English 304: Shakespeare: Major Plays (Prof. Boyer)

The best beginning procedure is always to familiarize yourself with the cast of characters and then to read the play (or at least an act or a scene) all the way through so that you know what's happening. The notes can help if you're stuck, but try to get the big picture of a scene before getting bogged down in details. Read through, then go back and clear up details. Then you're ready to think about the questions.

Act 1
Act 2
Act 3
Act 4
Act 5
Return to list of English 304 reading questions 

ACT 1

1.1
1.	Read carefully what the Duke says about Angelo (1.1.27-47)? How does Angelo respond (1.1.47-50)? Does the Duke agree?
2.	Why is the Duke leaving Vienna? Why is he leaving in haste and without escort?
3.	What do Escalus and Angelo have to figure out (1.1.76-83)?
1.2
1.	What is the point of the conversation between Lucio and the other gentlemen in 1.2.1-39?
2.	What news does Mistress Overdone bring?
3.	The original edition (and most modern editions) have a passage after line 75 that The Norton Shakespeare prints as lines 1-8 of Additional Passage A on page 2087, which you should read.
4.	What proclamation has been issued (1.2.76-86)? These "houses" are houses of prostitution. Why are only the ones in the suburbs being torn down?
5.	What is Claudio's response to his arrest? What has he done to be arrested? What does he ask Lucio to do?
1.3
1.	What reason does the Duke initially give to Friar Thomas for leaving Vienna? Why couldn't the Duke stay and enforce the laws? What other reason does the Duke give at the end of the scene (1.3.50-54)? What sort of picture of Angelo does he give us?
1.4
1.	Isabella is about to enter the Poor Clares. What is surprising about her opening question and her reason for asking it (1.4.1-5)?
2.	How does Lucio treat Isabella?
3.	What more do we learn about Claudio's crime? What description of Angelo do we get from Lucio? Does it match the Duke's description?
4.	What does Lucio ask Isabella to do? Does she agree?

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ACT 2

2.1
1.	What is Escalus trying to convince Angelo to do at the beginning of 2.1? What arguments does he use? How successful is he?
2.	What happens in the questioning of Elbow, Froth, and Pompey? What is Angelo concerned with in 2.1.54? What has happened to Mistress Overdone since her house in the suburbs was torn down? What is Elbow trying to accuse Pompey and Froth of? Who else was involved? How successful is Elbow in accusing them?
3.	How successful does Pompey think the new policy will be? Why? (See 2.1.203-210.)
4.	Why has Elbow been Constable so long? Why does Escalus ask him to bring a list of names (2.1.241-242)?
5.	Is there any inconsistency between Escalus's attitude toward Claudio (as seen at the beginning and end of 2.1) and his attitude toward Elbow, Froth, and Pompey?
6.	Angelo wants absolute justice. How does 2.1 comment on his desire and on how easy it will be to achieve absolute justice in Vienna?
2.2
1.	Why has the Provost come to see Angelo? What answer does he get?
2.	What arguments does Isabella use to justify Angelo's pardoning Claudio? What responses does Angelo have? Which one has the better arguments?
3.	What "bribe" (2.2.148) does Isabella offer? How does Angelo respond?
4.	What does Angelo tell Isabella to do?
5.	Read Angelo's soliloquy carefully (2.2.167-191). What does it reveal about what is happening to him?
2.3
1.	What message does the Duke/Friar have for Juliet? How does she respond?
2.4
1.	Read Angelo's soliloquy carefully (2.4.1-17). How does the opening of it reflect the previous scene? (See 2.4.6-7.) What is happening to Angelo?
2.	How clear is Angelo in making his "offer" to Isabella ? How quickly does she understand what he wants? What view of women does Angelo use in 2.4.124-138?
3.	What does Isabella threaten in 2.4.151-154? How does Angelo respond? Who is probably right?
4.	What extension is suggested by 2.4.167?
5.	What answer does Isabella expect Claudio to give? How do you take the tone of 2.4.184-185?

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ACT 3

3.1
1.	What advice does the Duke/Friar have for Claudio? How does Claudio respond to it?
2.	What does the Duke/Friar ask of the Provost in 3.1.50-51?
3.	How does Claudio respond at first to Isabella's message? What does he think about in 3.1.109-114 to make him change his mind?
4.	How does Claudio view death in 3.1.118-132? How does it differ from the Duke/Friar's view in 3.1.5-41?
5.	How does Isabella respond to this change in Claudio? How could this disagreement be resolved?
6.	What happens to the play when the Duke/Friar comes forward after 3.1.154? (To begin with, what happens to the verse?)
7.	What does the Duke/Friar tell Claudio? What does he say he knows about Angelo? Is this true?
8.	What proposal does the Duke/Friar make to Isabella? Who is Mariana and what is her relation to Angelo? (See 3.1.210-218.) Where does she live (3.1.253-256)? How will the plan work if Angelo agrees?
9.	(Most other editions begin a new scene (3.2) at our 3.1.258.1, even though the Duke/Friar does not leave the stage.) What has happened to Pompey? What is the point of his speech in 3.1.263-266? What is the Duke/Friar's attitude toward Pompey (3.1.285-288)? How does Lucio treat Pompey?
10.	How does Lucio describe the Duke? What is ironic about his description? How does the Friar defend the Duke (especially in 3.1.380-386)? What is especially ironic about 3.1.395-398?
11.	What has happened to Mistress Overdone? Whom does she blame? What has he done?
12.	What is Escalus's view of the Duke? (See especially 3.1.456-457.)
13.	Read the Duke's soliloquy carefully (3.1.481-502). What function does it serve here?

