Suggestions
Use up and down arrows to review and enter to select.Please wait while we process your payment
If you don't see it, please check your spam folder. Sometimes it can end up there.
If you don't see it, please check your spam folder. Sometimes it can end up there.
Please wait while we process your payment
By signing up you agree to our terms and privacy policy.
Don’t have an account? Subscribe now
Create Your Account
Sign up for your FREE 7-day trial
Already have an account? Log in
Your Email
Choose Your Plan
Individual
Group Discount
Save over 50% with a SparkNotes PLUS Annual Plan!
Purchasing SparkNotes PLUS for a group?
Get Annual Plans at a discount when you buy 2 or more!
Price
$24.99 $18.74 /subscription + tax
Subtotal $37.48 + tax
Save 25% on 2-49 accounts
Save 30% on 50-99 accounts
Want 100 or more? Contact us for a customized plan.
Your Plan
Payment Details
Payment Summary
SparkNotes Plus
You'll be billed after your free trial ends.
7-Day Free Trial
Not Applicable
Renews October 4, 2023 September 27, 2023
Discounts (applied to next billing)
DUE NOW
US $0.00
SNPLUSROCKS20 | 20% Discount
This is not a valid promo code.
Discount Code (one code per order)
SparkNotes PLUS Annual Plan - Group Discount
Qty: 00
SparkNotes Plus subscription is $4.99/month or $24.99/year as selected above. The free trial period is the first 7 days of your subscription. TO CANCEL YOUR SUBSCRIPTION AND AVOID BEING CHARGED, YOU MUST CANCEL BEFORE THE END OF THE FREE TRIAL PERIOD. You may cancel your subscription on your Subscription and Billing page or contact Customer Support at custserv@bn.com. Your subscription will continue automatically once the free trial period is over. Free trial is available to new customers only.
Choose Your Plan
For the next 7 days, you'll have access to awesome PLUS stuff like AP English test prep, No Fear Shakespeare translations and audio, a note-taking tool, personalized dashboard, & much more!
You’ve successfully purchased a group discount. Your group members can use the joining link below to redeem their group membership. You'll also receive an email with the link.
Members will be prompted to log in or create an account to redeem their group membership.
Thanks for creating a SparkNotes account! Continue to start your free trial.
Please wait while we process your payment
Your PLUS subscription has expired
Please wait while we process your payment
Please wait while we process your payment
Angelo considers his situation again, confused by the conflicting emotions he is experiencing regarding his laws about fornication and his desire for Isabella. His servant enters to announce Isabella's arrival, and he is concerned about his feelings.
Angelo tells Isabella that her brother will still die, but seems less firm. Isabella asks for clarification, and Angelo poses the question, "Which had you rather: the most just law now took your brother's life; or, to redeem him, give up your body to such sweet uncleanness as she that he hath stained?" (II.iv.52-54). In other words, would she sacrifice her virginity to save her brother?
Isabella replies, "I had rather give my body than my soul" (II.iv.56). Angelo clarifies his question, saying that he has sentenced Claudio to death. He asks, "Might there not be a charity in sin to save this brother's life?"--hypothetically asking whether she would sin to save him (II.iv.63).
She asks him to pardon her brother, saying that it would be worth a sin, but innocently assuming that he is speaking of the sin of forgiving him for his crime. Angelo tries to make her understand what he really means, saying that she is misinterpreting his words and thus either ignorant or crafty. He again tries to make his proposition, beginning by saying that Claudio will die. Isabella understands this much, and Angelo says that his crime warrants such a punishment. Isabella agrees. Then Angelo states his question more clearly, asking whether she would be willing to have sexual relations with a man in order to save Claudio.
Isabella says that she would rather die than commit such an act, so therefore her brother should die under the same conditions. Angelo replies that he will die. Isabella agrees to this, saying that it is better for him to die than for her soul to be tarnished by the sin. Angelo asks her whether she is not acting as cruelly as he is, and she argues that she cannot redeem her brother through further sin.
Angelo tells Isabella that he loves her, and she replies, "My brother did love Juliet, and you tell me that he shall die for't" (II.iv.143). Angelo replies that Claudio will not die if Isabella agrees to his proposition. Isabel grows irate when she realizes he is sincere, and says that she will blackmail him if he does not pardon her brother, telling everyone what he has asked of her.
Angelo replies, "Who will believe thee, Isabel?" (II.iv.144). He speaks of his reputation and position in the state, suggesting that he has more power than she does. He tells her to be less timid and agree to his proposal, or else her brother will not only die but also suffer a long and painful death. He gives her until the next day to decide and leaves.
Isabella is left to think about the situation by herself. She wonders who would believe her if she were to tell what has happened. She decides to visit her brother, sure that he will agree that she should not give up her chastity for his life. She also hopes to put his mind at rest before he dies.
Read a translation of Act 2: Scene 4.
The very structure of this scene is frustrating. The audience is immediately aware of Angelo's intentions, but Isabella is either too naive to understand them or too desperate to avoid the actual proposition. She is obviously offended by the very notion of having sexual intercourse with Angelo, becoming furious at the suggestion. It may be her angry reluctance that makes her so desirable to Angelo. It would not be difficult for him to find a sexual partner, considering the prevalence of prostitution in Vienna, and later we discover that there is a woman readily available to him as a wife. He seeks to abstain from sexual activity, and only Isabella draws him out of this resolution.
Isabella is given apparent power over her brother's situation, and she genuinely believes that she could save her brother's life. She refuses the option instantly. In a way, she is handing this power over to God; her virtue and her soul are, for her, in God's hands, and by refusing to disobey his will she is only following along with his expectations of her. Her power is solely sexual, and so she refuses it. Although Isabella is fast in her determination to refuse, Angelo gives her a day to think about it. Dramatically, this gives Isabella time to discuss the proposal with her brother and the Duke time to formulate a plan. It also shows that Angelo believes she will relent with enough persuasion.
Two larger issues emerge in the exchange between Angelo and Isabella. Angelo brings up the topic of love, claiming to be in love with her. He does not promise to marry her, however, implying that he really feels solely lust. Isabella mentions that she would rather die than have intercourse with him, which becomes her primary justification for refusing. She formulates the opinion that death is favorable to shame, and decides that her brother's death is better than her own sinful act.
Please wait while we process your payment