Simply the thing I am Shall make me live. (4.3)

In All’s Well That Ends Well, a woman is given in marriage to the man she longs for, but, because she is of lower rank, he refuses to accept the marriage. It becomes her challenge to win his acceptance.

Helen, the daughter of a dead physician, secretly loves Bertram, the Count of Rosillion’s son. When the count dies, Bertram becomes a ward of the French king, who is dying of a fistula. Helen heals the ailing king, and he grants her wish to marry his ward. Bertram refuses to consummate the marriage and goes off to war, sending Helen a list of seemingly impossible conditions to be met before he will consider her his wife.

To meet his conditions, Helen substitutes herself for a woman whom Bertram desires, and sleeps with him. When false news comes that Helen is dead, Bertram faces the charge that he has killed her. Helen, now pregnant, reappears, saving Bertram and demonstrating that she has met his conditions. Bertram then acknowledges her (reproduced with permission from Folger).

Postcards of All’s Well That Ends Well:

For still we prove much in our vows, but little in our love. (2.4)

Twelfth Night—an allusion to the night of festivity preceding the Christian celebration of the Epiphany—combines love, confusion, mistaken identities, and joyful discovery.

After the twins Sebastian and Viola survive a shipwreck, neither knows that the other is alive. Viola goes into service with Count Orsino of Illyria, disguised as a young man, “Cesario.” Orsino sends Cesario to woo the Lady Olivia on his behalf, but Olivia falls in love with Cesario. Viola, in the meantime, has fallen in love with Orsino.

At the estate of Lady Olivia, Sir Toby Belch, Olivia’s kinsman, has brought in Sir Andrew Aguecheek to be her suitor. A confrontation between Olivia’s steward, Malvolio, and the partying Toby and his cohort leads to a revenge plot against Malvolio. Malvolio is tricked into making a fool of himself, and he is locked in a dungeon as a lunatic.

In the meantime, Sebastian has been rescued by a sea captain, Antonio. When Viola, as Cesario, is challenged to a duel, Antonio mistakes her for Sebastian, comes to her aid, and is arrested. Olivia, meanwhile, mistakes Sebastian for Cesario and declares her love. When, finally, Sebastian and Viola appear together, the puzzles around the mistaken identities are solved: Cesario is revealed as Viola, Orsino asks for Viola’s hand, Sebastian will wed Olivia, and Viola will marry Count Orsino. Malvolio, blaming Olivia and others for his humiliation, vows revenge (reproduced with permission from Folger).

Postcards of Twelfth Night:

Productions of Twelfth Night:

1904 On February 8, Viola Allen starred in a two-week run of Charles Frohman’s production of Twelfth Night at the Knickerbocker Theatre. On February 22 a new cast with Ben Greet’s company began another two-week run. In this second production Ben Greet played Malvolio and Edith Wynn Matthison played Viola.

1909 The London Shakespeare Festival presented by Herbert Beerbohm Tree‘s ensemble, began June 21 at His Majesty’s Theatre, London. The festival ran for two weeks with The Merry Wives of Windsor, Twelfth Night, Julius Caesar, Hamlet, Richard III, The Merchant of Venice, and Macbeth (Loney, I: 50).

Gerald Laurence and Fay Davis open their Shakespeare season on April 12 at the Royal Court Theatre, London. The plays included As You Like It, Romeo and Juliet, The Merchant of Venice, and Twelfth Night (Loney, I: 49).

The London Shakespeare Festival presented by Herbert Beerbohm Tree’s ensemble, began June 21 at His Majesty’s Theatre, London. The festival ran for two weeks with The Merry Wives of Windsor, Twelfth Night, Julius Caesar, Hamlet, Richard III, The Merchant of Venice, and Macbeth (Loney, I: 50).

1910 The New Theatre Company opened for its first time on January 26 with Twelfth Night, starring Annie Russell, Louis Calvert, and Matheson Lang (Loney, I: 53).

Starting on February 7, E. H. Sothern and Julia Marlowe play for six weeks at the Academy of Music, New York City. Included in the repertory are Hamlet, As You Like It, The Taming of the Shrew, Romeo and Juliet, The Merchant of Venice, and Twelfth Night (Loney, I: 53).

Beginning on March 28, several companies presented a London Shakespeare Festival at His Majesty’s Theatre. Herbert Beerbohm Tree’s company played The Merry Wives of Windsor, Julius Caesar, Twelfth Night, and Hamlet. Norman Mckinnel presented King Lear and The Merchant of Venice; Arthur Bourchier and his company came next with The Merchant of Venice. H. B. Irving played Hamlet, and Frank Benson‘s “Bensonians” followed with the Taming of the Shrew and Coriolanus. Poel’s Elizabethan Stage Society gave a performance—in the “original” sixteenth-century style—of The Two Gentlemen of Verona. Lewis Waller revived his Henry V, and Tree returned to close the Festival with The Merchant of Venice and Richard II (Loney, I: 54).

At the first Stratford-upon-Avon Summer Shakespeare Festival, Benson presented The Winter’s Tale, Julius Caesar, Macbeth, Henry V, Twelfth Night, As You Like It, Richard II, Hamlet, and The Merry Wives of Windsor (Loney, I: 54).

1911 On April 17, the annual Stratford Shakespeare Festival opened with The Merry Wives of Windsor. This year Frank Benson also offered The Merchant of Venice, Twelfth Night, Much Ado About Nothing, Henry V, Julius Caesar, Macbeth, As You Like It, Romeo and Juliet, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and Richard III (Loney, I: 158).

The London Shakespeare Festival opened on May 22 at His Majesty’s Theatre with Herbert Beerbohm Tree’s Julius Caesar, followed by Oscar Asche and Lily Brayton‘s As You Like It. Next came The Merchant of Venice and Twelfth Night. Frank Benson presented The Taming of the Shrew,Tree revived his Henry VIII, and the Festival closed with Benson’s Richard III and on July 3, the final night, The Merry Wives of Windsor (Loney, I: 158).

E. H. Sothern and Julia Marlowe opened their season at the Broadway Theatre, New York City. In the repertory were Macbeth, The Taming of the Shrew, Hamlet, The Merchant of Venice,Romeo and Juliet, and Twelfth Night. They returned on November 20 and added As You Like It to the list (Loney, I: 158).

1912 On April 9, Herbert Beerbohm Tree opened his season of Shakespeare at His Majesty’s Theatre, London, with Othello; his company also performedThe Merchant of Venice, Twelfth Night, and Henry VIII (Loney, I: 63).

