Public Justice and Private Mercy in Measure for Measure

Measure for Measure is informed by contemporary debates about interpretation of the Sermon on the Mount, from which the play takes its title. The Anabaptists interpreted "judge not" to mean that no Christian could pass judgment upon another, and therefore they argued that Christians must not serve as magistrates. Moderate reformers argued that while Christians could not judge others in the private, spiritual realm, they were obliged to use their public authority to uphold social order. Shakespeare examines this debate in the characters of Angelo and Isabella, and attempts to unite these opposed standards of conduct in the Duke.