Category: CLOSED: Ball – Group Two

4. Stasis and Intrusion
5. Obstacle, Conflict
6. Things Theatrical

Obstacle, Conflict (Act 3) AKA ObCon3

We find Isabella with Claudio at the open of Act 3, where she has returned from appealing to Lord Angelo. She desperately wants to help her brother, but cannot break her own moral code as a nun-in-traning (N-I-T), Claudio, likewise wants to save his life, but is not willing to pay the price of shaming his sister. Both Claudio and Isabella are facing largely internal conflicts with regards to saving Claudio.

Outside of the prison, the Duke encounters Lucio who slanders and insults the Duke and Lord Angelo, the Duke struggles to remain in disguise while sticking to his own beliefs that Lechery should be banned.

Paul Kappel

Obstacles and Conflicts (Act 1)

At the opening of the play, after Lord Angelo’s establishment as temporary ruler, we find Claudio wants to marry Juliet but due to the new laws enacted by Lord Angelo, his impregnation of her is punished by death, and he is thrown in jail. The obstacle here for Claudio is the new law which revokes the previously lenient moral standards imposed by the Duke.

We learn more about the happenings from Mistress Overdone, a prostitute who runs a brothel in Vienna who intends to have a successful business but is also in conflict with the laws forbidding sex in Vienna City. The effect of Lord Angelo’s moral code is far reaching in this society, affecting the Mistress’ business operations, given the business is sex.

While being taken to jail, Claudio reveals that he and Juliet had intended to be engaged to be marries but were opposed by Juliet’s family, a very conservative family who, like Angelo, do not support the morally lesser pursuits of pleasure. He, under the enouragement of Lucio, hopes to appeal Angelo’s warrant for his death, but cannot because the Duke is nowhere to be found.

At the monestary, the Duke explains that he wants to create a more perfect society free of corruption and low moral standards, but is personally in conflict with himself out of fear that be resinding his legislation, he will be frowned upon. Here, Isabella is shown with her commitment to becoming a good nun, but is stopped by her desire to protect her brother Claudio by using her feminine charm on Lord Angelo

by Paul Kappel

More Conflicts Acts III-V

Geoggrey McQuilkin.

Conflicts and Obstacles: Act III:

Isabella goes to Claudius in order to get his approval of her decision.  Claudius thinks that his sister is being selfish at first, but then agrees with her decision and feels guilty about trying to persuade her to sacrifice her beliefs for him.

The Duke tries to get a good sense of how his people feel about him as a ruler, yet it is difficult for him to do this without giving away his identity.

Isabelle is an increasingly prudish and rigid character as she believes that Claudius' punishment is not entirely unjust despite the fact that his crime is the least offensive of all his fellow prisoners.

Conflicts and Obstacles: Act IV:

In one of the Duke's schemes, he proposes that Mariana sacrifice her sexuality with Angelo in order to gain some sort of redemption as a woman.  Yet this is deceptive as Mariana believes that she is partaking in the scheme with the friar's blessings.

We see the meaning of the play's title expand as the Duke reveals the nature of his schemes.  Many of the conflicts that occur during the play involve measuring the relevant value of two things (such as Isabelle's virtue verses Claudius' life or the Duke's wanting to know how good of a leader he is verses Angelo having free reign in Vienna).  In this scene, the Duke judges the value of Claudius' life to be greater than that of Barnadine as he is willing to sacrifice her life for his in one of his schemes.

Barnadine refuses to be executed which shows that he recognizes the value of life where the Duke might not.  This shows that perhaps the Duke is too far separated and not connected enough with the lives of his citizens.  The duke begins to appear manipulative and deceptive as he uses both of his identities to make Isabella go along with his plans as she refuses Angelo's proposal.  Although his scheme with Mariana does work and the ability to put plans into action successfully is a quality of a good leader.

Conflicts Act V:

Isabelle's marriage to the Duke does conflict with her previous beliefs in chastity so in a way she is surrendering her sexuality to the will of a man.  However, she does not partake in premarital sex, which is her main objection in the play.

In the end, the Duke uses marriage as a punishment for Lucio and Angelo, and a reward for Claudio and Mariana (and himself).  It is ironic how the institution of marriage is used in this absurd sense at the end of the play after it was built up as the main staple of Angelo's laws in the previous acts.

