Judgement on earth and in heaven

Death and life after death: the soul

Death is not the end

Christians believe that they have an immortal soul. In other words, a human being does not simply consist of a body which will die, but also has a spirit which will live on for eternity after the death of the body. They also believe that, after death, all humans will be judged by God according to their actions on earth. This belief is seen throughout Measure for Measure, even by such reprobate characters as Barnardine, who declares (Act IV sc iii) that he ‘is not fitted' for death - a judgement with which the disguised Duke agrees:

A creature unprepar'd, unmeet for death;
And to transport him in the mind he is
Were damnable

We see awareness of eternal life particularly in Isabella, who is more concerned for her soul than her body; as she tells Angelo, ‘I had rather give my body than my soul' (Act II sc iv). She shows, too, that she feels the same concern for Claudio, telling Angelo that she wants to ensure ‘he may be so fitted / That his soul sicken not.'

Getting the balance

However, her attitude is not shared by all the other characters, and one of the questions with which Shakespeare faces his audience is how to balance enjoyment of life on earth with an awareness that there is also another existence after death. (See also Themes and significant ideas > The nature of humanity). The Duke, disguised as a friar, advises Claudio (Act II sc i) that life is not worth living- it is ‘a thing / That none but fools would keep' – yet Claudio is desperate to save his life

Judgement, justice and mercy

Judge as you will be judged

Measure for Measure takes its title from a passage in the New Testament of the Bible (Matthew 7:1-2; see also Introduction) which warns people not to judge one another harshly, since after death they too will be judged by God, and judged according to the ‘measure' of their judgements of their fellow human beings.

Shakespeare examines this idea in depth, showing his audience the difference between heavenly judgement, which is always tempered with mercy, and earthly judgement, where too much mercy or lenity can lead to chaos in the state. God will forgive the penitent sinner, but an earthly judge has to tread carefully when deciding how to apply the laws and penalties.

Too much leniency

What we see in Measure for Measure is that the Duke has failed to apply the ‘strict statutes and most biting laws' which exist in Vienna:

Consequently there is a situation verging on anarchy, where

‘Liberty plucks Justice by the nose … and quite athwart goes all decorum.' (Act I sc iii)

Showing too much leniency has proved more harmful to the state and its citizens than too much severity; as Escalus remarks (Act II sc i)

‘Mercy is not itself that oft looks so.'

The God-like ruler

The Duke, however, is seen in some respects as God-like in his powers, and when speaking of the murderer Barnardine, the Duke asks:

‘How came it that the absent Duke had not either delivered him to his liberty or executed him? I have heard that it was ever his manner to do so.'

This idea of clear-cut judgement could well have reminded Shakespeare's audience of the biblical account of God's judgement of humans in Matthew 25:34-41, where God rewards the righteous but condemns the wicked.

Then the King will say to those on his right,
'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world'
... Then he will say to those on his left,
'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.' (TNIV)

The problem of human justice

Shakespeare shows that while God's justice is based upon His thorough knowledge and understanding of the individual soul, applying human justice may be more problematic:

In Measure for Measure we see that Angelo, having decided to apply rigorously the law whereby fornication (sexual intercourse outside marriage) is punished by death, arrests Claudio as the first offender.
Yet although Claudio is guilty by the letter of the law, he is not guilty under what is nowadays called ‘common justice', or the spirit of the law, since he regards Juliet as his wife.
The audience may well feel that he is essentially innocent.
On the other hand, rogues such as Lucio and Pompey, who are clearly guilty, seem to manage to wriggle out of the due penalties for their offences.

Redemption

The possibility of rescue

In her debate with Angelo in Act II sc ii, Isabella points out to Angelo that God operates in more than one aspect - as both judge and redeemer. She outlines the Christian belief that, because of human sin, beginning with Adam and Eve, all people deserve punishment. However, God came to earth in human form as Jesus Christ, and through his crucifixion and resurrection, offered redemption (which literally means ‘buying back') from sin to all who are penitent.

Why, all the souls that were, were forfeit once,
And He that might the vantage best have took
Found out the remedy. How would you be,
If He, which is the top of judgement, should
But judge you as you are? O think on that,
And mercy then will breathe within your lips,
As man new made.

