Space · Locality Local
Matter · Extent Infinite
Matter · Ontological Status Substantival
Matter · Conservation Conserved
Matter · Dimensionality Three
Matter · Locality Local
Observer · Time Instance Single
Observer · Space Instance Single
Observer · Knowledge Extent Partial
Observer · Knowledge Retainment Total
Observer · Physicality Embodied
Observer · Agency Both
Observer · Number Plural
Observer · Metaphysical Agency None
Observer · Moral Authority Reason
Observer · Theological Method
Energy · Extent Infinite
Energy · Ontological Status Substantival
Energy · Conservation Conserved
Energy · Dispersibility Irreversible
Information · Ontological Status Substantival
Information · Cosmic Conservation Conserved
Information · Personal Conservation Conserved
Information · Granularity Continuous

Dimension-by-Dimension Evidence

What each work's passages reveal about its stance on each of the six dimensions.

Time

Measure for Measure

Compressed dramatic time of judicial crisis.

Space

Measure for Measure

Vienna as urban setting; prison and convent as principal interior spaces.

Matter

Measure for Measure

Embodied bodies — Claudio under sentence, Isabella under threat of coercion, Angelo suddenly desirous.

Observer

Measure for Measure

Duke as disguised observer; Isabella as moral protagonist; Angelo as judge-become-criminal.

Energy

Measure for Measure

Sexual desire, judicial power, ethical choice.

Information

Measure for Measure

Legal information about Claudio's case; moral information Isabella and Angelo exchange.

Internal Tensions

Where each work's argument pulls against itself.

Measure for Measure

The ending — Duke's sudden proposal to Isabella — subject of continuing critical controversy. Twentieth-century (Lever, Knight, Empson) and recent feminist-postcolonial work (Adelman, Bate) have substantially reshaped reception.