Obstacle, Conflict

  • GlennMary Carroll.  
  • Duke; wants a well governed state without being looked upon as a tyrant.
  •  Obstacles; state overrun with vice (especially sex), he hasn’t enforced laws in the past, therefore there is little precedent, the laws leave little room for interpretation making it difficult to  let some off the hook while others are punished.
  • Angelo; wants to have power over people (power over the people in the state, power over Isabella, power of his decision over the law, ect…)
  •  Obstacles; he’s too cruel, which creates fear in the state but not trust or love. To have more substantial power, like the Duke, your people must want to follow you instead of being coerced.  Also, he will not be inheriting a state, he has to work his way up. Lastly, his own fallible character which leads him to speak of the righteousness of law while leaving his fiancee and seducing Isabella.  
  • Claudio; wants everything to always be in his favor. For most of the play, we see him in some sort of requesting position. He begs not to go to jail, he wants his sister to sleep with Angelo, ect…
  • Obstacles; his arrest makes him unable to actually go or do anything, because he’s stuck in jail. This could be a reason for all of his “wanting via asking” because there’s not a lot else he can do in his position. Also, wanting everything to be in his favor tends to lead to unethical choices i.e. getting his girlfriend pregnant. 

Some Conflicts and Obstacles ActI-II

Geoffrey McQuilkin 

Conflicts and Obstacles: Act I

Claudio, who is well intentioned and virtuous, gives into his lust for Juliet and ends up impregnating her and getting sentenced to death for it.

Angelo seeks to right the city's wrongs by strictly enforcing punishment on violations of premarital sex, yet when he sentences Claudio to death, he is seen as unjust and unmerciful. 

The Duke does not want Angelo to have free reign because he knows that he is too strict although he does want his city to become a virtuous place.

Isabelle seeks shelter from the wicked ways of Vienna as a nun, however, Lucio brings her back into her discomfort zone where she must confront the sins that surround her.  She is repulsed in Act II, when Lucio encourages her to seduce Angelo (who feels drawn to her).

Isabelle makes the decision that family is more important than her religious virtues when she stands up for her brother because she believes that his punishment is too severe.

Conflicts and Obstacles: Act II: 

Characters such as Escalus and the provost believe that Angelo is narrow minded and that Claudius' punishment is too harsh.  However, they seem to fear Angelo and it takes the Duke's intervention in order to motivate them to act.

During their meeting, Angelo begins to have lustful thoughts for Isabelle, and he has an inner conflict in maintaining control over the sexual impulses that he has outlawed.

Isabelle is furious at the idea of having sex with Angelo, yet his attraction to her does give her some power in saving her brother's life.  Oddly enough, Angelo does not want to have sex with any other woman in Vienna.

Angelo says that he loves Isabelle, but would not marry her.  This lust turns Angelo into a hypocrite for enforcing the law that he would so easily break with Isabelle.  Yet, Isabelle decides that death is better than shame, and refuses to have sex with Angelo to save her brother's life.

Original Statis and First Intrusion

Geoffrey McQuilkin 

 In the original stasis of the play, the Duke is the leader of Vienna.  Vienna is at war with Hungary.  Vienna is a hedonistic city which is full of brothels, unlawful sexual activity, and the pestering venereal diseases that accompany such behavior. Citizens frivolously engage in various debaucheries and have a disregard for the law which is rarely enforced.  Claudio's sister, Isabella, is in the process of joining a nunnery in order to separate herself from the sinfully saturated city.  Claudio has been having premarital, consensual sex with Juliet.  He intends to marry her but he is awaiting her parents' approval.  Juliet is pregnant with Claudio's child. 

The first major action which sets the plot of the story in motion is when the Duke leaves Lord Angelo in charge of ruling Vienna while he attempts to negotiate with the King of Hungary (although he actually remains in Vienna, disguised as a friar, in order to observe the city).  This intrusion alters the stasis of the play because Lord Angelo seeks to define his rule by strictly enforcing the laws that punish unlawful sexual activities.  When authorities notice Juliet's pregnancy, they arrest Claudio and take him to prison.  The intrusion which leaves Lord Angelo on the throne also sets up a major conflict in the play between the sinful pleasure-seekers and the virtuous saints of Vienna. 

Final Stasis

After the action of the play, as in comedies, we return to a similar stasis as where we began.  The Duke returns from his escapades as a friar, pardons Claudio, and proposes marriage to Isabella. His reestablishment as the ruler of Vienna is what brings the play back into the stasis of a functional society.

Although Vienna in the play will continue to exist with a morally-poor society, this is the stasis with which it can continue to exist. The establishment of Lord Angelo as the temporary ruler throws out of balance the delicate nature between the desperate pleasure seekers and the saint-like religious folk, leading to the action of the play. His removal from power brings back the delicate balance between the two morals and groups.

by Paul Kappel