I really had no idea what this play was about when I started, and I found the first scene almost enough to make me give up - I just couldn't follow what the Duke was saying. However, it quickly became fairly easy to read and the plot pulled me in. I didn't know if this was a comedy or a tragedy, and the plot had elements of both so I was unsure until the last act whether it would end in bloodshed or smiles.

One thing bothered me a bit, approaching it as I did with my modern-day sensibilities and morals - I find it difficult to believe or understand that Isabel really would rather die or let her brother die than to have sex with Angelo. I guess that it is my agnostic upbringing … ( )

This play was the Shakespeare I wanted to direct for a very long time because I love Isabella's journey from religious ideals to discovering how to maintain faith in the everyday world. The Duke has his own journey as he keeps trying to control/manipulate the situation only to discover that without the power vested in him as a ruler, life gets pretty damn messy. Angelo also gets a lesson in discovering that he is also susceptible to the temptations of the flesh - through his mind. There's serious growth and discovery in the piece that the attempt at creating a traditional comedy ending cannot erase or make to fit. That's why it's so compelling. ( )

تو همه کمدی‌های شکسپیر شخصیت‌هایی هستند که به جای یه نفر دیگه ظاهر می‌شن و کسی نمی‌فهمه که همیشه برای من عجیب بود... اما تو این نمایشنامه یک نفر به قصد مجامعت با دختری با دختر دیگه‌ای همبستر می‌شه و متوجه نمی‌شه! این دیگه خیلی عجیب بود. ( )

When Claudio is condemned to hang for getting his fiancee Juliet pregnant before their wedding, the Duke of Vienna’s deputy, Angelo, offer’s Claudio’s sister, Isabella, a way to save her brother’s life. Angelo will spare Claudio’s life if Isabella, a novitiate preparing to become a nun, will sleep with him. Isabella would rather see her brother die than lose her virtue, but nevertheless she tells her brother of Angelo’s offer. It seems Claudio would rather live than allow his sister to keep her virtue, so Isabella steels herself to do what she must to save her brother’s life. Fortunately, the Duke of Vienna hasn’t actually gone away. He’s disguised himself as a friar, and in this disguise he is able to come up with a solution that will make everyone happy.

In a way, the issue still feels contemporary in these days of MeToo. However, I didn’t find much comedy in this plot, nor many sympathetic characters. ( )

A man accused of fornication faces the death penalty. His cloistered sister and the Duke scheme to save him. Shakespeare explores justice in this play. ( )