Source: "Measure for Measure," in Northrop Frye an Shakespeare, edited by Robert Sandler, Yale University Press, 1986, pp. 140-53.

[Frye uses the title of Measure for Measure to organize his essay around some fundamental components if the play: char acterization, theme, and genre. He demonstrates, fir example, haw the play measures one character against another (such as Angelo versus Claudio) and one theme against another (such as justice versus mercy, or "a justice that includes equity and a justice that's a narrow legalism"). Frye also looks at the Duke's role as stage manager in the drama that occurs between Isabella, Angelo, and Mariana, and concludes by remarking on the way in which Measure for Measure "proceeds upward" from potential tragedy to fulfill the requirements of comedy through marriage, forgiveness, and reconciliation.]

Most critics link the title of this play with a verse from the Sermon on the Mount...