Was Will sure?

Act 3 is where most of Shakes plays start to have a twist. Check it out.

The real problem dates back to 1976 when Darrell Johnson lifted Willouby for Burton, and then Joe Morgon singled in the winning run. When Johnson walked out to the mound to get Willouby (who was doing pretty well) he was doing the percentage thing, and putting in a lefty to face a lefty, but what he was really doing was lifting a proven closer for a rookie in a tight situation. That's what this play is about- Morality vs. sexuality/Willouby for Burton. (Mogan got the hit and the Reds hung on to win).

You need to see this play properly performed before making any judgements about whether it's just an exercise. Shakespeare wrote plays, not books, and the performance fills what may appear to be gaps in the text and makes sense of what may be confusing. <br><br>Of course we do not know how the plays were originally performed because stage directions are minimal and reactions are seldom specified. So any performance nowadays is a creative reinterpretation of the text.<br><br>I saw Mark Rylance's version at the Globe last night and there were a lot of belly laughs which would not be apparent from a reading - humour based on character reactions and so forth. The switches in tone work extremely well in this context; they are all part of the drama and irony of the play.<br><br>"Measure for Measure" is essentially a black comedy written centuries before that concept became common currency. Conceits like the pimp becoming an executioner under the new regime and Claudio's reaction to his sister's news about the 'unacceptable' price of his life feel totally modern - apart from the language this play could have been written yesterday.<br><br>This is not a play I was familar with until now, but it seems to me to have immense depth and wisdom in it, and an enduring relevance. Politicians have scarcely become less hypocritical about moral issues in the intervening centuries, after all.

Are you sure this play was a play and not an exercise? Yes it was performed but reading it, its like Will wanted to write a tragedy, then came Act 3 and he changed his mind. The play then turnes into a comedy, with the reversal of the roles of women and other more notable changes. No wonder they call this a problem play!