• This introduction provides an accessible account of key critical conversations around the play, from its genre of 'problem play' to its representation of the 'monstrous ransom', the vulnerability and freedom of unmarried women, and the disguise, surveillance, and authority of the Duke
• Emma Whipday's introduction revisits Measure for Measure from the perspective of a post #MeToo world, exploring how the play examines sexual violence, corrupt patriarchal power, and female speech and silencing
• Explores different readings of Measure for Measure through the performance choices directors and actors have made, from kneeling and unveiling to Isabella's famous silence
• Combines fresh, new scholarship from leading researchers with authoritative texts and comprehensive notes in order to offer readers a complete guide to Shakespeare
• Uses the text from the landmark The New Oxford Shakespeare: Modern Critical Edition collated from all surviving original versions of Shakespeare's work
• Presented in modern spelling and punctuation with accessible critical apparatus to best aid understanding of the plays and poems

   
'Some rise by sin, and some by virtue fall.'
   
Can one life be measured against another? Can a woman's body be measured against a man's life? Can consensual sex be measured against rape? Measure for Measure explores these questions through a series of substitutions: Angelo deputises for the Duke, who disguises himself to spy on his subjects; corrupt Angelo demands that almost-nun Isabella gives her body in exchange for her brother's life; and the Duke substitutes living bodies and decapitated heads to bring about a 'happy ending' in this problematic comedy. Exploring corrupt power, state surveillance, and the silencing of women by powerful men, Measure for Measure continues to resonate today.
  
The New Oxford Shakespeare offers authoritative editions of Shakespeare's works with introductory materials designed to encourage new interpretations of the plays and poems. Using the text from the landmark The New Oxford Shakespeare Complete Works: Modern Critical Edition, these volumes offer readers the latest thinking on the authentic texts (collated from all surviving original versions of Shakespeare's work) alongside innovative introductions from leading scholars. The texts are accompanied by a comprehensive set of critical apparatus to give readers the best resources to help understand and enjoy Shakespeare's work.