Critics continue to debate the precise genre of Shakespeare's Measure for Measure, because even upon closer inspection it refuses to be neatly categorized. To call it a mere “comedy” would be to overlook the disconcerting feeling of disquiet at the end of Act V when the Duke proposes to Isabella. Thus, the term "problem play" became a widely accepted description of the three plays that Shakespeare wrote between 1601 and 1604: Troilus and Cressida, All's Well That Ends Well, and Measure for Measure. Unlike a comedy, problem plays tend to ask many questions but leave us with very few satisfying answers. However, recently commentators have decided to label the play a "tragicomedy" due to the sinister manner in which its "happy ending" is achieved. Italian Renaissance writer Giraldo Cinthio explained that a tragicomedy may have a resolution, but it will not abandon "the terrible and the compassionate." Indeed, the theme of “human frailty” is one that Shakespeare explores considerably and honestly. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an Original Essay The most striking example of individual weakness in Measure for Measure has to be Lord Angelo. But to characterize his subsequent downfall as “comic” would be to considerably diminish the dramatic impact of Shakespeare’s play. We know from Act 1 Sc1 that Angelo's "metal" as a ruler was never tested; so it seems unlikely that he would succeed in this role. But it is the Duke who later reveals Angelo's weak point. He privately reveals to the Friar in Act 1 Sc3 that the MP "barely confesses/that his blood flows", meaning that Angelo is afraid of his own sensuality. This is soon reinforced by Lucio, who describes him as "a man whose blood is very hot with snow". In contrast, Lucio embodies the lewd behavior that swept through Vienna. Through Lucio, Shakespeare emphasizes how lust cannot be fully legislated: "It is a good ally, but it is impossible to extirpate it completely, brother, until eating and drinking have been repressed" ( III.2.97-98). Thus, even though Angelo attempts to “freeze and shatter all Viennese youth,” his efforts will ultimately be in vain. Instead, Angelo's first meeting with Isabella (Act 2 Sc2) illustrates how he must change his puritanical ways and have some compassion for the miserable Claudio. Isabelle asks Angelo to “go into her bosom, strike there” and see if he can still deny the “natural guilt” that all men have experienced. Ironically, this gentle reasoning excites Angelo and he reveals how much his “sense is nourished by it.” As she leaves, her inherent vulnerability becomes all the more apparent. He puts an ironic twist on Isabella's "Save your honor" by shifting the emphasis to "Of you." Thus, in his next monologue, he is forced to accept that “Blood, thou art blood” (II.4), as a recognition of his essential humanity. His state of mind has been so affected by Isabella's presence that it becomes difficult for the audience not to sympathize with his "tragic" disappearance. However, in a recent Globe production, the actor playing the role increasingly took on an almost pantomime role as the "villain". His line of “Who will believe you, Isabel?” ” (II.4.153) to his threat of “I will tell the world out loud/What a man you are” was accompanied by a disapproving “hiss” from the audience. In general, however, Angelo's fate seems to represent the "terrible" element, rather than the entertaining side of a tragicomedy expressedby Cinthio. Likewise, the extreme nature of Isabella's character means that it could be difficult to portray her in a comedic way. If Angelo's sexual repression is explicit, Isabella's is much better concealed and tempered. Her self-restriction is implicitly excessive from the start, while in the convent she desires “stricter restriction” (I.4.4) than the strict conventions already in force. In Act2 Sc4, this suppression of desires seems to manifest in a strange outburst directed at Angelo. Isabella graphically describes how she prefers to "undress herself to death as in a bed" rather than "give [her] body up to shame" by sleeping with him. Additionally, her use of words such as "desire" and the sadistic imagery of "sharp whips" seem to betray a deep-seated sexual fantasy within her. In contrast, the inner and outer “goodness” (III.1.180) that the Duke, Lucio, and Angelo all perceive in Isabella acts as a veil over her own emotional insecurity. Only with the help of Lucio's witty asides in Act2 Sc2 does his inner fragility make the audience laugh. Lucio continually pushes her in a joint attempt to persuade Angelo not to execute Isabella's brother Claudio. Her cries of “O, to him, to him, girl!” and “Yes, touch it; that's the luck" give a nuance of bawdy to Isabella's pure reasoning. This episode is reminiscent of Claudio's assertion that Isabella has the power of a "voiceless dialect / such as to move men" (I.2.line174). The ambiguity surrounding his character is thus heightened, and it becomes increasingly complicated to know whether Shakespeare is making a serious point about self-deception, or further emphasizing how appearances are not always what they seem. If the two explanations can coexist, then Isabelle's role remains characteristic of a "problem play" and has very little comic value. Lucio is perhaps the only true example of comedy in the play, an indication of how Measure for Measure can be seen as making light of "human frailty." Not only does he make countless jokes about the weaknesses and difficulties of others, but he also has the ability to laugh at his own mistakes. As Pompey is taken to prison in Act 3 Sc2, Lucio does nothing but mock his friend's unfortunate fate. When asked if he will provide Pompey with bail, Lucio simply rejects his appeal, saying "it's not usury". He then says to him: “Go to the kennel, Pompey, go there” and gives the scene a farcical side. Ironically, the crime Pompey committed ("being a whore") is a crime Lucio knows well. Even when faced with more “respectable” friends like Claudio, Lucio is unable to control his mischievous side. When the Duke asks him why Claudio was sentenced to death, Lucio uses the obscene insinuation "For filling a bottle with a ton" (III.2.167). But Lucio's crude references are most powerful when referring to Lord Angelo. He tells the Duke how Angelo was said to have been "fathered between two stockfishes", meaning that he lacks sexual desire or attraction. Lucio then claims to know for sure that "Angelo's urine is frozen ice" in order to reinforce the "cold" and inhumane image of the deputy. However, this kind of relentless slander does not go unnoticed by the disguised Duke and Lucio receives arguably the harshest punishment in Act 5. So while we've been able to laugh along with Lucio up to this point, a sense of unease emerges when the Duke imposes a severe sentence on him. This, coupled with the Duke's proposal to Isabella, creates a disturbing atmosphere that is entirely atypical for a comedy. It's as if the Duke had used the other characters.