As a result of God's mercy, sinners can be saved and allowed to enter heaven. This is redemption through grace.

Human rescue?

By contrast, the offer Angelo makes is to save Claudio physically if Isabella gives up her body. As she retorts (Act II sc iv):

Ignomy in ransom and free pardon
Are of two houses: lawful mercy
Is nothing kin to foul redemption.

Heaven and Hell

Heaven

Christians believe that heaven is a place of eternal joy, where God is surrounded by angels – creatures of pure spirit who act as God's messengers to earth. (It is ironic that Angelo, whose name suggests that he is such a creature, and who wishes to be seen as virtuous, is in fact corrupt.)

Heaven is depicted as a place of shining light and great beauty: the most famous vision of the Christian heaven is in the last book of the Bible, Revelation. The Bible teaches that those who:

repent of their wrong attitudes and actions
accept the forgiveness won through Christ's death on the Cross
seek to live in obedience to God while on earth

will spend eternity in heaven with him.

Hell

However, those who are not repentant, and are condemned by their own actions before God, go to Hell. This has been depicted as a place of torment.

It is the fear of such an eternity of pain and misery which is behind Claudio's anguished appeal to Isabella in Act III sc i, where he imagines ‘what we fear of death':

To bath in fiery floods, or to reside
In thrilling region of thick-ribbed ice:
To be imprison'd in the viewless winds
And blown with restless violence round about
The pendent world: or to be worse than worst
Of those that lawless and incertain thought
Imagine howling,- ‘tis too horrible.

Grace

God's grace

No human being deserves to enter heaven because all are guilty of sin. However, salvation is possible through grace. Grace is closely associated with mercy, since one of its most significant meanings is ‘the undeserved mercy of God given to sinners'.

Human grace

Grace also has a wider meaning, signifying the blessing or favour of God; by extension, it also comes to mean a favour bestowed by a human, or a pleasing human quality. Isabella uses it in both senses when she compares human mercy to God's:

No ceremony that to great ones longs,
Not the king's crown, nor the deputed sword,
The marshal's truncheon, nor the judge's robe,
Become them with one half so good a grace
As mercy does.

Angelo, too, seems to imply both God's grace and human virtue when he comments in soliloquy on his own evil (Act IV sc iv):

Alack, when once our grace we have forgot,
Nothing goes right; we would, and we would not

Thanksgiving prayer

‘Grace' also comes to be used as the term for a prayer of thanks to God before a meal. It is punned on in this way by the reprobate Lucio and his friends when they joke (Act I sc ii) about soldiers disliking the prayer for peace:

‘I think thou never wast where grace was said ... Grace is grace, despite of all controversy; as for example, thou thyself art a wicked villain, despite of all grace.'

A noble title

Throughout Measure for Measure people of high rank are addressed by courtesy titles such as ‘My Lord' and ‘Your honour'. Another such title is ‘Your Grace'. In one sense it is merely equivalent to saying ‘My Lord,' but because of the many references in Measure for Measure to the nature of divine and earthly justice and mercy, it comes to have added significance.

When Angelo calls the Duke by this title in the last Act,

‘Your Grace, like power divine, hath looked upon my passes'

the word is used as a deliberate reminder to the audience that the Duke is able to show God-like mercy.

English Standard Version
King James Version

¹Judge not, that you be not judged. ²For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. ³Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? ⁴Or how can you say to your brother, Let me take the speck out of your eye, when there is the log in your own eye? ⁵You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye. ⁶Do not give dogs what is holy, and do not throw your pearls before pigs, lest they trample them underfoot and turn to attack you. ⁷Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. ⁸For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. ⁹Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? ¹⁰Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? ¹¹If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him! ¹²So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets. ¹³Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. ¹⁴For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few. ¹⁵Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. ¹⁶You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? ¹⁷So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. ¹⁸A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. ¹⁹Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. ²⁰Thus you will recognize them by their fruits. ²¹Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. ²²On that day many will say to me, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name? ²³And then will I declare to them, I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness. ²⁴Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. ²⁵And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. ²⁶And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. ²⁷And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it. ²⁸And when Jesus finished these sayings, the crowds were astonished at his teaching, ²⁹for he was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes.

