Sam Beaver Act 1, Sc. 1Exposition
- Escalus is a trustworthy advisor and is very intelligent. (some know)
- Angelo, who is currently a deputy, will be placed in charge of the government when the Duke is absent. (Duke knows, Escalus knows)
- We are in Vienna (everyone knows)
- The duke has decided to leave Vienna for reasons unknown to us. (Some know)
- Duke is going to leave secretly; Angelo will take over immediately. (Angelo, Duke, and Escalus know)
Forward
- The Duke is leaving. The audience wonders why, wants to find out what will happen.
- Angelo is put in charge, and is given FULL POWER over the people (“lent him our terror”). How will he rule? We want to see what he will do with the power that the Duke has given him.
- It is stressed that Angelo is virtuous, makes the audience hungry to see if he will live up to the expectations of him. The stress put upon Angelo’s virtue is an important set up to the realization that he is morally corrupt later in the play.
- The Duke leaves with haste. Why does he do this?
Essentially, this scene is presenting where we are and examining the first action of the play, which is the Duke’s decision to depart. We want to know why he is leaving, and we also are anticipating the rule of Angelo, who up to this point has been described in a very positive manner. Act 1, Sc. 2Exposition
- Lucio’s opening line tells us that there is governmental instability, even war. (everyone knows)
- The men are not wealthy, upper class individuals, seen from their discussion of STDs and their disdain for religion.(everyone knows)
- Overdone enters and we learn that she is a prostitute through the men’s joking. (most people know)
- She tells that Claudio has been arrested and is going to be executed in three days. (she knows, now they know)
- Claudio got arrested for knocking up Juliet.(Overdone knows, now Lucio knows)
- Angelo has decreed that all the brothels in the suburbs are getting shut down, Overdone goes to have sex with Pompey.(some know)
- Claudio and Juliet are in love and basically married, but never had the ceremony because of their poverty.(Only Claudio and Juliet know)
- Angelo is bringing back old laws that hadn’t been adhered to in the past several years; this is why Claudio was arrested.(Everyone knows?)
- Claudio proposes using Isabella to stop his execution; Lucio goes to find her. (Only Claudio and Lucio know)
Forward
- Overdone says someone is in prison; we want to know who it is. (miniature forward)
- Gives three days till his head is chopped off; the audience is eager to find out what will happen in those three days.
- Lucio exits to find Claudio, we wonder what he will do for him.
- It is revealed that Claudio and Juliet are in love; now he’s been condemned wrongfully. We want to see resolution, so we continue to watch.
- Lucio leaves to find Isabella. Will she help? Will he even find her?
- Angelo’s rule is thrown into question with his arresting of Cluadio. What will be done about him?
These opening scenes are a lot about setting up the play for things to come, which is why some of the larger plot points are opened in these first two scenes. There is a lot that is left unresolved, so there is a lot for the audience to be hanging on to right now. To use ball’s term, the audience is “hungry for the next.”