Good, Good, Good, Good Intentions (Now, read that again to the tune of "Good Vibrations")

After every play we all talk about how we “hate every single character by the end.” Although Shakespeare’s characters are filled with ideas of racism, hate, and hypocrisy, some of his controversial characters have unexposed dimensions that the readers and audiences of Shakespeare’s play never encounter. While it is impossible to prescribe an entire unwritten history to a character, I believe that there has to be more of a story with so many of these people that we do not see directly in the plays.

In our last play, our most hated character was, obviously, Angelo. Yes, he was tragically hypocritical. Yes, he bargained a woman’s virginity for the life of her brother (and yes, he did not follow up on his end of the bargain). But how do we get to this point? Is it fair to assume that Angelo has only evil intentions and is out to use his power tyrannically? Although I acknowledge the fact that Angelo’s actions do, honestly, kind of make the audience hate him by the end of the play, I also believe that it was not his original intent to be a corrupt leader.

The video we watched in class about how to perform Measure For Measure talked about how many of Shakespeare’s plays are filled with seemingly normal, well-balanced characters who take an unexpected turn for the worse. They are not inherently evil people; circumstances lead them to make decisions that they may have never imagined they would be making. We saw this in Merchant of Venice, as Shylock demands a pound of flesh as payment for a bond. It happens again in Macbeth, when Macbeth murders both his king and best friend in order to gain the throne and fulfill a prophecy.

So what were the circumstances that changed Angelo from a level-headed, upright citizen, into a hypocritical, tyrannical king?

#1: Complete, unconditional power and trust to rule over an entire kingdom.

#2: Absolutely NO preparation for the task he is given.

#3: No system of accountability for his actions.

#4: A first time experience of falling in love (or lust).

As we hear from both the Duke and Escalus, the reputation of Angelo’s character is nearly spotless before he is given his position of power: “If anyone in Vienna be of worth to undergo such ample grace and honor, it is Lord Angelo” (1.1.22-25). Then, all of the sudden, the entire kingdom is thrust into his hands. Even Angelo recognizes the absurdity of this situation, as he asks if there should be a further “test made of [his] mettle” (1.1.47).

Now, for a moment, think of a time when you have resented people in power for a specific leadership choice. Maybe it was a time in high school when you resented your parents for the ridiculously early curfew they imposed upon you, or a time when a coworker got away with completely breaking the rules during your shift. If given the choice, I know I would have taken advantage of a situation of power to correct these situations that seem unfair. 

This is a situation we can assume Angelo has been in for most of his life; the city he has grown up in was filled with rules against sexual promiscuity that have been unenforced and largely ignored by the Duke. For years, while remaining a man of “firm abstinence” (1.3.12), the city around him has indulged themselves in any and every kind of sexual pleasures. In the moment he is given this absolute power, his resentment of the lack of law enforcement on these issues has to be one of the first things that enters his mind. So, he acts accordingly. He sees the situation of Claudio and Juliet and uses it to make a statement to the city that he is king and he is going to tighten up the reigns. Although he has his right-hand man, Escalus, he is not given any prior preparation on how to go about ruling. With years of built up resentment, and without years of critical political experience, Angelo explores his position of power with no restrictions.

Now, to the situation with Isabel. Where on earth did that come from? To this point, basically all we can tell about Angelo is that he is really insistent on cutting down on the promiscuity of his kingdom. It’s the only item we see him use his power for. So how does he go from sentencing a man to death for sleeping with his fiance, to bargaining for a woman to sleep with him?

Although there is no simple explanation, I believe that the only plausible one is that Angelo had never really experienced feelings of love and/or lust before. It was easy to condemn the people around him for acting on emotions that he could not understand and that he was not tempted by. But now that he finds a beautiful woman that he is interested in, it’s a different story.

Now, OBVIOUSLY, these reasons do not excuse Angelo’s actions. However, after looking at his situation as a whole, and after reading his repentant confession at the end, I believe Angelo really did just fall into the trap of unconditional power. He did not accept his position of power with the goal of ruining the lives of an engaged couple or taking advantage of a woman.