Enter Duke as a Friar, Claudio, and Provost. DUKE, as Friar
So then you hope of pardon from Lord Angelo? CLAUDIO
The miserable have no other medicine
But only hope.
I have hope to live and am prepared to die. DUKE, as Friar
Be absolute for death. Either death or life 5
Shall thereby be the sweeter. Reason thus with life:
If I do lose thee, I do lose a thing
That none but fools would keep. A breath thou art,
Servile to all the skyey influences
That doth this habitation where thou keep’st 10
Hourly afflict. Merely, thou art death’s fool,
For him thou labor’st by thy flight to shun,
And yet runn’st toward him still. Thou art not noble,
For all th’ accommodations that thou bear’st
Are nursed by baseness. Thou ’rt by no means 15
valiant,
For thou dost fear the soft and tender fork
Of a poor worm. Thy best of rest is sleep,
And that thou oft provok’st, yet grossly fear’st
Thy death, which is no more. Thou art not thyself, 20
For thou exists on many a thousand grains
That issue out of dust. Happy thou art not,
For what thou hast not, still thou striv’st to get,
And what thou hast, forget’st. Thou art not certain,
For thy complexion shifts to strange effects 25
After the moon. If thou art rich, thou ’rt poor,
For, like an ass whose back with ingots bows,
Thou bear’st thy heavy riches but a journey,
And death unloads thee. Friend hast thou none,
For thine own bowels which do call thee sire, 30
The mere effusion of thy proper loins,
Do curse the gout, serpigo, and the rheum
For ending thee no sooner. Thou hast nor youth nor
age,
But as it were an after-dinner’s sleep 35
Dreaming on both, for all thy blessèd youth
Becomes as agèd and doth beg the alms
Of palsied eld; and when thou art old and rich,
Thou hast neither heat, affection, limb, nor beauty
To make thy riches pleasant. What’s yet in this 40
That bears the name of life? Yet in this life
Lie hid more thousand deaths; yet death we fear,
That makes these odds all even. CLAUDIO I humbly thank you.
To sue to live, I find I seek to die, 45
And seeking death, find life. Let it come on. ISABELLA, within
What ho! Peace here, grace, and good company. PROVOST
Who’s there? Come in. The wish deserves a welcome. DUKE, as Friar, to Claudio
Dear sir, ere long I’ll visit you again. CLAUDIO
Most holy sir, I thank you. 50 | The scene opens in Claudio's prison cell, where the Duke is still traipsing around pretending to be a friar. Claudio says he's prepared to die, but he still has hope that he might get to live. The Duke attempts to comfort Claudio while preparing him for the possibility of death. Claudio finally says he's ready for whatever happens...and that's when Isabella arrives. |
Enter Isabella. ISABELLA, to Provost
My business is a word or two with Claudio. PROVOST
And very welcome.—Look, signior, here’s your
sister. DUKE, as Friar
Provost, a word with you. PROVOST
As many as you please. 55 DUKE, as Friar, aside to Provost
Bring me to hear them speak, where I may be
concealed. Duke and Provost exit. CLAUDIO
Now, sister, what’s the comfort? ISABELLA Why,
As all comforts are, most good, most good indeed. 60
Lord Angelo, having affairs to heaven,
Intends you for his swift ambassador,
Where you shall be an everlasting leiger;
Therefore your best appointment make with speed.
Tomorrow you set on. 65 CLAUDIO
Is there no remedy? ISABELLA
None but such remedy as, to save a head,
To cleave a heart in twain. CLAUDIO
But is there any? ISABELLA
Yes, brother, you may live. 70
There is a devilish mercy in the judge,
If you’ll implore it, that will free your life
But fetter you till death. CLAUDIO
Perpetual durance? ISABELLA
Ay, just; perpetual durance, a restraint, 75
Though all the world’s vastidity you had,
To a determined scope. CLAUDIO
But in what nature? ISABELLA
In such a one as, you consenting to ’t,
Would bark your honor from that trunk you bear 80
And leave you naked. CLAUDIO
Let me know the point. ISABELLA
O, I do fear thee, Claudio, and I quake
Lest thou a feverous life shouldst entertain,
And six or seven winters more respect 85
Than a perpetual honor. Dar’st thou die?
The sense of death is most in apprehension,
And the poor beetle that we tread upon
In corporal sufferance finds a pang as great
As when a giant dies. 90 CLAUDIO
Why give you me this shame?
Think you I can a resolution fetch
From flowery tenderness? If I must die,
I will encounter darkness as a bride,
And hug it in mine arms. 95 ISABELLA
There spake my brother! There my father’s grave
Did utter forth a voice. Yes, thou must die.
Thou art too noble to conserve a life
In base appliances. This outward-sainted deputy—
Whose settled visage and deliberate word 100
Nips youth i’ th’ head, and follies doth enew
As falcon doth the fowl—is yet a devil.
