In Measure for Measure, Shakespeare introduces a city overrun by sex and desire. He brings forth Angelo, a moral man who is charged with ridding Vienna of such evils. However, a problem arises when Angelo himself is tempted by the virtuous Isabella. Speaking through Angelo in a monologue, Shakespeare personifies temptation, questions virtue, and illustrates that even the most moral of men cannot resist temptation, creating the question of whether the responsibility and fault of Angelo’s sinful desire lies on Angelo’s shoulder’s, and leads the audience to wonder if anyone is responsible for the desire they feel or the sin that may follow.
When Angelo is first presented with temptation, he attempts to pin the responsibility of the temptation somewhere by questioning “The tempter or the tempted, who sins most?” (II.ii.171). He immediately decides the fault does not lay in Isabella’s hands in the next line when he laughs “Ha! / Not she: nor doth she tempt” (II.ii.172), admitting he knows Isabella is not the one directly tempting him. He then wonders if it is his fault, questioning his feelings and himself. Finally, he turns the blame finger and points it not at the tempter or the tempted, but at temptation itself. He claims it is …show more content…
Temptation, in order “to catch a saint, / With saints dost thy bait thy hook!” (II.ii.187-188). Here Angelo still views himself as a saint, in spite of his impending sin. He sparks the question whether or not his desire can be bad if it grows from something good, and if sin is sin if committed in “loving virtue” (II.ii.190). He wonders if “modesty may more betray our sense / Than woman’s lightness” (II.ii.176-177), if good morals can cause more harm than bad morals. By turning virtue and modesty into evil temptations, the good seems bad and the bad seems acceptable and the question of Angelo’s responsibility for his sin presses even more
When Angelo is first presented with temptation, he attempts to pin the responsibility of the temptation somewhere by questioning “The tempter or the tempted, who sins most?” (II.ii.171). He immediately decides the fault does not lay in Isabella’s hands in the next line when he laughs “Ha! / Not she: nor doth she tempt” (II.ii.172), admitting he knows Isabella is not the one directly tempting him. He then wonders if it is his fault, questioning his feelings and himself. Finally, he turns the blame finger and points it not at the tempter or the tempted, but at temptation itself. He claims it is …show more content…
Temptation, in order “to catch a saint, / With saints dost thy bait thy hook!” (II.ii.187-188). Here Angelo still views himself as a saint, in spite of his impending sin. He sparks the question whether or not his desire can be bad if it grows from something good, and if sin is sin if committed in “loving virtue” (II.ii.190). He wonders if “modesty may more betray our sense / Than woman’s lightness” (II.ii.176-177), if good morals can cause more harm than bad morals. By turning virtue and modesty into evil temptations, the good seems bad and the bad seems acceptable and the question of Angelo’s responsibility for his sin presses even more