The annual Stratford-upon-Avon Shakespeare Festival opened this year on April 22 with The Merchant of Venice; Frank Benson’s company also performed Henry V, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, Coriolanus, The Taming of the Shrew, Julius Caesar, Twelfth Night, and Richard III (Loney, I: 63).

1913 The first season of the Birmingham Repertory Company opened with Barry Jackson’s production of Twelfth Night (Loney, I: 68).

In the month of June Herbert Beerbohm Tree staged a revival of The Merchant of Venice, Twelfth Night, Julius Caesar, and Romeo and Juliet; Tree played Shylock, Malvolio, Marc Antony, and Mercutio (Loney, I: 68).

Frank Benson’s summer season of Shakespeare’s plays opened on August 2 with The Merchant of Venice; other plays performed that season were As You Like It, Hamlet, King John,Richard II, The Merry Wives of Windsor, Much Ado About Nothing, Romeo and Juliet, The Taming of the Shrew, Twelfth Night, and Henry IV, Part 2 (Loney, I: 68).

1914 On March 16, at the Hudson Theatre, New York City, Margaret Anglin began a run of Shakespeare plays; she directed and played in As You Like It, Twelfth Night, and The Taming of the Shrew (Loney, I: 72).

Another annual Stratford Shakespeare Festival opened with A Midsummer Night’s Dream; Frank Benson’s company was still on tour in the United States, so Patrick Kirwan directed this year’s offerings: Much Ado About Nothing, The Comedy of Errors, Twelfth Night, Hamlet, As You Like It, and The Merchant of Venice (Loney, I: 72).

Frank Benson returned from the United States to direct the Stratford Summer Festival. He opened the four-week festval with Much Ado About Nothing. The company also presented Hamlet, Richard II, Henry IV, Part 2, Henry V, The Merry Wives of Windsor, The Merchant of Venice, Twelfth Night, Julius Caesar, As You Like It, The Taming of the Shrew, and Romeo and Juliet (Loney, I: 73).

On October 5, the Old Vic Theatre, London, under the management of Lilian Baylis, mounted a production of The Taming of the Shrew. Additionally, the following plays were performed for the first time in 1914 at the Old Vic: Hamlet, The Merchant of Venice, The Tempest, The Merry Wives of Windsor, The Comedy of Errors, Twelfth Night, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Baylis will by 1923 have produced the entire Shakespeare canon of thirty-seven plays (Loney, I: 73).

Exit, pursued by a bear. Enter a shepherd (3.3).

The “tale” of The Winter’s Tale unfolds in scenes set sixteen years apart. In the first part of the play, Leontes, king of Sicilia, plays host to his friend Polixenes, king of Bohemia. Suddenly, Leontes becomes unreasonably jealous of Polixenes and Leontes’s pregnant wife, Hermione. Leontes calls for Polixenes to be killed, but he escapes.

Hermione, under arrest, gives birth to a daughter; Leontes orders the baby to be taken overseas and abandoned. The death of the couple’s young son, Mamillius, brings Leontes to his senses, too late. Word arrives that Hermione, too, has died. In Bohemia, a shepherd finds and adopts the baby girl, Perdita.

Sixteen years later, the story resumes. Polixenes’s son, Florizell, loves Perdita. When Polixenes forbids the unequal match, the couple flees to Sicilia, where the tale reaches its conclusion. Perdita’s identity as a princess is revealed, allowing her and Florizell to marry; Leontes and Polixenes reconcile; and, with the help of Paulina, Hermione returns in the form of a statue, steps down from a pedestal, and reunites with her family (reproduced with permission from Folger).

Postcards of The Winter’s Tale:

Productions of The Winter’s Tale:

1903 Frank Benson opened a two-week Shakespeare Festival season at Stratford-upon-Avon on April 20. Among the plays his troupe presented were Hamlet, The Winter’s Tale, Macbeth, The Merry Wives of Windsor, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Loney, I: 16).

1910 On March 28, the New Theatre Company of New York adds The Winter’s Tale to its repertory (Loney, I: 53).

At the first Stratford-upon-Avon Summer Shakespeare Festival, Benson presented The Winter’s Tale, Julius Caesar, Macbeth, Henry V, Twelfth Night, As You Like It, Richard II, Hamlet, and The Merry Wives of Windsor (Loney, I: 54).

Too little payment for so great a debt (5.2).

The Taming of the Shrew begins with an “induction” in which a nobleman plays a trick on a beggar, Christopher Sly, treating Sly as if he is a nobleman who has lost his memory. A play is staged for Sly—the play that we know as The Taming of the Shrew.

In the play, set in Padua, Lucentio and other suitors pursue Bianca, but are told by her father, Baptista, that her bad-tempered older sister, Katherine (or Katerina), must marry first. They encourage Petruchio, who has come to Padua to find a wealthy wife, to court Katherine and free Bianca to marry.

Petruchio negotiates marriage terms with Baptista, then has a stormy meeting with Katherine, after which he assures Baptista that the two have agreed to marry. Petruchio arrives late to their wedding dressed in strange clothes; he behaves rudely and carries Katherine away before the wedding dinner. At his home, he embarks on a plan to “tame” Katherine as one would tame a wild hawk. Starved and kept without sleep, Katherine eventually agrees with everything Petruchio says, however absurd. He takes her back to Padua, where they attend Bianca’s wedding. There, Katherine proves more obedient to her husband than the other wives, whom she chastises before she and Petruchio go off to consummate their marriage (reproduced with permission from Folger).

Postcards of The Taming of the Shrew:

Productions of The Taming of the Shrew:

Between 1893 and 1914, The Taming of the Shrew was produced fourteen times in the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre, Stratford. Between 1893 and 1978, it was performed all told forty-four times in Stratford. Between 1890 and 1914, the play was produced fourteen times in London and between 1904 and 1914, eleven times in New York City.

1890 Henry Irving leased the theater and Richard Dorney as acting manager presented six performances of The Taming of the Shrew at London’s Lyceum Theatre (July 8 through July 14). The players were John Drew as Petruchio, Ada Rehan as Katherine, Charles Fisher as Baptista, Charles Wheatleigh as Christopher Sly, and Edith Crane as Bianca (Wearing, I: 52).

