Original: There is a kind of character in thy life,
Modern: There’s something about your character and how you live

Original: That to the observer doth thy history
Modern: That shows anyone who watches you your entire story

Original: Fully unfold. Thyself and thy belongings
Modern: Completely revealed. You and your talents

Original: Are not thine own so proper as to waste
Modern: Don’t belong to you alone, so you shouldn’t waste them

Original: Thyself upon thy virtues, they on thee.
Modern: By keeping your virtues to yourself, or let them go unused.

Original: Heaven doth with us as we with torches do,
Modern: God treats us the same way we treat torches—

Original: Not light them for themselves; for if our virtues
Modern: We don’t light them just to burn alone; because if our good qualities

Original: Did not go forth of us, ‘twere all alike
Modern: Don’t shine out from us to help others, it would be the same

Original: As if we had them not. Spirits are not finely touch’d
Modern: As if we didn’t have them at all. People aren’t given fine qualities

Original: But to fine issues, nor Nature never lends
Modern: Except to use them for noble purposes, and Nature never gives

Original: The smallest scruple of her excellence
Modern: Even the tiniest bit of her perfection

Original: But, like a thrifty goddess, she determines
Modern: Without expecting, like a careful goddess, to get back

Original: Herself the glory of a creditor,
Modern: The glory of someone who is owed a debt,

Original: Both thanks and use. But I do bend my speech
Modern: Both gratitude and good service. But I’m directing my words

Original: To one that can my part in him advertise;
Modern: To someone who can represent my role and make it known;

Original: Hold therefore, Angelo:—
Modern: So listen carefully, Angelo:

Original: In our remove be thou at full ourself;
Modern: While I’m away, you must completely take my place;

Original: Mortality and mercy in Vienna
Modern: The power of life and death, and the ability to show mercy in Vienna

Original: Live in thy tongue and heart: old Escalus,
Modern: Now rest in your words and heart: old Escalus,

Original: Though first in question, is thy secondary.
Modern: Though he was considered first, will be your assistant.

Original: Take thy commission.
Modern: Accept your appointment.

In Act I, scene i of “Measure for Measure,” the Duke of Vienna summons his deputy Escalus and discusses the lax enforcement of the city’s strict moral laws. The Duke explains that the laws against fornication and other sexual offenses have been neglected for years, allowing corruption and immorality to flourish unchecked. He reveals his intention to leave Vienna temporarily and transfer his authority to Angelo, a man known for his rigid moral character and strict adherence to the law. The Duke presents Angelo with his commission and formal powers, despite Angelo’s protests that he is not ready for such responsibility.

Angelo accepts the position reluctantly while Escalus is appointed as his advisor and second-in-command. The Duke instructs both men to restore order to Vienna by enforcing the long-ignored statutes with full severity. He claims he must depart immediately on urgent business but remains vague about his specific destination and purpose. After giving final instructions about governance and bidding farewell to his deputies, the Duke exits, leaving Angelo and Escalus to begin their administration of Vienna’s moral reformation. Angelo expresses his concerns about the weight of his new responsibilities, while Escalus offers his support and counsel.

Measure for Measure opens in Vienna, where Duke Vincentio announces he must leave the city on urgent business and appoints his deputy Angelo to govern in his absence, with the elder lord Escalus as Angelo’s advisor. The Duke actually remains in Vienna disguised as a friar to observe how Angelo will rule. Angelo immediately begins strictly enforcing long-neglected laws against sexual immorality, ordering the demolition of brothels and condemning Claudio to death for getting his betrothed Juliet pregnant before their official marriage ceremony.

Claudio’s sister Isabella, a novice nun, pleads with Angelo for her brother’s life. Angelo, struck by Isabella’s beauty and virtue, propositions her: he will spare Claudio’s life if she will sleep with him. Isabella refuses and tells her brother of Angelo’s corrupt bargain. When Claudio, desperate to live, begs Isabella to sacrifice her chastity for his life, she angrily rejects the idea. The disguised Duke, who has been counseling prisoners, overhears this conversation and devises a plan.

The Duke arranges for Mariana, Angelo’s former betrothed whom he abandoned when her dowry was lost, to take Isabella’s place in a secret nighttime encounter with Angelo - a “bed trick” that Angelo believes is with Isabella. Despite this fulfillment of the bargain, Angelo still orders Claudio’s execution. The Duke, still disguised, arranges for another prisoner’s head to be sent to Angelo instead of Claudio’s, saving Claudio’s life while letting Angelo believe his order was carried out.

In the final act, the Duke returns publicly to Vienna, and Isabella openly accuses Angelo of corruption before the Duke (not knowing he already knows everything). The Duke pretends to disbelieve her until he reveals his true identity and Angelo’s crimes. Angelo confesses and is sentenced to marry Mariana and then be executed, though Mariana and Isabella both plead for his life. The Duke pardons Angelo, reveals that Claudio is alive, and proposes marriage to Isabella, leaving her response ambiguous in the text.