His filth within being cast, he would appear
A pond as deep as hell. CLAUDIO
The prenzie Angelo? 105 ISABELLA
O, ’tis the cunning livery of hell
The damned’st body to invest and cover
In prenzie guards. Dost thou think, Claudio,
If I would yield him my virginity
Thou mightst be freed? 110 CLAUDIO
O heavens, it cannot be! ISABELLA
Yes, he would give ’t thee; from this rank offense,
So to offend him still. This night’s the time
That I should do what I abhor to name,
Or else thou diest tomorrow. 115 CLAUDIO
Thou shalt not do ’t. ISABELLA
O, were it but my life,
I’d throw it down for your deliverance
As frankly as a pin. CLAUDIO Thanks, dear Isabel. 120 ISABELLA
Be ready, Claudio, for your death tomorrow. CLAUDIO
Yes. Has he affections in him
That thus can make him bite the law by th’ nose,
When he would force it? Sure it is no sin,
Or of the deadly seven it is the least. 125 ISABELLA
Which is the least? CLAUDIO
If it were damnable, he being so wise,
Why would he for the momentary trick
Be perdurably fined? O, Isabel— ISABELLA
What says my brother? 130 CLAUDIO
Death is a fearful thing. ISABELLA
And shamèd life a hateful. CLAUDIO
Ay, but to die, and go we know not where,
To lie in cold obstruction and to rot,
This sensible warm motion to become 135
A kneaded clod; and the delighted spirit
To bathe in fiery floods, or to reside
In thrilling region of thick-ribbèd ice,
To be imprisoned in the viewless winds
And blown with restless violence round about 140
The pendent world; or to be worse than worst
Of those that lawless and incertain thought
Imagine howling—’tis too horrible.
The weariest and most loathèd worldly life
That age, ache, penury, and imprisonment 145
Can lay on nature is a paradise
To what we fear of death. ISABELLA
Alas, alas! | The Duke spies on Claudio and Isabella as they talk. Claudio asks if there's any hope for his life, and Isabella says, "Well, actually..." She explains that Angelo propositioned her, and for the price of her virginity (and a life of eternal shame), Claudio can, indeed, live. At first, Claudio agrees that Isabella should not sleep with Angelo to save his life. But then he gets to thinking about things and decides that death is pretty scary. (Here, Claudio sounds a lot like a certain Danish prince in the famous "To be, or not to be" speech in Act 3, Scene 1 of Hamlet.) Isabella's not thrilled. Psst! For a great interpretation of this intense scene between Isabella and Claudio, check out artist William Holman Hunt's painting "Claudio and Isabella" (1850). |
CLAUDIO
Sweet sister, let me live.
What sin you do to save a brother’s life, 150
Nature dispenses with the deed so far
That it becomes a virtue. ISABELLA
O, you beast!
O faithless coward, O dishonest wretch,
Wilt thou be made a man out of my vice? 155
Is ’t not a kind of incest to take life
From thine own sister’s shame? What should I think?
Heaven shield my mother played my father fair,
For such a warpèd slip of wilderness
Ne’er issued from his blood. Take my defiance; 160
Die, perish. Might but my bending down
Reprieve thee from thy fate, it should proceed.
I’ll pray a thousand prayers for thy death,
No word to save thee. CLAUDIO
Nay, hear me, Isabel— 165 ISABELLA O, fie, fie, fie!
Thy sin’s not accidental, but a trade.
Mercy to thee would prove itself a bawd.
’Tis best that thou diest quickly. CLAUDIO
O, hear me, Isabella— 170 Enter Duke as a Friar. DUKE, as Friar, to Isabella
Vouchsafe a word, young sister, but one word. ISABELLA
What is your will? DUKE, as Friar
Might you dispense with your leisure, I
would by and by have some speech with you. The
satisfaction I would require is likewise your own 175
benefit. ISABELLA
I have no superfluous leisure. My stay must
be stolen out of other affairs, but I will attend you
awhile. DUKE, as Friar, taking Claudio aside
Son, I have overheard 180
what hath passed between you and your
sister. Angelo had never the purpose to corrupt her;
only he hath made an assay of her virtue, to practice
his judgment with the disposition of natures. She,
having the truth of honor in her, hath made him 185
that gracious denial which he is most glad to
receive. I am confessor to Angelo, and I know this
to be true. Therefore prepare yourself to death. Do
not satisfy your resolution with hopes that are
fallible. Tomorrow you must die. Go to your knees 190
and make ready. CLAUDIO
Let me ask my sister pardon. I am so out of
love with life that I will sue to be rid of it. DUKE, as Friar
Hold you there. Farewell.—Provost, a
word with you. 195 Enter Provost. PROVOST
What’s your will, father? DUKE, as Friar
That now you are come, you will be
gone. Leave me awhile with the maid. My mind
promises with my habit no loss shall touch her by
my company. 200 PROVOST
In good time. He exits, with Claudio. | Claudio begs Isabella to do the deed so he can live. This, needless to say, doesn't please Isabella. She screams at her brother, calling him a beast, a coward, a wretch, and so forth. Basically, she can't wait until he dies. Claudio continues to beg, but Isabella refuses to listen. The Duke, who has been spying the whole time, steps in. He takes Claudio aside and tells him a fib. He says that Angelo didn't really mean it when he asked Isabella to sleep with him. Angelo was just testing her virtue, which means Claudio should prepare himself for death. Claudio feels like a jerk for having asked his sister to, you know, prostitute herself for him and says, "Yeah, I'm kind of sick of life at the moment. Dying doesn't sound so bad anymore." |