1893 To open his new theater Daly’s (London), Augustin Daly selected The Taming of the Shrew as the first play produced. George Clarke played Petruchio, Ada Rehan played Katherine, William Gilbert played Christopher Sly, Henry Loraine played Baptista, and Frances Ross played Bianca. The play opened on June 27 and ran for fourteen performances until July 14 (Wearing, I: 329).

1897 Herbert Beerbohm Tree produced Katherine and Petruchio, David Garrick’s adaptation of The Taming of the Shrew. The play opened at Her Majesty’s Theatre (London) on November 1 and ran for twenty-two performances. Tree played Petruchio and his wife played Katherine; the parts of Bianca and Baptista were played by Margaret Halstan and Charles G. Allan (Wearing, II: 700).

1901 Frank Benson‘s company presented ten performances (January 1-14) of The Taming of the Shrew at the Comedy Theatre (London). Benson played Petruchio opposite his wife Constance Benson as Katherine (Wearing, I: 71).

1904 On January 18 Ada Rehan opened at the Lyric Theatre in New York City for a three-week engagement in The Taming of the Shrew and The Merchant of Venice. The production then moved to the Liberty Theatre where The Taming of the Shrew ran for another week (Loney, I: 22).

At the Adelphi Theatre, London, on November 29 Oscar Asche and Lily Brayton opened in The Taming of the Shrew (Loney, I: 23).

1908 Oscar Asche and Lily Brayton opened a revival of The Taming of the Shrew at the Aldwych Theatre, London, on June 8 (Loney, I: 45).

1910 Starting on February 7, E. H. Sothern and Julia Marlowe play for six weeks at the Academy of Music, New York City. Included in the repertory are Hamlet, As You Like It, The Taming of the Shrew, Romeo and Juliet, The Merchant of Venice, and Twelfth Night (Loney, I: 53).

Beginning on March 28, several companies presented a London Shakespeare Festival at His Majesty’s Theatre. Herbert Beerbohm Tree’s company played The Merry Wives of Windsor, Julius Caesar, Twelfth Night, and Hamlet. Norman Mckinnel presented King Lear and The Merchant of Venice; Arthur Bourchier and his company came next with The Merchant of Venice. H. B. Irving played Hamlet, and Frank Benson’s “Bensonians” followed with the Taming of the Shrew and Coriolanus. Poel’s Elizabethan Stage Society gave a performance–in the “original” sixteenth-century style–of The Two Gentlemen of Verona. Lewis Waller revived his Henry V, and Tree returned to close the Festival with The Merchant of Venice and Richard II (Loney, I: 54).

The Stratford-upon-Avon Shakespeare Festival opened on April 22 this year. The Festival began with Tree’s Hamlet;Benson’s company then performed The Taming of the Shrew, The Two Gentlemen of Verona, and Richard III with Genevieve Ward and The Merchant of Venice with Ellen Terry. The season was cut short and ended when Edward VII died on May 6 (Loney, I, 54).

1911 The London Shakespeare Festival opened on May 22 at His Majesty’s Theatre with Herbert Beerbohm Tree’s Julius Caesar, followed by Oscar Asche and Lily Brayton’s As You Like It. Next came The Merchant of Venice and Twelfth Night. Frank Benson presented The Taming of the Shrew, Tree revived his Henry VIII, and the Festival closed with Benson’s Richard III and on July 3, the final night, the Merry Wives of Windsor (Loney, I: 158).

E. H. Sothern and Julia Marlowe opened their season at the Broadway Theatre, New York City. In the repertory were Macbeth, The Taming of the Shrew, Hamlet, The Merchant of Venice, Romeo and Juliet, and Twelfth Night. They returned on November 20 and added As You Like it to the list (Loney, I: 158).

On July 22, Stratford’s second summer season began; this is the year that Baliol Holloway debuted with the Bensonians. The plays performed are A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Henry V, Richard II, The Merchant of Venice, Romeo and Juliet, As You Like It, The Taming of the Shrew, Hamlet, and the Tempest (Loney, I: 159).

1912 The annual Stratford-upon-Avon Shakespeare Festival opened this year on April 22 with The Merchant of Venice; Frank Benson’s company also performed Henry V, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, Coriolanus, The Taming of the Shrew, Julius Caesar, Twelfth Night, and Richard III (Loney, I: 63).

1913 On May 10, Martin Harvey played Petruchio in a production of The Taming of the Shrew at the Prince of Wales’s Theatre, London (Loney, I: 68).

Frank Benson’s summer season of Shakespeare’s plays opened on August 2 with The Merchant of Venice; other plays performed that season were As You Like It, Hamlet, King John, Richard II, The Merry Wives of Windsor, Much Ado About Nothing, Romeo and Juliet, The Taming of the Shrew, Twelfth Night, and Henry IV, Part 2 (Loney, I: 68).

1914 On March 16 at the Hudson Theatre, New York City, Margaret Anglin began a run of Shakespeare plays; she directed and played in As You Like It, Twelfth Night, and The Taming of the Shrew (Loney, I: 72).

Frank Benson returned from the United States to direct the Stratford Summer Festival. He opened the four-week festival with Much Ado About Nothing. The company also presented Hamlet, Richard II, Henry IV, Part 2, Henry V, The Merry Wives of Windsor, The Merchant of Venice, Twelfth Night, Julius Caesar, As You Like It, The Taming of the Shrew, and Romeo and Juliet (Loney, I: 73).

On October 5, the Old Vic Theatre, London, under the management of Lilian Baylis, mounted a production of The Taming of the Shrew. Additionally, the following plays were performed for the first time in 1914 at the Old Vic: Hamlet, The Merchant of Venice, The Tempest, The Merry Wives of Windsor, The Comedy of Errors, Twelfth Night, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Baylis will by 1923 have produced the entire Shakespeare canon of thirty-seven plays (Loney, I: 73).

I do love nothing in the world so well as you. Is that not strange? (4.1)

The primary plot of Much Ado About Nothing turns on the courtship and scandal involving young Hero and her suitor, Claudio, but the witty war of words between Claudio’s friend Benedick and Hero’s cousin Beatrice often takes center stage.

Set in Messina, the play begins as Don Pedro’s army returns after a victory. Benedick, a gentleman soldier, resumes a verbal duel with Beatrice, the niece of Messina’s governor, Leonato. Count Claudio is smitten with Leonato’s daughter, Hero. After Don Pedro woos her in disguise for Claudio, the two young lovers plan to marry in a week. To fill in the time until the wedding, Don Pedro and the others set about tricking Benedick and Beatrice into falling in love with each other. Meanwhile, Don Pedro’s disgruntled brother, Don John, plots to ruin Hero and halt her wedding. Claudio believes Don John’s deception, is convinced Hero has a lover, and, at the wedding, brutally rejects her.