¹Judge not, that ye be not judged. ²For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. ³And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? ⁴Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye? ⁵Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye. ⁶Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you. ⁷Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: ⁸For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. ⁹Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone? ¹⁰Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent? ¹¹If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him? ¹²Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets. ¹³Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: ¹⁴Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it. ¹⁵Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. ¹⁶Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? ¹⁷Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. ¹⁸A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. ¹⁹Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. ²⁰Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them. ²¹Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. ²²Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? ²³And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. ²⁴Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: ²⁵And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. ²⁶And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: ²⁷And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it. ²⁸And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine: ²⁹For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.

English Standard Version
King James Version

¹Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. ²Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. ³For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, ⁴but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. ⁵As the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and slept. ⁶But at midnight there was a cry, Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him. ⁷Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps. ⁸And the foolish said to the wise, Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out. ⁹But the wise answered, saying, Since there will not be enough for us and for you, go rather to the dealers and buy for yourselves. ¹⁰And while they were going to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was shut. ¹¹Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, Lord, lord, open to us. ¹²But he answered, Truly, I say to you, I do not know you. ¹³Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour. ¹⁴For it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted to them his property. ¹⁵To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. ¹⁶He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them, and he made five talents more. ¹⁷So also he who had the two talents made two talents more. ¹⁸But he who had received the one talent went and dug in the ground and hid his master's money. ¹⁹Now after a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them. ²⁰And he who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more, saying, Master, you delivered to me five talents; here I have made five talents more. ²¹His master said to him, Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master. ²²And he also who had the two talents came forward, saying, Master, you delivered to me two talents; here I have made two talents more. ²³His master said to him, Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master. ²⁴He also who had received the one talent came forward, saying, Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed, ²⁵so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours. ²⁶But his master answered him, You wicked and slothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I scattered no seed? ²⁷Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest. ²⁸So take the talent from him and give it to him who has the ten talents. ²⁹For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. ³⁰And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. ³¹When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. ³²Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. ³³And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. ³⁴Then the King will say to those on his right, Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. ³⁵For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, ³⁶I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me. ³⁷Then the righteous will answer him, saying, Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? ³⁸And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? ³⁹And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you? ⁴⁰And the King will answer them, Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me. ⁴¹Then he will say to those on his left, Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. ⁴²For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, ⁴³I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me. ⁴⁴Then they also will answer, saying, Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you? ⁴⁵Then he will answer them, saying, Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me. ⁴⁶And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.

¹Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom. ²And five of them were wise, and five were foolish. ³They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them: ⁴But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. ⁵While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept. ⁶And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him. ⁷Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps. ⁸And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out. ⁹But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves. ¹⁰And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut. ¹¹Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. ¹²But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not. ¹³Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh. ¹⁴For the kingdom of heaven is as a man travelling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods. ¹⁵And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability; and straightway took his journey. ¹⁶Then he that had received the five talents went and traded with the same, and made them other five talents. ¹⁷And likewise he that had received two, he also gained other two. ¹⁸But he that had received one went and digged in the earth, and hid his lord's money. ¹⁹After a long time the lord of those servants cometh, and reckoneth with them. ²⁰And so he that had received five talents came and brought other five talents, saying, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me five talents: behold, I have gained beside them five talents more. ²¹His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord. ²²He also that had received two talents came and said, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me two talents: behold, I have gained two other talents beside them. ²³His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord. ²⁴Then he which had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art an hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strawed: ²⁵And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, there thou hast that is thine. ²⁶His lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strawed: ²⁷Thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers, and then at my coming I should have received mine own with usury. ²⁸Take therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him which hath ten talents. ²⁹For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath. ³⁰And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. ³¹When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: ³²And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: ³³And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. ³⁴Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: ³⁵For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: ³⁶Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. ³⁷Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? ³⁸When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? ³⁹Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? ⁴⁰And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. ⁴¹Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: ⁴²For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: ⁴³I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. ⁴⁴Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? ⁴⁵Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. ⁴⁶And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.

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