Measure for Measure Lesson Plan

Discuss the significance of the Duke, disguised as a Friar, assuring Mariana that she is not sinning by going along with their plan.

The Duke's assurance to Mariana suggests something of his megalomania. Though he is not a man of the clergy, he assumes the role and uses the authority of the church to help enact his own plan. Mariana, a conscientious young woman interested in maintaining her virtue (like Isabella), looks to him for reassurance, and he gives it to her because he needs her to go along with the plan, even though he does not really have a place to do so. However, it is likely that he does give her this reassurance because, on many levels, he materially...