There are three plays by Shakespeare that are collectively referred to as the “problem plays.” They are not called problem plays because there is anything particularly wrong with them, or because they are problematic. (To be fair, there are things in these as in other Shakespeare plays that a modern audience might take issue with, but that is not why they are called problem plays). They are called problem plays because whether they are comedies or tragedies, they deal with societal problems. They have dark subject matter and they tend to be cynical. They juxtapose broad comedy with harsh dramatic situations (I suspect another reason they are called problem plays is because they are difficult to categorize). Resolutions tend not to be clear-cut. The good guy doesn’t necessarily get the girl, and the bad guy may not be punished. It was unusual for a playwright of the time to write plays like this. Comedies were supposed to be funny all the way through with a well-defined happy ending. Tragedies were supposed to be serious drama with a resolutely sad ending. Shakespeare was not averse to breaking the rules. His plays tend to be more complex than his contemporaries.
The first
time I saw Measure for Measure I was in my mid-twenties. I had seen a few of
his plays by then. I knew the general rule that comedies had happy endings and
tragedies had sad endings. But I remember watching measure for Measure saying
to myself, “what’s this?” It seemed to be a dark drama, and then this guy
popped out who was hilariously funny. Then it would get dark again. As the play
drew close to near the end, I still did not know if this was going to end
happily or not. Would Isabella be okay? Would Angelo get what he deserved?
Would Claudio die? It was actually suspenseful in a way I had never seen a
Shakespeare play be suspenseful. Maybe that was the point. As you may have
guessed by now, Measure for Measure is one of the problem plays (the
other two plays that scholars call the problem plays are All’s Well that
Ends Well, and Troilus and Cressida). Measure for Measure is a
comedy, but it deals with things like sexual assault, a fanatical adherence to
the letter of the law, vengeance, abuse of power, and lust. Measure for
Measure also has what I would describe as the most Christian moment in all
of Shakespeare. Lots of people call themselves Christians who live their lives
completely divorced from the teachings of Jesus. That was as true in
Shakespeare’s day as in ours. But when Isabella sees Angelo brought for justice
before the Duke, this man who had abused his power, sexually blackmailed her,
and who had killed her brother (she believed), no one would have blamed her for
asking for his head. Instead, when such a punishment is proposed, she begs the
Duke for mercy on his behalf. Almost nobody (no matter what their religion)
would find it in their hearts to do this. But this is one novice who has taken
her vows seriously. We, in the audience all want Angelo killed, but then
Isabella shames us with her words.
The problem
plays not only skirt the line between comedy and tragedy, but examine moral
dilemmas. Central characters find themselves torn between what they want to do
and what they should do. Unlike the pure love story in Romeo and Juliette,
the love story in Troilus and Cressida turns cynical and tainted. The
problem plays also have unlikeable characters: Bertram and Parolles in All’s
Well the Ends Well, Angelo in Measure for Measure, Pandarus and
Thersites in Troilus and Cressida. Nobody went to the theater in 1602 to
watch characters like these. Yet to a modern audience, complex, even unlikeable
characters make a story more interesting.
Some writers
add other plays to the list of problem plays like Hamlet, The Merchant of
Venice, The Winter’s tale, and Timon of Athens. They all have
elements of the above, but for my money, Measure for Measure, the one
that caused me to scratch my head and say ‘what is this?’ is the most
problematic (in a good way) of the problem plays.
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