SOURCE: Gulley, Ervene. “‘Dressed in a Little Brief Authority’: Law as Theater in Measure for Measure.” In Law and Literature Perspectives, edited by Bruce L. Rockwood, pp. 53-80. New York: Peter Lang, 1996.

In the following essay, Gulley reads Measure for Measure as a play about law, scripted by a legalistic Duke Vincentio, who determines its outcome through his theatrical performance and political power.

Few lawyers are among the significant characters in Shakespeare's plays, and one tipsy daydreamer is even allowed to suggest that reforming society might begin by killing all the lawyers. Yet Shakespeare's dramatic romance with the law itself is obvious. Reflecting familiarity with the language and procedures of law in his time and addressing a society for which the actions of courts and their officers provided both structure and entertainment, Shakespeare drew repeatedly on the legal world for imagery, characters, plot elements, and themes.¹ The power...