Measure for Measure

A nun who must choose between her virtue and her brother's life. A judge who demands sex in exchange for mercy. And a city that has forgotten the difference between justice and hypocrisy.

Shakespeare's darkest "comedy" is a play about power, corruption, and the terrifying gap between the law as written and the law as enforced.

The Duke of Vienna, troubled by the city's moral decay, pretends to leave town and appoints the puritanical Angelo to clean up the streets. Angelo is strict, cold, and seemingly incorruptible. He immediately sentences Claudio to death for impregnating his fiancée. Claudio's sister, Isabella, a novice nun, begs Angelo for mercy. Angelo offers a deal: her body for her brother's life. Isabella refuses. The Duke, disguised as a friar, watches the corruption unfold and schemes to save both Isabella and Claudio. But the play's "happy ending"—with forced marriages, a proposed marriage between Isabella and the Duke, and Angelo's punishment commuted—leaves audiences wondering if justice has been served at all.

This is Shakespeare at his most uncomfortable and ambiguous: a play about mercy versus judgment, the abuse of power, and the question of whether any of us have the right to condemn another. Measure for Measure is called a comedy, but it feels like a tragedy that looked away.

• One of Shakespeare's three "problem plays," alongside All's Well That Ends Well and Troilus and Cressida

• Written around 1603–1604, during a period of intense moral and political uncertainty in England

• Explores themes of hypocrisy, justice, mercy, sexuality, and the corruption of institutional power

Available in multiple formats:

• Paperback & Hardcover: Beautifully designed print editions presenting the complete, unabridged text made to last.

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• Audiobook: Professionally narrated, complete and unabridged, available on all major audiobook platforms.

A beautifully crafted edition for your shelf, your device, or your ears or the perfect gift for anyone who knows that the law is never just a rulebook.

About the Author

William Shakespeare (1564–1616) was an English playwright, poet, and actor, widely regarded as one of the greatest writers in the English language. Born in Stratford-upon-Avon, he moved to London and became a shareholder in the Lord Chamberlain's Men (later the King's Men). Measure for Measure was written around 1603–1604, shortly after James I ascended the English throne. The play is based on a 1578 play by George Whetstone and ultimately on Italian novellas. It has been interpreted in radically different ways over the centuries: as a dark comedy about divine mercy, as a savage critique of Puritan hypocrisy, as a feminist nightmare, and as a meditation on the impossibility of good governance. The play was not particularly popular in Shakespeare's lifetime but has become one of his most frequently studied works in the modern era. Shakespeare's other major works include Hamlet, King Lear, Othello, The Tempest, and The Winter's Tale. He died in 1616 at the age of 52 and is buried in Holy Trinity Church in Stratford-upon-Avon.