237
(3.1.380–383). The puritanical
Angelo would seem a prime
candidate for restoring moral order
in a city that has become diseased.
The Duke recognizes that having,
neglected his authority for so long,
he would prove a tyrant were he to
try to enforce order anew; far better,
he thinks, to have Angelo “in
th’ambush of [his] name strike home”
(1.3.41). While Angelo will in time
prove to be a hypocrite, the Duke
will prove a Machiavellian operator.
Abuse of power
Various characters pass comment
on Angelo’s character during the
course of the play. The Duke notes
that Angelo is “precise” (1.3.50),
and that he “Stands at a guard with
envy, scarce confesses / That his
blood flows, or that his appetite /
Is more to bread than stone”
(1.3.51–53). The gossipy and
salacious Lucio presents an image
of Angelo that drains him of every
THE KING’S MAN
drop of blood and compassion:
Lucio professes that “Some report
a sea-maid spawned him, some
that he was begot between two
stockfishes. But it is certain that
when he makes water his urine is
congealed ice; that I know to be
true” (3.1.372–375).
While Angelo may not be
the monstrous figure of Lucio’s
imagination, he proves to have littlein the way of compassion when
he sentences Claudio to death for
having had sex with his wife-to-be
outside of wedlock: “’Tis one thing
to be tempted... / Another thing to
fall” (2.1.17–18). His conviction
would remain steadfast were it
not for the sudden entrance of the
virtuous Isabella into his life. Like
Angelo, Isabella has a reputation
for “stricture and firm abstinence”
(1.3.12). Her first exchange with
a nun expresses both her moral
fortitude and her readiness to
live by a strict set of rules; she is
surprised to hear, for example, that
the votarists of Saint Clare do not
live by “a more strict restraint”
(1.4.4). In different circumstances,
Angelo and Isabella might find ❯❯The law hath not been dead,
though it hath slept.
Angelo
Act 2, Scene 2Early 17th-century Vienna, shown
in this engraving, is described as a
lawless and immoderate city in need
of a firm hand. The neglectful Duke
chooses exacting Angelo for the task.