With Hero in hiding and falsely reported dead, Beatrice persuades Benedick to fight Claudio. Tragedy is averted when the bumbling city watch, having discovered Don John’s treachery, arrives and clears Hero’s name. With Claudio forgiven, both couples are ready to get married (reproduced with permission from Folger).

Postcards of Much Ado About Nothing:

Productions of Much Ado About Nothing:

1891 Henry Irving‘s production of Much Ado About Nothing opened at the Lyceum Theatre (London) on January 5, 1891, and ran for fifty-three performances until March 3. Ellen Terry played Beatrice and Henry Irving played Benedick. The cast included William Terriss as Claudio, William MackIntosh as Dogberry, and Annie Irish as Hero (Wearing, I: 186).

1893 Henry Irving’s next production of Much Ado About Nothing opened at the Lyceum Theatre (London) on July 3 and ran for four performances; Irving played Benedick and Ellen Terry played Beatrice. Others in the cast were William Terriss as Claudio, William Haviland as Don John, Sam Johnson as Dogberry, and Jessie Millward as Hero (Wearing, I: 333).

1894 Henry Irving revived his Much Ado About Nothing at the Lyceum (London) for three performances on July 4. He played Benedick and Ellen Terry played Beatrice (Wearing, I: 415).

1895 Henry Irving’s three performances of Much Ado About Nothing opened at the Lyceum Theatre (London) on July 4; Irving played Benedick and Ellen Terry played Beatrice. Ben Webster performed as Claudio, Julia Arthur as Hero, William Haviland as Don John, and Sam Johnson as Dogberry (Wearing, I: 496-7).

1898 George Alexander was the general manager of a production of Much Ado About Nothing that opened at the St. James’s Theatre (London) and ran for fifty-two performances from February 16 until April 2. Alexander played Benedick opposite Julia Neilson‘s Beatrice. Also in the cast were H. B. Irving as Don John, Jay Davis as Hero, H. H. Vincent as Dogberry, and Robert Loraine as Claudio (Wearing, II: 719).

1901 April 15 marked the opening of Frank Benson’s festival season at Stratford-upon-Avon. The company presented for the first time at Stratford a cycle of the history plays: King John, Richard II, Henry IV, Part 2, Henry V, Henry VI, Part 2, and Richard III. The company presented five other plays as well, including Much Ado About Nothing (Loney, I: 8).

1903 On May 23, Gordon Craig presents Much Ado About Nothing at the Imperial Theatre, London, with Ellen Terry as Beatrice (Loney, I: 16).

1904 On October 17, the New York City producer Charles Frohman presented E. H. Sothern and Julia Marlowe playing for the first time together in a Shakespeare play. The performances included Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, and Much Ado About Nothing (Loney, I: 23).

1906 Frank Benson opened the Shakespeare Festival at Stratford-upon-Avon on April 23, the dramatist’s birthday. In this three-week Festival he opened with Much Ado About Nothing and for the first time offered all three parts of Henry VI. His company performed ten other plays as well (Loney, I: 33).

1907 On March 4, Ben Greet’s company returned to New York City’s Garden Theatre. The plays in repertory included Macbeth, As You Like It, Julius Caesar, Twelfth Night, Much Ado About Nothing, and The Merchant of Venice. Among Greet’s players were Sybil Thorndyke, Julia Perkins, and Sidney Greenstreet (Loney, I: 37).

1908 On February 17 Frank Benson’s company opened Much Ado About Nothing at the Coronet Theatre, London. Constance Benson played Beatrice (Loney, I: 44).

On April 20, Frank Benson opened the Stratford-upon-Avon Shakespeare Festival with Much Ado About Nothing; the company also performed A Midsummer Night’s Dream during this season. A notable event at the Festival was a performance of the William Poel production of Measure for Measure. Annie Horniman’s company had come down from Manchester especially for Poel’s “authentic” presentation of the play in what was understood then to be the conventions of the Elizabethan theater (Loney, I: 44).

1911 On April 17, the annual Stratford Shakespeare Festival opened with The Merry Wives of Windsor. This year Frank Benson also offered The Merchant of Venice, Twelfth Night, Much Ado About Nothing, Henry V, Julius Caesar, Macbeth, As You Like It, Romeo and Juliet, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and Richard III (Loney, I: 158).

1912 On November 11, Annie Russell‘s Old English Comedy Company opened its season at the 39th Street Theatre in New York City. The Shakespeare play was Much Ado About Nothing (Loney, I: 64).

1913 Frank Benson opened the Stratford-upon-Avon Shakespeare Festival with Richard II; the troupe also performed Henry IV, Part 2, Richard III, Much Ado About Nothing, As You Like It, and Hamlet this season. Added attractions were William Poel’s production of Troilus and Cressida, with Edith Evans and Hermione Gingold, as well as Poel himself as the performers, and a presentation of Henry V by the students of Stratford’s King Edward VI Grammar School (Loney, I: 68).

Frank Benson’s summer season of Shakespeare’s plays opened on August 2 with The Merchant of Venice; other plays performed that season were As You Like It, Hamlet, King John, Richard II, The Merry Wives of Windsor, The Taming of the Shrew, Twelfth Night, and Henry IV, Part 2 (Loney, I: 68).

1914 Another annual Stratford Shakespeare Festival opened with A Midsummer Night’s Dream; Frank Benson’s company was still on tour in the United States, so Patrick Kirwan directed this year’s offerings: Much Ado About Nothing, The Comedy of Errors, Twelfth Night, Hamlet, As You Like It, and The Merchant of Venice (Loney, I: 72).

Frank Benson returned from the United States to direct the Stratford Summer Festival. He opened the four-week festval with Much Ado About Nothing. The company also presented Hamlet, Richard II, Henry IV, Part 2, Henry V, The Merry Wives of Windsor, The Merchant of Venice, Twelfth Night, Julius Caesar, As You Like It, The Taming of the Shrew, and Romeo and Juliet (Loney, I: 73).

In Milan, Valentine and the duke’s daughter, Sylvia, are in love. Proteus, on arriving, falls in love with Sylvia at first sight. He reveals to the duke that Sylvia and Valentine plan to elope, and Valentine is banished. Meanwhile, Proteus’s earlier love, Julia, assumes a male disguise and travels to Milan.

