ABSTRACT
In Measure for Measure William Shakespeare tells the story of the Duke of Vienna, Vincentio, who, having failed to root out corruption and filth from his city, entrusts its running to Angelo, a judge hitherto considered of exemplary rectitude. In Measure for Measure he investigates three issues: 'the nature of justice, the nature of authority, and the nature of forgiveness' or, rather, of mercy. There is no lack of "Pauline" reflection on the relationship between desire, will and law, or on the relationship between ecclesiastical and civil jurisdiction. Barnardine had no place in such a picture: he would have completely upset Giambattista Giraldi Cinthio's schema – inserting an element of extraordinary dispute, no matter how grotesque and amusing – of sovereign authority. Indeed, Barnardine is an invention of Shakespeare. He is not to be found in any of the sources that the Bard used as inspiration to write Measure for Measure.
