Measure for Measure Context Flashcards
Virgin Martyrs:
None in ‘Measure for Measure.’
Women who had been put to death whilst preserving their virginity. They were seen as role models for Shakespearean women as they looked forward to their reward in heaven.
They protected their virginity into death, which led to miracles which resulted in them being treated like witches: burnt to death and sent to God.
Consecrated Virgin = sent to a life of virginity in the name of God. The first was Mary. In 1970, these virgins were revived.
The church has always seen virginity as a superior state to marriage.
Martyrs such as St Lucy or St Agnes.
Royal Timeline:
Measure was first performed in 1604 - for the 100 years leading up to it, England had been in religious turmoil.
Henry VIII - wanted to divorce Catherine of Aragon to marry Anne Boleyn as she had not produced a male heir. The pope refused so he formed the Church of England, introducing Protestantism in order to get a divorce.
Edward VI (1547 - 53) - Brought up as a Protestant, supported the reformation. The church became Protestant and Edward conferred with ‘The Protectors’ to pass laws. Priests could marry, book of common prayer introduced, etc.
Mary I (1553-58) - A devout Catholic, believed that the country was only Protestant on the outside, she restored the rule of the pope in order to marry Philip of Spain. She burnt 300 Protestants alive.
Elizabeth I - Protestant but tried to find a ‘via media’. She brought back the English prayer book, etc, and made reformations to the church. There were several plots against her such as the Babington Plot, executed as many Catholics as Mary I did Protestants.
James I - Protestant, but was sympathetic towards Catholics. He disliked extremes of religion and wanted to unite Christianity: “It were a pity to lose so good a Kingdom, for not tolerating a Mass in a corner.”
Puritanism (Extreme Protestants)
16th-17th century, to purify the CofE from Catholic practices.
They have a strict, moral code based on the Bible. Lived to carry out God’s will and shunned any excess except religion, leading to criticism for being hypocritical.
Called themselves “the Godly”. Called derogatory terms such as “precise”, imposed their beliefs on everyone else.
Predestination, could not save themselves from damnation.
Basilikon Doron
Greek for ‘Royal Gift’ - general guidelines on how to be an effective ruler. Separated into 3 parts.
1, towards God as a Christian: to love and respect God as well as fear Him, pray often, be thankful for what God gave him.
2, Roles and Responsibilities in Office: establishing and executing laws whilst governing with justice/equality, well acquainted with subjects, carefully select royal gentlemen.
3, Proper Behaviour in Daily Lifestyle: should use honest and plain language, eat meat to be strong for wartime and travelling.
James I bases the ‘Basilikon Doron’ off of the Divine Right of Kings.
- Warns against Papists
- Mocks Puritans
- Emphasises following a “middle path”
The Divine Right of Kings
Says that the monarch derives the right to rule directly from God. The king is thus not subject to the will of his people, or any unearthly authority,
Only God can judge an unjust King.
- King was God’s representative on earth.
- Treason/challenging the King seen as sacrilege.
Machiavelli
A political treatise written by Niccolo Machiavelli - ‘The Prince’ claimed to be one of the first works of modern philosophy.
Themes of accepting that the aims of princes can justify the use of immoral means to achieve these ends.
- Better to be feared as a ruler than loved.
- Fear is simply a means to an end: and that end is safety for the Prince. However, too much hatred could potentially be dangerous.
- May have been a work of satire to expose the cynicism of one-man rule, later wrote several popular satirical comedies.
The Significance of the Title
A common phrase that came from a Bible Verse: the Sermon on the Mount. many would be familiar with it as England was a predominantly Christian country.
Matthew 7, King James Version: “and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.”
- The verse deals with the idea of justice, conveying that people will get what they deserve. Also, should judge people in the way we would want to be judged. Often represented by scales and weights, as well as symmetry.
The phrase also links to the idea of balance: justice and mercy, human justice and divine justice, etc.
The Succession Crisis
- Elizabeth inherited the crown from Mary I in 1558. She remained the ‘Virgin Queen’ and had no heir. She refused to discuss who her heir might be as she thought it would cause instability as a plot may be created against her. E.g: Babington Plot.
She didn’t want people waiting for her to die.
Her closest successor was MQS, who was not popular in England due to her Catholicism. Repeatedly plotted against her with the Ridolfi Plot, etc.
On Elizabeth’s death, James VI of Scotland (King James I) was proclaimed King.
King James I
He was already King James VI of Scotland, and inherited the throne after years of uncertainty surrounding Elizabeth’s succession.
There was concern surrounding James’ religious policies, wanted to find a via media (middle way) between Catholicism and Protestantism.
People were not sure what type of leader he would be, but in reality the succession was smooth and people’s fears were unfounded.
- James was Protestant.
- When James was King of Scotland, he had publicly supported Puritans
- Puritans in England hoped he would support them
- However his mother and wife were Catholic, therefore, Catholics hoped he would support them by allowing them to worship freely
- He distrusted extremes on either end of the religious scale – extreme Catholics and extreme Protestants (Puritans) whom he saw as trouble makers.
- He aimed to follow a middle way (‘via media’) as Elizabeth I had done before him
- His dislike of extremes was probably motivated by his desire to maintain total authority and power, tried to suppress those who went against him.
The Book of Common Prayer
The official service used by churches that was introduced in 1549 by Henry VIII. Was ‘fixed’ in 1662. Morning and Evening Prayers.
People could be fined for not attending church, so they went regularly.
In the Morning and Evening Prayers, there was a focus on sin, judgement, mercy and forgiveness.
An Eye for an Eye - Retributive Justice:
“Eye for Eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand.” etc. - Old Testament places a heavy emphasis on revenge/retribution.
In the New Testament, Jesus urges his followers to ‘turn the other cheek’ and offer forgiveness to those who have wronged them.
Coins/Coinage:
In Jacobean England, coins were worth the value of the gold or silver they were made from.
- Coins often clipped, meaning a coin could be worth ‘less’ than its supposed value. To check if they had been clipped, they were weighted.
Made by a plain disc of precious metal being stamped with a design (imprint).
Many Elizabethan coins stamped with a ‘Gold Angel’, named after the archangel Michael who is depicted on it.
Protestant Reformation:
Martin Luther a key figure in this reformation.
- wanting a plain and simple style of worship.
- not believing in the authority of the Pope.
- believing Priests should be able to marry.
- believing the Bible/church services must be accessible to ordinary people through language.
Marriage:
- Marriage was much less formalised, verbal promises instead of written forms.
De Futuro: an intention to marry in the future, could be broken off by mutual consent. It could become legally binding if intercourse occured.
De Praesenti: a couple would make a promise to marry eachother there and then, it could not be broken off but did not quite have the full legal status of marriage.
With only verbal contracts, there was confusion surrounding the type of contracts. Legal marriage was not absolutely clear in the eyes of the law = one of the reasons the church wanted to control marriage more tightly.
1710 = law that marriage had to have witnesses.
1752 = had to be in a church, special conditions implemented.
C + J = contract is legally binding, but lovemaking was not permitted, dealt with by the “bawdy court”. The morality of what they’ve done is a grey area in the play.
M + A = Unclear what contract of marriage they had. M’s dowry lost at sea so Angelo broke off the marriage. M regards them as legally married; he does not.
The Dowry:
An amount of money, goods and property that the bride would bring to marriage. Any wealth brought from the dowry would belong to the husband, and the wife effectively became his property.