The banished Valentine meets outlaws and becomes their leader. Sylvia, in search of Valentine, is seized by his outlaws. Proteus rescues her and then, when she spurns him, tries to rape her. Valentine stops the rape, but out of friendship offers to yield Sylvia to Proteus. Julia, however, reveals her identity, regaining Proteus’s love. Two weddings are planned: Valentine with Sylvia, and Proteus with Julia (reproduced with permission from Folger).

Productions of The Two Gentlemen of Verona:

1910 Beginning on March 28, several companies presented a London Shakespeare Festival at His Majesty’s Theatre. Herbert Beerbohm Tree‘s company played The Merry Wives of Windsor, Julius Caesar, Twelfth Night, and Hamlet. Norman Mckinnel presented King Lear and The Merchant of Venice; Arthur Bourchier and his company came next with The Merchant of Venice. H. B. Irving played Hamlet, and Frank Benson‘s “Bensonians” followed with the Taming of the Shrew and Coriolanus. Poel’s Elizabethan Stage Society gave a performance–in the “original” sixteenth-century style–of The Two Gentlemen of Verona. Lewis Waller revived his Henry V, and Tree returned to close the Festival with The Merchant of Venice and Richard II (Loney, I, 54).

The Stratford-upon-Avon Shakespeare Festival opened on April 22 this year. The Festival began with Herbert Beerbohm Tree’s Hamlet; Benson’s company then performed The Taming of the Shrew, The Two Gentlemen of Verona, and Richard III with Genevieve Ward and The Merchant of Venice with Ellen Terry. The season was cut short and ended when Edward VII died on May 6 (Loney, I, 54).

Our revels are now ended. These our actors, As I foretold you, were all spirits and are melted into air, into thin air (4.1)

A story of shipwreck and magic, The Tempest begins on a ship caught in a violent storm with Alonso, the king of Naples, on board. On a nearby island, the exiled Duke of Milan, Prospero, tells his daughter, Miranda, that he has caused the storm with his magical powers. Prospero had been banished twelve years earlier when Prospero’s brother, Antonio—also on the doomed ship—conspired with Alonso to become the duke instead. Prospero and Miranda are served by a spirit named Ariel and by Caliban, son of the island’s previous inhabitant, the witch Sycorax.

On the island, castaways from the wreck begin to appear. First is Alonso’s son Ferdinand, who immediately falls in love with Miranda. Prospero secretly approves of their love, but tests the pair by enslaving Ferdinand. After secretly watching Miranda and Ferdinand exchange vows, Prospero releases Ferdinand and consents to their marriage.

Other castaways who appear are Trinculo and Stephano, Alonso’s jester and butler, who join forces with Caliban to kill Prospero and take over the island. The nobles from the ship search for Ferdinand and are confronted with a spectacle including a Harpy, who convinces Alonso that Ferdinand’s death is retribution for Prospero’s exile.

Having all his enemies under his control, Prospero decides to forgive them. Alonso, joyously reunited with his son, restores Prospero to the dukedom of Milan and welcomes Miranda as Ferdinand’s wife. As all except Caliban and Ariel prepare to leave the island, Prospero, who has given up his magic, bids farewell to the island and the audience (reproduced with permission from Folger).

Postcards of The Tempest:

Productions of The Tempest:

1900 F. R. Benson played Caliban in The Tempest from April 5 to April 28 (twenty-three performances) at the Lyceum Theatre (London). Mrs. Benson played Miranda, Frank Rodney played Ferdinand, and Alfred Brydone took the part of Prospero. Kitty Loftis played Ariel (Wearing, I: 17).

1908 July 6 marked the first night of a summer treat: an outdoor performance of The Tempest in the London Botanical Gardens. Patrick Kerwin played Caliban and Reginald Maurice Prospero (Loney, I: 45).

1910 On January 17, Ben Greet’s repertory of plays opened at the Garden Theatre, New York City, with, among other classics, these Shakespeare plays: Macbeth, Julius Caesar, The Tempest, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and The Merchant of Venice (Loney, I: 53).

1911 On July 22, Stratford’s second summer season began; this is the year that Baliol Holloway debuted with the Bensonians. The plays performed were A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Henry V, Richard II, The Merchant of Venice, Romeo and Juliet, As You Like It, The Taming of the Shrew, Hamlet, and the Tempest (Loney, I: 159).

1914 On October 5, the Old Vic Theatre, under the management of Lilian Baylis, mounted a production of The Taming of the Shrew. Additionally, the following plays were performed for the first time in 1914 at the Old Vic: Hamlet, The Merchant of Venice, The Tempest, The Merry Wives of Windsor, The Comedy of Errors, Twelfth Night, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Baylis will by 1923 have produced the entire Shakespeare canon of thirty-seven plays (Loney, I: 73).

Why, then the world’s mine oyster Which I with sword will open (2.2)

In The Merry Wives of Windsor, fat, disreputable Sir John Falstaff pursues two housewives, Mistress Ford and Mistress Page, who outwit and humiliate him instead. Meanwhile, three suitors seek the hand of Anne Page, Mistress Page’s daughter.

Falstaff hopes to seduce the wives so he can gain access to their husbands’ wealth. Ford learns of Falstaff’s approaches and is consumed by jealousy. In disguise, he befriends Falstaff to learn about Mistress Ford’s behavior. The wives, however, trick Falstaff and Ford. As Falstaff visits Mistress Ford, Mistress Page announces that Ford is coming. Falstaff hides in a basket of dirty laundry and is thrown in the river.

Another visit ends similarly: Falstaff disguises himself as “the fat woman of Brentford,” whom Ford hates. Ford beats “her” in anger. Finally, Falstaff is lured to a comical nighttime rendezvous where all of Windsor comes together, Falstaff is publicly humiliated, and Ford admits his folly. Two of Anne Page’s suitors elope with boys in disguise while Anne marries her chosen suitor, Fenton (reproduced with permission from Folger).

Postcards of The Merry Wives of Windsor: 

Productions of The Merry Wives of Windsor:

1890 Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree‘s production with Tree playing the part of Sir John Falstaff opened at the Haymarket Theatre (London) on February 5, 1890, and ran until February 25, 1890. The principal players were James Fernandez as Mr. Ford, C. H. E. Brookfield as Master Slender, Henry Kemble as Dr. Caius, Lingard as Mistress Ford, Rose Leclercq as Mistress Page, Gurney as Mr. Page, and Mrs. H. B. Tree as Anne Page (Wearing, I: 8).

