Mortality and mercy in Measure for Measure

Aims of the course

This course aims to:
1. Help you to build a critical understanding of Measure for Measure by examining some key themes and problems of interpretation (see the Content section below for more detail).
2. Explore why Measure for Measure has long been regarded as a problematic play on stage and in criticism.
3. Consider closely how some historically important ideas about law, governance and human nature are examined critically in the play.

Content

“Mortality and mercy in Vienna / Live in thy tongue and heart.” (Measure for Measure, Act 1, Scene 1). With these words, the Duke of Vienna delegates supreme power to his deputy Angelo, a man renowned for moral uprightness. But can any person be trusted with the power of life and death over another? What all-too-human motives and machinations lurk behind the claims we make on others in the name of law, morality, religion... or love? All is in doubt in this, the darkest of Shakespeare's comedies.

In Measure for Measure, we visit a city that has gone astray, in which everything seems to be a matter of life or death, and in which life is sometimes offered only on terms so shameful that death can seem to be the better option. Governors and governed alike are disturbingly poised between a law code which prescribes death even for minor transgressions, and a mercy which seems only to give free license to further crime.

Against this stark and strange backdrop, the play examines issues closer to home. It looks acutely into the tangled relationship in Western thought of law, morality and religion, asking to what extent human beings or societies can hope by any of these means to reform themselves, or whether such a grand reformation is even desirable. At the same time, it explores the conventional idea (whose philosophical heritage runs back to Plato) that only those who can govern their own passions are fit to govern society. Does this idea of rule by a moral elite have any validity in practice, or does it only serve as a cloak for darker truths about human nature?

Presentation of the course

The course will be taught as a seminar, using a flexible mix of class discussion, lecture-style presentation, and tutor-led collaborative reading of key scenes and passages from the play.

The course will involve extensive close reading of the set text, so you must bring a copy of the edition specified on the reading list to every class, and should also become as familiar as possible with the play in advance.

Class sessions

1. Measure for Measure, Act One

2. Measure for Measure, Act Two

3. Measure for Measure, Act Three

4. Measure for Measure, Act Four

5. Measure for Measure, Act Five

Learning outcomes

The specific learning outcomes for this course are:
1. To develop a critical understanding of the themes of mortality and mercy in Measure for Measure, and of the way those themes have figured in the play’s interpretation in criticism and in production.
2. To gain a greater understanding of some key ideas about law, governance and human nature that are explored in the play.
3. To be able to discuss the reading in class and to contribute usefully to general debate about the issues of the course.

Required reading

Shakespeare, William. Measure for Measure. Ed. Brian Gibbons. 2 nd ed. New Cambridge Shakespeare, Cambridge University Press, 2006.

You should read the play in full before arriving and bring a copy of the specified edition to each lecture, including the first. The use of other editions is not advised, because their texts and line numbers will at times differ significantly from that of the edition used by the lecturer, making it more difficult to follow and contribute to class discussions.

Typical week: Monday to Friday

Courses run from Monday to Friday. For each week of study, you select a morning (Am) course and an afternoon (Pm) course. The maximum class size is 25 students. 

Courses are complemented by a series of daily plenary lectures, exploring new ideas in a wide range of disciplines. To add to the learning experience, we are also planning additional evening talks and events.

Evaluation and Academic Credit 

If you are seeking to enhance your own study experience, or earn academic credit from your Cambridge Summer Programme studies at your home institution, you can submit written work for assessment for one or more of your courses. 

Essay questions are set and assessed against the University of Cambridge standard by your Course Director, a list of essay questions can be found in the Course Materials. Essays are submitted two weeks after the end of each course, so those studying for multiple weeks need to plan their time accordingly. There is an evaluation fee of £75 per essay.

For more information about writing essays see Evaluation and Academic Credit.

Certificate of attendance

A certificate of attendance will be sent to you electronically after the programme.