Measure for Measure
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| - | '''Fantastic literature''', '''fantastic fiction''' or '''fantastic tales''' is a [[literary genre]]. A great deal of literature, from every part of the world and dating back to time immemorial, falls within the category of ''[[fantastic]]''. Fairy tales like ''[[The Book of One Thousand and One Nights]]'' and epic literature like the ''[[Romance of the Holy Grail]]'' are within the [[scope]] of this genre. | + | '''''Measure for Measure''''' is a [[Play (theatre)|play]] by [[William Shakespeare]], believed to have been written in 1603 or 1604. It was originally classified as a comedy, but is now also classified as one of Shakespeare's [[Problem plays (Shakespeare)|problem play]]s. Originally published in the ''[[First Folio]]'' of 1623, the play's first recorded performance was in 1604. The play deals with the issues of mercy, justice, and truth, and their relationship to pride and humility: ''"Some rise by sin, and some by virtue fall"''. |
| - | '''Fantastic''' as a literary term was originated in the structuralist theory of critic [[Tzvetan Todorov]] in his 1970 treatise ''[[The Fantastic: A Structural Approach to a Literary Genre]]''. Todorov describes the fantastic as being a [[liminal]] state of the [[supernatural]]. A truly fantastic work is subtle in the working of the feeling, and would leave the reader with a sense of confusion about the work, and whether or not the phenomenon was real or imagined. [[Tzvetan Todorov]] holds that [[fantastic literature]] involves an [[unresolved]] [[hesitation]] between a [[supernatural]] (or otherwise paranormal or impossible) solution and a psychological (or realistic) one. His term ''hesitation'' is reminiscent of the terms ''[[ambiguity]]'' and ''[[ambivalence]]'' used in the definition of the [[grotesque]]. | + | ==Sources== |
| + | The main source of the play is [[George Whetstone|George Whetstone's]] [[1578]] lengthy two-part [[closet drama]] ''[[Promos and Cassandra]]''. Whetstone took the story from [[Giovanni Battista Giraldi|Cinthio's]] ''[[Hecatommithi]]'', which Shakespeare seems to have consulted, as well as a dramatization of the story, also by Cinthio. | ||
| - | Todorov compares the fantastic with two other ideas: The [[Uncanny]], wherein the phenomenon turns out to have a rational explanation such as in the [[Gothic fiction|gothic]] works of [[Ann Radcliffe]]; or the [[marvelous]], where there truly is a supernatural explanation for the phenomenon. | + | The title, which appears as a line of dialogue in the play, may be related to the [[Bible]], {{bibleref|Matthew|7:2}}: |
| - | + | :''For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.'' | |
| - | The first text cited in the genre of fantastic fiction is customarily [[Jacques Cazotte]]’s short novel ''[[The Devil in Love]]'' (Le Diable amoureux, [[1772]]). Other examples of writers of fantastic literature include: | + | |
| - | + | ||
| - | *[[Théophile Gautier]]'s ''[[The Dead in Love]]'' | + | |
| - | *many of [[Edgar Allan Poe]]'s short works | + | |
| - | *[[Nikolai Gogol]]'s "[[The Nose]]" | + | |
| - | *[[Mikhail Bulgakov]] | + | |
| - | *[[Algernon Blackwood]]'s works | + | |
| - | *[[Sheridan Le Fanu]]'s "[[In a Glass Darkly]]" | + | |
| - | *[[Mervyn Peake]]'s ''[[Gormenghast series]] | + | |
| - | *[[E.T.A. Hoffmann]]'s works, notably [[Der Sandmann]], "[[The Golden Pot]]", and "[[The Nutcracker|The Nutcracker and the King of Mice]]" | + | |
| - | *[[Gerard de Nerval]]'s "[[Aurelia]]" | + | |
| - | + | ||
| - | In [[Elizabethan]] slang, a 'fantastic' was a fop; an "improvident young gallant" who was obsessed with showy dress. The character Lucio in [[Shakespeare]]'s ''[[Measure for Measure]]'' is described in the Dramatis Personae as a 'Fantastic'. | + | |
| - | + | ||
| - | It should be noted that in popular usage, the word "fantastic" has become a casual term of approval, a synonym for "great" or "brilliant", and this has to a great extent supplanted the original meaning of the word. However, the [[Concise Oxford English Dictionary]] still lists the original meaning first, with the popular meaning listed second and described as "informal". | + | |
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| - | == See also == | + | |
| - | *[[Grotesque]] | + | |
| - | *[[Supernatural fiction]] | + | |
| - | *[[Fantastique]] | + | |
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Revision as of 14:54, 31 March 2009
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Measure for Measure is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in 1603 or 1604. It was originally classified as a comedy, but is now also classified as one of Shakespeare's problem plays. Originally published in the First Folio of 1623, the play's first recorded performance was in 1604. The play deals with the issues of mercy, justice, and truth, and their relationship to pride and humility: "Some rise by sin, and some by virtue fall".
Sources
The main source of the play is George Whetstone's 1578 lengthy two-part closet drama Promos and Cassandra. Whetstone took the story from Cinthio's Hecatommithi, which Shakespeare seems to have consulted, as well as a dramatization of the story, also by Cinthio.
The title, which appears as a line of dialogue in the play, may be related to the Bible, Template:Bibleref:
- For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.
Unless indicated otherwise, the text in this article is either based on Wikipedia article "Measure for Measure" or another language Wikipedia page thereof used under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License; or on research by Jahsonic and friends. See Art and Popular Culture's copyright notice.