1900 Frank Benson‘s troupe performed The Merry Wives of Windsor eleven times (December 19-31) at the Comedy Theatre (London). George R. Weir played Falstaff; the other players were Oscar Asche as Pistol, F. R. Benson as Dr. Caius, Constance Benson as Mistress Ford, Frank Rodney as Ford, and Lilian Braithwaite as Anne Page (Wearing, I: 66-7).

1902 Beerbohm Tree played Sir John Falstaff in his company’s presentation of The Merry Wives of Windsor; the play ran for fifty-six performances, June through August. Oscar Asche played Master Ford, with Mrs. W. H. Kendal as Mistress Ford and Ellen Terry as Mistress Page (Wearing, I: 167).

1903 Frank Benson opened a two-week Shakespeare Festival season at Stratford-upon-Avon on April 20. Among the plays his troupe presented were Hamlet,The Winter’s Tale, Macbeth, The Merry Wives of Windsor, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Loney, I: 16).

1909 The London Shakespeare Festival presented by Herbert Beerbohm Tree’s ensemble, began June 21 at His Majesty’s Theatre, London. The festival ran for two weeks with The Merry Wives of Windsor, Twelfth Night, Julius Caesar, Hamlet, Richard III, The Merchant of Venice, and Macbeth (Loney, I: 50).

1910 Beginning on March 28, several companies presented a London Shakespeare Festival at His Majesty’s Theatre. Herbert Beerbohm Tree’s company played The Merry Wives of Windsor, Julius Caesar, Twelfth Night, and Hamlet. Norman Mckinnel presented King Lear and The Merchant of Venice; Arthur Bourchier and his company came next with The Merchant of Venice. H. B. Irving played Hamlet, and Frank Benson’s “Bensonians” followed with the Taming of the Shrew and Coriolanus. Poel’s Elizabethan Stage Society gave a performance—in the “original” sixteenth-century style—of The Two Gentlemen of Verona. Lewis Waller revived his Henry V, and Tree returned to close the Festival with The Merchant of Venice and Richard II (Loney, I: 54).

At the first Stratford-upon-Avon Summer Shakespeare Festival, Benson presented The Winter’s Tale, Julius Caesar, Macbeth, Henry V, Twelfth Night, As You Like It, Richard II, Hamlet, and The Merry Wives of Windsor (Loney, I: 54).

1911 On February 25, Oscar Asche and Lily Brayton opened their London season at the Garrick Theatre with The Merry Wives of Windsor (Loney, I: 158).

On April 17, the annual Stratford Shakespeare Festival opened with The Merry Wives of Windsor. This year Frank Benson also offered The Merchant of Venice, Twelfth Night, Much Ado About Nothing, Henry V, Julius Caesar, Macbeth, As You Like It, Romeo and Juliet, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and Richard III (Loney, I: 158).

1911 The London Shakespeare Festival opened on May 22 at His Majesty’s Theatre with Herbert Beerbohm Tree’s Julius Caesar, followed by Oscar Asche and Lily Brayton‘s As You Like It. Next came The Merchant of Venice and Twelfth Night. Frank Benson presented The Taming of the Shrew, Tree revived his Henry VIII, and the Festival closed with Benson’s Richard III and on July 3, the final night, The Merry Wives of Windsor (Loney, I: 158).

1912 The third annual summer season of Shakespeare began on August 7 at Stratford. The Shakespeare plays performed by Frank Benson’s troupe included Othello, Henry V, Antony and Cleopatra, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and The Merry Wives of Windsor (Loney, I: 64).

1913 Frank Benson’s summer season of Shakespeare’s plays opened on August 2 with The Merchant of Venice; other plays performed that season were As You Like It, Hamlet, King John, Richard II, The Merry Wives of Windsor, Much Ado About Nothing, Romeo and Juliet, The Taming of the Shrew, Twelfth Night, and Henry IV, Part 2 (Loney, I: 68).

1914 Frank Benson returned from the United States to direct the Stratford Summer Festival. He opened the four-week festival with Much Ado About Nothing. The company also presented Hamlet, Richard II, Henry IV, Part 2, Henry V, The Merry Wives of Windsor, The Merchant of Venice, Twelfth Night, Julius Caesar, As You Like It, The Taming of the Shrew, and Romeo and Juliet (Loney, I: 73).

On October 5, the Old Vic Theatre, under the management of Lilian Baylis, mounted a production of The Taming of the Shrew. Additionally, the following plays were performed for the first time in 1914 at the Old Vic: Hamlet, The Merchant of Venice, The Tempest, The Merry Wives of Windsor, The Comedy of Errors, Twelfth Night, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Baylis will, by 1923, have produced the entire Shakespeare canon of thirty-seven plays (Loney, I: 73).

The quality of mercy is not strained. It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven (4.1)

Antonio, the merchant in The Merchant of Venice, secures a loan from Shylock for his friend Bassanio, who seeks to court Portia. Shylock, a Jewish moneylender, recalls past insults from Antonio and, instead of asking interest on the loan, asks instead—in what he calls a “merry sport”—that if the loan is not repaid, Antonio will owe a pound of his own flesh.

Bassanio sails to Belmont, where the wealthy heiress Portia is being courted by suitors from around the world. Her father’s will requires that the successful suitor solve a riddle involving chests of gold, silver, and lead. Where others have failed, Bassanio succeeds by selecting the right chest. Portia marries Bassanio; her waiting woman, Nerissa, marries his friend Gratiano.

Shylock’s daughter, Jessica, has eloped with Bassanio’s friend Lorenzo, taking her father’s money with her. Shylock is devastated. When Antonio cannot repay the loan, Shylock demands the pound of flesh. When the news reaches Belmont, Bassanio returns to Venice. Portia and Nerissa also travel to Venice, disguised as a lawyer and his clerk. Portia uses the law to defeat Shylock and rescue Antonio (reproduced with permission from Folger).

Postcards of The Merchant of Venice:

Productions of The Merchant of Venice:

The Merchant of Venice was performed 47 times at Stratford-upon-Avon between 1880 and 1978; in London, thirty-five times between 1890 and 1914. The play was performed forty-eight times between 1768 and 1989 on Broadway; and the Internet Movie Database records seventeen film and television versions between 1908 and 2004.

