Original: In brief, to set the needless process by,
Modern: To make this short and skip the unnecessary details,

Original: How I persuaded, how I pray’d, and kneel’d,
Modern: How I tried to convince him, how I begged and got down on my knees,

Original: How he refell’d me, and how I replied,—
Modern: How he refused me, and how I answered back—

Original: For this was of much length,—the vile conclusion
Modern: Because this went on for a long time—the horrible ending

Original: I now begin with grief and shame to utter:
Modern: I now begin to tell you with sorrow and shame:

Original: He would not, but by gift of my chaste body
Modern: He would not agree, except if I gave him my pure body

Original: To his concupiscible intemperate lust,
Modern: To satisfy his uncontrolled lustful desires,

Original: Release my brother; and, after much debatement,
Modern: Release my brother; and after much arguing back and forth,

Original: My sisterly remorse confutes mine honour,
Modern: My guilt as a sister overcame my sense of honor,

Original: And I did yield to him: but the next morn betimes,
Modern: And I gave in to him: but early the very next morning,

Original: His purpose surfeiting, he sends a warrant
Modern: Having gotten what he wanted, he sends an order

Original: For my poor brother’s head.
Modern: For my poor brother to be executed.

In Act V, Scene 1 of “Measure for Measure,” the Duke returns to Vienna in his official capacity, having shed his disguise as Friar Lodowick. Isabella publicly accuses Angelo of corruption and sexual misconduct, claiming he promised to spare her brother Claudio’s life in exchange for her virginity, then executed Claudio anyway after she refused. Angelo vehemently denies these accusations, and the Duke initially appears to side with Angelo, dismissing Isabella’s claims as lies. When Mariana arrives and reveals that she, not Isabella, actually slept with Angelo as his former betrothed, the Duke continues to express skepticism about their testimonies.

The scene reaches its climax when Friar Lodowick (the Duke in disguise) is brought forward as a witness, and Lucio pulls off the friar’s hood, revealing the Duke’s true identity to all present. With his deception exposed, the Duke immediately begins dispensing justice: he orders Angelo to marry Mariana and then sentences him to death for his crimes. However, when Mariana pleads for her new husband’s life and Isabella surprisingly joins her in asking for mercy, the Duke pardons Angelo. The play concludes with the Duke proposing marriage to Isabella, Claudio being revealed as alive and reunited with Juliet, and various other characters receiving their fates, including Lucio being forced to marry the prostitute Kate Keepdown.

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.