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The present study is a qualitative one that exploits the textual analysis method to make a comparison between Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure and his The Tempest from the perspective of the Aristotelian concept of a play expressed in Poetics. According to Aristotle, a play must have six constituent elements: Plot, Character, Thought, Diction, Music, and Spectacle. The presence of the first and the second element in the aforesaid plays are quite extensively sought in this study; the third and the fourth are slightly touched because of the limited scope of this Article, and the fifth and the sixth are excluded simply because this study deals with the written texts of the aforesaid comedies, not with their dramatic presentations on stage.
The study finds that neither of the plays maintains the “purity of genre.” Both plays mix tragic elements with comic elements. There is a similarity between them in respect of using sub-plots. Neither of them follows a single line of action. The main plot of Measure for Measure depicts Angelo’s enforcement of the law. The subplot of this play makes mimicry of the main plot; it shows Elbow’s enforcement of the laws on Pompey and Froth. In The Tempest, the main plot mainly shows the regain of Prospero’s dukedom. The subplots deal with Antonio and Sebastian’s desire to kill Alonso; the desire of Stephano, Trinculo, and Caliban to kill Prospero, and the development of Ferdinand-Miranda’s relationship.
The major characters found in Measure for Measure are the Duke, Angelo, Claudio, Lucio, Isabella, Juliet, and Mariana. On the other hand, the major characters in The Tempest are Prospero, Miranda, Ariel, Caliban, Ferdinand, Antonio, and Alonso. All the characters are not only individualized by Shakespeare but also presented with both local and universal traits. Shakespeare has given equal treatment to the minor characters in both plays also.
Measure for Measure expresses Shakespeare’s thoughts on justice, mercy, love, sex, and marriage. On the other hand, The Tempest expresses his thoughts on justice and mercy, the superiority of human beings, colonization, power and exploitation, magic, the power of language, etc. Shakespeare used a wide variety of diction in these plays. The speeches of the characters – both in the forms of dialogues and monologues – are marked by this variety.
Shakespeare’s use of diction is inseparable from the plots, the characters, and the thoughts expressed in the plays.
This study has excluded Music and Spectacle from the discussion, hoping that future researchers will include them in their studies.
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