1890 A single performance of The Merchant of Venice was given on August 8 at the Royalty Theatre (London). Charles Cameron played Shylock with Ernest N. Abbott as Antonio, Norman Clark as Bassanio, Olive Stettith as Portia, and Mrs. Gordon Ascher as Nerissa (Wearing, I: 62).

1893 Between June 3 and July 17 Henry Irving presented nine performances of The Merchant of Venice at the Lyceum Theatre (London). Irving played Shylock and Ellen Terry played Portia. William Terriss played as Bassanio, William Haviland as Antonio, Kate Phillips as Nerissa, and Amy Coleridge as Jessica (Wearing, I: 316).

There was one performance of The Merchant of Venice at the Opera Comique (London) on July 11; Herbert Waring played Shylock and Ethel Verne, Portia (Wearing, I: 338).

1895 A single matinee performance of The Merchant of Venice was given on October 17 at the Gaiety Theatre (London). The principle players were Charles Pond as Shylock, Ettie Williams as Portia, J. A. Rosier as Antonio, and Frank Gillmore as Bassanio.

Henry Irving’s production of The Merchant of Venice opened at the Lyceum Theatre (London) on June 17 and ran for seven performances. Henry Irving played as Shylock, Ellen Terry as Portia, Frank Cooper as Bassanio, William Haviland as Antonio, and Maud Milton as Nerissa (Wearing, I: 487).

1896 Edward Hastings directed a production of The Merchant of Venice in a matinee performance at the Duke of York’s Theatre (London) on June 25. Charles Pond played as Shylock, Edward Ferris as Antonio, Frank Gillmore as Bassanio, and Ettie Williams as Portia (Wearing, I: 581-2).

1897 The Merchant of Venice with Bernard Copping as Shylock, Jack Haddon as Bassanio, Ernest K. Nelson as Antonio, V. St. Laurence as Portia, and Geraldine Montrose as Nerissa at the Novelty Theatre (London) on May 17 for a run of five performances (Wearing, II: 659).

Ben Greet managed a production of The Merchant of Venice that opened at the Olympic Theatre (London) on May 26 and ran for eight performances. Members of the cast were George R. Foss as Antonio, Nutcombe Gould as Shylock, Alfred Kendrick as Bassanio, Lily Hanbury as Portia, and Mary C. MacKenzie as Nerissa (Wearing, II: 663).

Henry Irving played Shylock in his revival of The Merchant of Venice at the Lyceum Theatre (London); the play opened July 15 for three performances. Ellen Terry played Portia, F. H. Macklin played Antonio, Frank Cooper played Bassanio, and Maud Milton played Nerissa (Wearing, II: 681).

1898 Henry Irving played Shylock and Ellen Terry Portia in yet another revival of The Merchant of Venice that opened at the Lyceum Theatre (London) and ran for 48 performances (February 17-April 26). Others in the cast were F. H. Macklin as Antonio, Frank Cooper as Bassanio, and Maud Milton as Nerissa (Wearing, II: 719-20).

1900 On April 23 Frank Benson and his company began the annual Shakespeare Festival at Stratford-upon-Avon. Among the players were Marion Terry as Rosalind in As You Like it and John Coleman as Pericles. The company also performed Othello, Macbeth, and The Merchant of Venice (Loney, I: 3).

Henry Irving produced seven performances (July 17-28) of The Merchant of Venice at the Lyceum Theatre (London); he played Shylock and Ellen Terry played Portia. Laurence Irving took the part of Antonio, and Arthur Royston played Bassanio (Wearing, I: 45).

1901 Frank Benson’s company presented thirteen performances (January 16-February 12) of The Merchant of Venice at the Comedy Theatre (London). Benson played Shylock and Eleanor Calhoun took the part of Portia. Antonio was played by Alfred Brydone and Bassanio by Frank Rodney (Wearing, I: 72).

1902 In June, Henry Irving’s company presented The Merchant of Venice at the Lyceum Theatre, London. Sir Henry played Shylock, with Laurence Irving as Antonio, Tyrone Power as Bassanio, and Ellen Terry as Portia (Wearing, I: 167).

1905 Frank Benson opened a three-week Shakespeare Festival at Stratford-upon-Avon with The Merchant of Venice. Henry Irving was to play Shylock, but had to withdraw due to illness; Frank Benson substituted as Shylock. The Comedy of Errors was revived at the Festival for the first time since 1884 (Loney, I: 27).

April 29 marked the beginning of Sir Henry Irving’s final London season. His illustrious career in Shakespeare ended with his playing Shylock, a role for which he became famous (Loney, I: 27).

1907 On March 4 Ben Greet’s company returned to New York City’s Garden Theatre. The plays in repertory included Macbeth, As You Like It, Julius Caesar, Twelfth Night, Much Ado About Nothing, and The Merchant of Venice. Among Greet’s players were Sybil Thorndyke, Julia Perkins, and Sidney Greenstreet (Loney, I: 37).

1908 Frank Ludlow’s ensemble began a two-week engagement at New York City’s Bijou Theatre; the plays by Shakespeare were Richard II and The Merchant of Venice (Loney,I: 44).

On April 14, Herbert Beerbohm Tree revived The Merchant of Venice at His Majesty’s Theatre, London; Alexandra Carlisle played Portia. Some critics objected to Tree’s interpretation of Shylock and felt the play had unacceptable anti-semitic elements (Loney, I: 44).

1909 The London Shakespeare Festival presented by Herbert Beerbohm Tree’s ensemble, began June 21 at His Majesty’s Theatre, London. The festival ran for two weeks with The Merry Wives of Windsor, Twelfth Night, Julius Caesar, Hamlet, Richard III, The Merchant of Venice, and Macbeth (Loney, I: 50).

Gerald Lawrence and Fay Davis open their Shakespeare season on April 12 at the Royal Court Theatre, London. The plays included As You Like It, Romeo and Juliet, The Merchant of Venice, and Twelfth Night (Loney, I: 49).

1910 On January 17, Ben Greet’s repertory of plays opened at the Garden Theatre, New York City with, among other classics, these Shakespeare plays: Macbeth, Julius Caesar, The Tempest, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and The Merchant of Venice (Loney, I: 53).

Starting on February 7, E. H. Sothern and Julia Marlowe play for six weeks at the Academy of Music, New York City. Included in the repertory are Hamlet, As You Like It, The Taming of the Shrew, Romeo and Juliet, The Merchant of Venice, and Twelfth Night (Loney, I: 53).

