M4M critics

• Problem Play (F.S. Boas)
• Duke of dark corners (Harold Bloom)
• Addicted to disguises (Harold Bloom)
• Undercover surveillance acts as a sinister form of ideological control (Gless)
• [The Duke is] a kindly father and the rest are his children (G. Wilson Knight)
• Uses the power for selfish means (Cummings)
• Deus ex machina (Greenblatt)
• Stage-manages the scenes he's in (Greenblatt)
• [Play is] morally ambiguous (Emma Smith)
• [Angelo is] a representation of authoritarian oppression (Williams)
• [Angelo is] the most contemptible kind of hypocrite (Gless)
• Isabela's preoccupation with her own chastity - a "display of spiritual arrogance" (Gless)
• The very symbol of religious purity (G Wilson Knight)
• 2004 Simon McBurney/Complicite - emphasises Isabella's wordlessness at the end
• 1994 Fiona Shaw - Angelo eating the apple - the Fall
• 2011 Simon McBurney - TV monitor state
• 1978 Barry Kyle - Director Barry Kyle's clear and straightforward production emphasised the comedic aspects
• 1994 Steven Pimlott - Set in Victorian England, comparison to class and privilege
• 1994 Steven Pimlott - Duke is said to have been sinister, authoritative and conniving
• 1994 Steven Pimlott - Isabella rejects the Dukes proposal in horror and slaps him and then kisses him, represented as surprised and outraged
• 1994 Steven Pimlott - Angelo is represented as serious and stiff; he is consumed with temptation, and he wants death as a punishment for himself, represented as confused and a victim of his own mistake
• 2011 Roxana Silbert - Set in contemporary society, Silbert's adaptation explores themes of power, corruption, and sexual politics in a way that resonates with contemporary audiences
• 2011 Roxana Silbert - The production often highlights the ambiguity of the characters and the moral dilemmas they face, presenting a nuanced portrayal of justice and morality
• 2011 Roxana Silbert - Silbert's direction included innovative staging and design choices to bring out the relevance and urgency of the play's themes
• I would argue that he [Shakespeare] still clings to the hope that some [men] will still adhere to principles of order and justice (Andrea Cilliota-Rubery)
• Men facing the sexual power of women they desire (Ann Cook)
• [The play expresses the] destructiveness of male authority (Alberto Caicedo)
• Misogyny is a basic component of the actions and words of Measure For Measure’s male characters (Jillian Schute)
• Power, place and value in society are so determined by her chastity that forfeiture [becomes] a form of social and psychological suicide (Baines)
• Men corrupt women because women are corruptible, receptive as well as vulnerable to sexual use (Candless)