Original: I am as well acquainted here as I was in our house of profession: one would think it were Mistress Overdone’s own house, for here be many of her old customers.
Modern: I know as many people here as I did in our brothel: you’d think this were Mistress Overdone’s own place, because so many of her regular clients are here.

Original: First, here’s young Master Rash; he’s in for a commodity of brown paper and old ginger, ninescore and seventeen pounds; of which he made five marks, ready money: marry, then ginger was not much in request, for the old women were all dead.
Modern: First, there’s young Master Rash; he’s in prison for a shady loan deal involving brown paper and old ginger worth one hundred and ninety-seven pounds; he only got five marks in actual cash: well, ginger wasn’t in much demand then, since all the old women had died from the plague.

Original: Then is there here one Master Caper, at the suit of Master Three-pile the mercer, for some four suits of peach-coloured satin, which now peaches him a beggar.
Modern: Then there’s Master Caper here, sued by Master Three-pile the fabric merchant for four suits of peach-colored satin, which now turns him in as a beggar.

Original: Then have we here young Dizy, and young Master Deep-vow, and Master Copperspur, and Master Starve-lackey the rapier and dagger man, and young Drop-heir that killed lusty Pudding, and Master Forthlight the tilter, and brave Master Shooty the great traveller, and wild Half-can that stabbed Pots, and, I think, forty more; all great doers in our trade, and are now ‘for the Lord’s sake.’
Modern: Then we have young Dizy, and young Master Deep-vow, and Master Copperspur, and Master Starve-lackey the swordsman, and young Drop-heir who killed lusty Pudding, and Master Forthlight the jouster, and bold Master Shooty the great traveler, and wild Half-can who stabbed Pots, and I think about forty more; all big spenders at our brothel, and now they’re all begging for charity.

In Act IV, Scene iii of “Measure for Measure,” Pompey enters the prison where he now serves as assistant to the executioner Abhorson. The scene begins with Pompey listing various prisoners he recognizes from his previous life, commenting on familiar faces now awaiting execution. The Provost enters and discusses with Abhorson the scheduled executions for that morning, specifically those of Claudio and Barnardine. The Duke, still disguised as Friar Lodowick, arrives and asks to speak with the Provost privately about the impending executions.

The Duke reveals to the Provost that Angelo has sent a letter, which the Provost reads aloud, confirming the execution orders for Claudio at four o’clock and commanding that Claudio’s head be delivered to Angelo by five. The Duke produces another letter, supposedly from Friar Peter, which he claims will absolve the Provost of responsibility if he follows alternate instructions. The Duke proposes executing Barnardine instead of Claudio and sending Barnardine’s head to Angelo in place of Claudio’s. The Provost agrees to this plan, and they go to wake Barnardine. However, Barnardine refuses to be executed, declaring he is too drunk and unprepared for death. The Provost then reveals that another prisoner, Ragozine, has died of fever that morning and bears a physical resemblance to Claudio. The Duke seizes upon this solution, ordering that Ragozine’s head be sent to Angelo instead, thus sparing both Claudio and Barnardine.

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.