Beginning on March 28, several companies presented a London Shakespeare Festival at His Majesty’s Theatre. Herbert Beerbohm Tree’s company played The Merry Wives of Windsor, Julius Caesar, Twelfth Night, and Hamlet. Norman Mckinnel presented King Lear and The Merchant of Venice; Arthur Bourchier and his company came next with The Merchant of Venice. H. B. Irving played Hamlet, and Frank Benson’s “Bensonians” followed with theTaming of the Shrew and Coriolanus. Poel’s Elizabethan Stage Society gave a performance—in the “original” sixteenth-century style—of The Two Gentlemen of Verona. Lewis Waller revived his Henry V, and Tree returned to close the Festival with The Merchant of Venice and Richard II (Loney, I: 54).

The Stratford-upon-Avon Shakespeare Festival opened on April 22 this year. The Festival began with Tree’s Hamlet; Benson’s company then performed The Taming of the Shrew, The Two Gentlemen of Verona,and Richard III with Genevieve Ward and The Merchant of Venice with Ellen Terry. The season was cut short and ended when Edward VII died on May 6. As a tribute to Benson and the Stratford Shakespeare Festival, forty “Bensonians” presented scenes from The Merchant of Venice and several other plays (Loney, I: 54).

1911 On April 17, the annual Stratford Shakespeare Festival opened with The Merry Wives of Windsor. This year Frank Benson also offered The Merchant of Venice, Twelfth Night, Much Ado About Nothing, Henry V, Julius Caesar, Macbeth, As You Like It, Romeo and Juliet, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and Richard III (Loney, I: 158).

The London Shakespeare Festival opened on May 22 at His Majesty’s Theatre with Herbert Beerbohm Tree’s Julius Caesar, followed by Oscar Asche and Lily Brayton‘s As You Like It. Next came The Merchant of Venice and Twelfth Night. Frank Benson presented The Taming of the Shrew, Tree revived his Henry VIII, and the Festival closed with Benson’s Richard III and on July 3, the final night, The Merry Wives of Windsor (Loney, I: 158).

E. H. Sothern and Julia Marlowe opened their season at the Broadway Theatre, New York City. In the repertory were Macbeth, The Taming of the Shrew, Hamlet, The Merchant of Venice, Romeo and Juliet,and Twelfth Night. They returned on November 20 and added As You Like It to the list (Loney, I: 158).

On July 22, Stratford’s second summer season began; this is the year that Baliol Holloway debuted with the Bensonians. The plays performed are A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Henry V, Richard II, The Merchant of Venice, Romeo and Juliet, As You Like It, The Taming of the Shrew, Hamlet, and The Tempest (Loney, I: 159).

1912 On April 9, Herbert Beerbohm Tree opened his season of Shakespeare at His Majesty’s Theatre, London, with Othello; his company also performedThe Merchant of Venice, Twelfth Night, and Henry VIII(Loney, I: 63).

The annual Stratford-upon-Avon Shakespeare Festival opened this year on April 22 with The Merchant of Venice; Frank Benson’s company also performed Henry V, A Midsummer Night’s Dream,Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, Coriolanus, The Taming of the Shrew, Julius Caesar, Twelfth Night, and Richard III (Loney, I: 63).

1913 In the month of June, Beerbohm Tree staged a revival of The Merchant of Venice, Twelfth Night, Julius Caesar, and Romeo and Juliet; Tree played Shylock, Malvolio, Marc Antony, and Mercutio (Loney, I: 68).

Frank Benson’s summer season of Shakespeare’s plays opened on August 2 with The Merchant of Venice; other plays performed that season were As You Like It, Hamlet, King John, Richard II, The Merry Wives of Windsor, Much Ado About Nothing, Romeo and Juliet, The Taming of the Shrew, Twelfth Night, and Henry IV, Part 2 (Loney, I: 68).

1914 Another annual Stratford Shakespeare Festival opened with A Midsummer Night’s Dream; Frank Benson’s company was still on tour in the United States, so Patrick Kirwan directed this year’s offerings: Much Ado About Nothing, The Comedy of Errors,Twelfth Night, Hamlet, As You Like It, and The Merchant of Venice (Loney, I: 72).

Frank Benson returned from the United States to direct the Stratford Summer Festival. He opened the four-week festval with Much Ado About Nothing. The company also presented Hamlet, Richard II, Henry IV, Part 2,Henry V, The Merry Wives of Windsor, The Merchant of Venice, Twelfth Night, Julius Caesar, As You Like It,The Taming of the Shrew, and Romeo and Juliet (Loney, I: 73).

On October 5, the Old Vic Theatre, under the management of Lilian Baylis, mounted a production of The Taming of the Shrew. Additionally, the following plays were performed for the first time in 1914 at the Old Vic: Hamlet, The Merchant of Venice, The Tempest, The Merry Wives of Windsor, The Comedy of Errors, Twelfth Night, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Baylis will by 1923 have produced the entire Shakespeare canon of thirty-seven plays (Loney, I: 73).

What’s mine is yours, and what is yours is mine (5.1)

Human nature and the law often collide in Measure for Measure. As the play begins, the duke of Vienna announces he is going away and puts his deputy Angelo in charge of the state. Angelo immediately enforces a law prohibiting sex outside of marriage, sentencing Claudio to death for sleeping with Juliet, Claudio’s now-pregnant fiancée.

Claudio’s sister Isabella, a novice nun, appeals to Angelo to save her brother. But the supposedly pure Angelo demands that Isabella sleep with him to save Claudio. To Claudio’s dismay, Isabella refuses.

The duke, who has remained in Vienna disguised as a friar, suggests that Angelo’s jilted fiancée, Mariana, could take Isabella’s place. Although the trick succeeds, Angelo orders Claudio beheaded anyway. The duke saves Claudio, but he tells Isabella that Claudio is dead.

The duke, resuming his identity, sentences Angelo to wed Mariana and then be put to death. But Mariana and Isabella plead for Angelo’s life. Revealing that Claudio is alive, the duke pardons Angelo and proposes to Isabella (reproduced with permission from Folger).

Postcards of Measure for Measure:

Productions of Measure for Measure:

1908 On April 20, Frank Benson opened the Stratford-upon-Avon Shakespeare Festival with Much Ado About Nothing; the company also performed A Midsummer Night’s Dream during this season. A notable event at the Festival was a performance of the William Poel production of Measure for Measure. Annie Horniman’s company had come down from Manchester especially for Poel’s “authentic” presentation of the play in what was understood then to be the conventions of the Elizabethan theatre (Loney, I: 44).