Claudio (Measure for Measure)

Play

Measure for Measure

Summary

A young Viennese gentleman condemned to death by Angelo for getting his betrothed Juliet with child before their formal marriage. His terror of death — expressed in the play's most anguished soliloquy — drives him to beg Isabella to accept Angelo's corrupt bargain, placing him in moral conflict with his sister and generating the play's central tension.

Notable Quotations

"Ay, but to die, and go we know not where; / To lie in cold obstruction, and to rot... / 'Tis too horrible!" *(III.i)*

Cross-references

• Measure for Measure — the play
• Comedies
• character_isabella — his sister whose chastity Angelo demands in exchange for his life
• character_angelo_mm — the deputy who condemns him
• character_duke_vincentio — who arranges his rescue