DUKE, as Friar, to Isabella
The hand that hath made
you fair hath made you good. The goodness that is
cheap in beauty makes beauty brief in goodness,
but grace, being the soul of your complexion, shall 205
keep the body of it ever fair. The assault that Angelo
hath made to you, fortune hath conveyed to my
understanding; and but that frailty hath examples
for his falling, I should wonder at Angelo. How will
you do to content this substitute and to save your 210
brother? ISABELLA
I am now going to resolve him. I had rather
my brother die by the law than my son should be
unlawfully born. But, O, how much is the good
duke deceived in Angelo! If ever he return, and I 215
can speak to him, I will open my lips in vain, or
discover his government. DUKE, as Friar
That shall not be much amiss. Yet, as
the matter now stands, he will avoid your accusation:
he made trial of you only. Therefore, fasten 220
your ear on my advisings. To the love I have in doing
good, a remedy presents itself. I do make myself
believe that you may most uprighteously do a poor
wronged lady a merited benefit, redeem your brother
from the angry law, do no stain to your own 225
gracious person, and much please the absent duke,
if peradventure he shall ever return to have hearing
of this business. ISABELLA
Let me hear you speak farther. I have spirit to
do anything that appears not foul in the truth of my 230
spirit. DUKE, as Friar
Virtue is bold, and goodness never
fearful. Have you not heard speak of Mariana, the
sister of Frederick, the great soldier who miscarried
at sea? 235 ISABELLA
I have heard of the lady, and good words
went with her name. DUKE, as Friar
She should this Angelo have married,
was affianced to her oath, and the nuptial appointed.
Between which time of the contract and 240
limit of the solemnity, her brother Frederick was
wracked at sea, having in that perished vessel the
dowry of his sister. But mark how heavily this befell
to the poor gentlewoman. There she lost a noble
and renowned brother, in his love toward her ever 245
most kind and natural; with him, the portion and
sinew of her fortune, her marriage dowry; with
both, her combinate husband, this well-seeming
Angelo. ISABELLA
Can this be so? Did Angelo so leave her? 250 DUKE, as Friar
Left her in her tears and dried not one
of them with his comfort, swallowed his vows
whole, pretending in her discoveries of dishonor; in
few, bestowed her on her own lamentation, which
she yet wears for his sake; and he, a marble to her 255
tears, is washed with them but relents not. ISABELLA
What a merit were it in death to take this
poor maid from the world! What corruption in this
life, that it will let this man live! But how out of this
can she avail? 260 DUKE, as Friar
It is a rupture that you may easily heal,
and the cure of it not only saves your brother, but
keeps you from dishonor in doing it. ISABELLA
Show me how, good father. DUKE, as Friar
This forenamed maid hath yet in her 265
the continuance of her first affection. His unjust
unkindness, that in all reason should have
quenched her love, hath, like an impediment in the
current, made it more violent and unruly. Go you to
Angelo, answer his requiring with a plausible obedience, 270
agree with his demands to the point. Only
refer yourself to this advantage: first, that your stay
with him may not be long, that the time may have all
shadow and silence in it, and the place answer to
convenience. This being granted in course, and 275
now follows all: we shall advise this wronged maid
to stead up your appointment, go in your place. If
the encounter acknowledge itself hereafter, it may
compel him to her recompense; and here, by this, is
your brother saved, your honor untainted, the poor 280
Mariana advantaged, and the corrupt deputy
scaled. The maid will I frame and make fit for his
attempt. If you think well to carry this as you may,
the doubleness of the benefit defends the deceit
from reproof. What think you of it? 285 ISABELLA
The image of it gives me content already, and
I trust it will grow to a most prosperous perfection. DUKE, as Friar
It lies much in your holding up. Haste
you speedily to Angelo. If for this night he entreat
you to his bed, give him promise of satisfaction. I 290
will presently to Saint Luke’s. There at the moated
grange resides this dejected Mariana. At that place
call upon me, and dispatch with Angelo that it may
be quickly. ISABELLA
I thank you for this comfort. Fare you well, 295
good father. She exits. The Duke remains. | Alone with Isabella, the Duke cooks up a scheme to make everybody happy. He tells her about Mariana, a woman Angelo was supposed to marry a while back. When she lost her brother and a good part of her fortune in a shipwreck (meaning: bye-bye dowry), Angelo walked out on her. But the wronged Mariana is still carrying a torch for him. So...Isabella should tell Angelo that she'll spend the night with him. Then, instead of meeting Angelo, Isabella will send Mariana in her place. It'll be dark so Angelo won't know that he's not getting it on with Isabella and he'll have to set Claudio free. And there's a bonus, the Duke says: If, later, Angelo finds out it was Mariana he slept with, he'll be compelled to marry her and she'll be happy, too. Everybody wins! He asks Isabella what she thinks of the plan. She doesn't have to sleep with the creep and her brother can live? Obviously, she loves it. She thanks the Friar-Duke and runs off to tell Angelo that she wants to save her brother's life. |