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ACT 4

4.1
1.	What attitude toward music appears at the beginning of 4.1?
2.	How long has Mariana known the Friar? Surprised?
3.	What arrangements has Isabella made with Angelo?
4.	See the proposed reconstruction of Shakespeare's original version of 3.1.479-4.1.65 as Additional Passage B on p. 2088. Does this arrangement of the Duke's soliloquies make more sense?
5.	The Duke/Friar assures Mariana that she will not sin in what she will do (4.1.67-72). How is what she will do different from what Claudio and Juliet did?
4.2
1.	Who is Abhorson and what is his "mystery"? Who is his new assistant?
2.	What does the Duke/Friar expect to be delivered to the Provost? What is delivered instead? What is the Duke/Friar's next plan? How does he get the Provost to agree? What news does he give the Provost about the Duke's travels? What news has been sent to Angelo?
4.3
1.	What former customers of Mistress Overdone's does Pompey find in the prison?
2.	What does Barnardine do that destroys the Duke/Friar's plan to keep Claudio alive? What "accident that heaven provides" keeps the plan working?
3.	What letters does the Duke/Friar have the Provost deliver? All in all, how well are the Duke/Friar's plans working?
4.	What does the Duke/Friar tell Isabella about Claudio when she arrives? What plan does he initiate in 4.3.119-140? Why is 4.3.135-137 important?
5.	How pleased is the Duke/Friar to see Lucio? How accurate is Lucio's description of the Duke as "the old fantastical Duke of dark corners" (4.3.146-147)?
6.	What important information does Lucio admit about himself in 4.3.158-161? Was it wise of him to say this? Have we heard of it before? (See 3.1.427-431.)
7.	How easy is it for the Duke/Friar to get rid of Lucio? Why might the Duke/Friar especially want to be free of Lucio at this point?
4.4
1.	Why are Angelo and Escalus confused? What plans are they making?
2.	What is bothering Angelo in his soliloquy (4.4.19-33)?
4.5
1.	What do we learn in this scene? Why is it here?
4.6
1.	What do we learn in this scene? Why is it here? (Note especially 4.6.5-8.)

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ACT 5

5.1
1.	What attitude does the "returned" Duke initially take towards Angelo?
2.	What happens when Isabella asks for justice against Angelo (5.1.20-125)? How does Lucio contribute to the discussion? What does the Duke claim has happened? Who is Friar Lodowick?
3.	What does Friar Peter accuse Isabella of (5.1.136-141)? Is he telling the truth?
4.	Who is Friar Peter's witness? Why is she veiled? When will she unveil? Does it happen? What is Angelo's response to her accusation? How does the Duke respond?
5.	What happens at 5.1.250-256?
6.	When Isabella is brought back, who comes with her (5.1.277.1)?
7.	How does the Duke/Friar describe his presence in Vienna (5.1.307-316)? Do Angelo and Escalus believe him? What does Lucio do at 5.1.347? Was this part of the Duke's plan, or is this another example of his plans going wrong?
8.	What is Angelo's immediate response? What does he want from the Duke (5.1.358-366)? What does the Duke order him to do first (5.1.366-371)?
9.	How does the Duke justify Claudio's death (5.1.379-391)? Why is he still keeping from her the fact that Claudio wasn't killed?
10.	What happens when the Duke condemns the newly-married Angelo to death? What does Mariana ask Isabella to do (5.1.422-424)? Why does the Duke tell Isabella not to (5.1.425-428)? What does Isabella finally do? Why is it important for her? Read her speech carefully (5.1.435-446). She says of Angelo, unlike Claudio, that "his act did not o'ertake his bad intent" (5.1.443). What "act" is she talking about? Is it the same act that he is now condemned for?
11.	What happens to the Provost at 5.1.453-454?
12.	What happens to Barnardine (5.1.476-479)? Who has been brought out with him? How do we know?
13.	What does the Duke ask of Isabella when Claudio is revealed (5.1.484-487)? Are you surprised? Should Isabella be surprised?
14.	What happens to Lucio? What happens to the Provost?
15.	What does the Duke again suggest in 5.1.527-530? What is Isabella's response to the Duke's proposal? Will she marry him? Should she?

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