Take heed what ye hear : Shakespeare's "Measure for measure" and the Bible.

This dissertation explicates Shakespeare’s allusions to Christian Scripture in Measure for Measure, his most biblical play. It takes the play as Shakespeare’s sincere response to his new king and patron’s well-known aspiration to be a “good textuary” of the Bible. Working through a network of biblical texts connected to Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount and Paul’s letter to the Romans, the play questions the coherence of even a well-meaning Christianity backed by the power of “the sword.” As a surrogate for the playwright, the Duke of Vienna’s attempted figuration of Christ is compromised by his willingness to coerce a comic ending through surveillance and crime prevention. Chapter Two places Measure for Measure in conversation with Othello, the play which immediately preceded it and with which it shares a source. It also argues that Shakespeare alters the plot of his source material in light of Jesus’ “Ye have heard it said…but I say unto you” sayings in the Sermon on the Mount. Chapter Three defers discussion of Matthew 7.1-2—commonly considered Measure for Measure’s titular verses—to consider the context of hypocrisy in the larger biblical paragraph (7.1-5) and its relevance to the play’s villain. Chapter ii Four examines the justice-oriented language of “measure,” not only in Matthew 7.1-2, but throughout the Bible, and how that language is deployed in the play. Chapter Five considers a network of Gospel texts connected to the play’s first and last conspicuous references to the Sermon on the Mount. Chapter Six thinks through allusions to Romans 7 (and its neighboring chapters) in Angelo’s conversations with Isabella and elsewhere. Chapter Seven looks at the play’s references to Romans 13’s “sword,” particularly its embodiment in Abhorson the executioner. And finally, Chapter Eight concludes the dissertation with a reading of the Duke as figuring Christ.

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Doctoral

Grantor

Baylor University.

Year dc:date.issued

2025

Author dc:creator

• Roberts, C. Myles (Cliford Myles), 1978-

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Calloway, Katherine.

• Shakespeare.
• Bible.
• Early Modern literature.

Statement dc:rights

• Baylor University works are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. Contact libraryquestions@baylor.edu for inquiries about permission.

Language dc:language.iso

en

Handle dc:identifier.uri

https://hdl.handle.net/2104/13933

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:baylor-ir.tdl.org:2104/13933