Original: Be absolute for death; either death or life
Modern: Be completely prepared to die; either death or life

Original: Shall thereby be the sweeter. Reason thus with life:
Modern: Will be sweeter because of it. Think about life this way:

Original: If I do lose thee, I do lose a thing
Modern: If I lose you, I lose something

Original: That none but fools would keep: a breath thou art,
Modern: That only fools would want to keep: you are just a breath,

Original: Servile to all the skyey influences,
Modern: A slave to all the forces of heaven,

Original: That dost this habitation, where thou keep’st,
Modern: That constantly torments this body where you live,

Original: Hourly afflict: merely, thou art death’s fool;
Modern: Every hour: you are simply death’s plaything;

Original: For him thou labour’st by thy flight to shun
Modern: You work so hard trying to avoid death

Original: And yet runn’st toward him still. Thou art not noble;
Modern: Yet you keep running straight toward him. You are not noble;

Original: For all the accommodations that thou bear’st
Modern: Because all the comforts you enjoy

Original: Are nursed by baseness. Thou’rt by no means valiant;
Modern: Come from lowly things. You are definitely not brave;

Original: For thou dost fear the soft and tender fork
Modern: Because you fear the soft, gentle sting

Original: Of a poor worm. Thy best of rest is sleep,
Modern: Of a tiny worm. Your best rest is sleep,

Original: And that thou oft provokest; yet grossly fear’st
Modern: And you often bring that on yourself; yet you’re terrified of

Original: Thy death, which is no more. Thou art not thyself;
Modern: Your death, which is nothing more than that. You are not yourself;

Original: For thou exist’st on many a thousand grains
Modern: Because you depend on thousands of tiny particles

Original: That issue out of dust. Happy thou art not;
Modern: That come from dust. You are not happy;

Original: For what thou hast not, still thou strivest to get,
Modern: You always struggle to get what you don’t have,

Original: And what thou hast, forget’st. Thou art not certain;
Modern: And forget what you do have. You are not reliable;

Original: For thy complexion shifts to strange effects,
Modern: Your mood changes in weird ways,

Original: After the moon. If thou art rich, thou’rt poor;
Modern: Following the moon’s cycles. If you’re rich, you’re actually poor;

Original: For, like an ass whose back with ingots bows,
Modern: Because, like a donkey whose back bends under heavy gold bars,

Original: Thou bear’s thy heavy riches but a journey,
Modern: You only carry your heavy wealth for a short trip,

Original: And death unloads thee. Friend hast thou none;
Modern: And death takes it all away. You have no real friends;

Original: For thine own bowels, which do call thee sire,
Modern: Even your own children, who call you father,

Original: The mere effusion of thy proper loins,
Modern: Who came from your own body,

Original: Do curse the gout, serpigo, and the rheum,
Modern: Curse diseases like gout, skin rashes, and colds

Original: For ending thee no sooner. Thou hast nor youth nor age,
Modern: For not killing you sooner. You have neither youth nor old age,

Original: But, as it were, an after-dinner’s sleep,
Modern: But instead live like someone taking a nap after dinner,

Original: Dreaming on both; for all thy blessed youth
Modern: Dreaming of both; because all your wonderful youth

Original: Becomes as aged, and doth beg the alms
Modern: Turns old and has to beg for charity

Original: Of palsied eld; and when thou art old and rich,
Modern: From shaky old age; and when you’re old and wealthy,

Original: Thou hast neither heat, affection, limb, nor beauty,
Modern: You have no passion, love, strength, or beauty

Original: To make thy riches pleasant. What’s yet in this
Modern: To make your wealth enjoyable. What’s left in this thing

Original: That bears the name of life? Yet in this life
Modern: That we call life? Yet in this life

Original: Lie hid moe thousand deaths: yet death we fear,
Modern: Are hidden thousands more deaths: yet we fear death,

Original: That makes these odds all even.
Modern: Which would make all these problems go away.

Act III, Scene i of Measure for Measure takes place in a prison, where the Duke, disguised as a friar, visits Claudio, who has been condemned to death for the crime of fornication. The Duke counsels Claudio on the nature of life and death, urging him to be prepared to die and to view life as something not worth clinging to. He presents a philosophical argument that life offers nothing of true value — that it is filled with uncertainty, suffering, and impermanence — and that death should therefore hold no terror for Claudio. Claudio listens and appears to accept this reasoning, expressing that he is ready to meet his fate. Isabella then arrives to visit her brother, and the Duke withdraws to observe their conversation from a distance.

Isabella brings Claudio news of Angelo’s corrupt proposition — that she must surrender her chastity to Angelo in exchange for Claudio’s life. She tells Claudio that she has refused, and initially Claudio responds with apparent acceptance of his death, affirming that he would not wish her to compromise herself on his behalf. However, as he contemplates the reality of dying, his resolve begins to falter, and he desperately pleads with Isabella to consider yielding to Angelo’s demand, suggesting that the sin might be tolerable given the circumstances. Isabella reacts with sharp anger and condemnation at her brother’s suggestion, and the two quarrel bitterly. The Duke then steps forward and intervenes, drawing Claudio aside to speak with him privately and beginning to set in motion a plan of his own.

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.