Make up your Mind!

At the beginning of this play I felt really bad for Claudio. He was going to be killed to send a message to everyone else. His transgression, getting his soon to be wife pregnant, was hardly worth the death sentence. I know that people were a lot more religious back then, but jeez, couldn't they just fine him or make him clean the streets or something that did not involve the removal or his head? That seems more than a little extreme to me. Besides that, isn't religion suppose to emphasize forgiveness, redemption, and things of that nature? Killing Claudio would seem to go against that message. Furthermore, Angelo is not very upstanding or holy. He left a woman because her dowry (and brother!) are at the bottom of an ocean. He also tried to trade one sin for another. Who is he to pass judgment on Claudio?

Now, we all know that Angelo is an egotistical, lying, hypocritical bigot, but what can we say of Claudio's actions? I feel for Claudio, I really do. That being said, I would never ask someone to tarnish their name and reputation because I committed a crime. That is what he is asking of Isabella. Claudio did something that he knew he could be punished for. He was caught, he is going to be punished, but now he wants Isabella to take the fall for him? That does not seem very fair at all to me.  I like Claudio and I understand that he is scared. I actually was not surprised when he initially told Isabella to not give into Angelo's request. That is exactly what I expected him to do. I was shocked when he suddenly changed his mind! I suppose I had Claudio in my head as a character meant to be likable and pitiable. When he asked his sister to do that for him, he was neither of those things in my mind. Okay, well, maybe there was still a little bit of pity, but I am actually having a harder time liking him now. I give Isabella a lot of credit for saying no to him still. She is probably my favorite character in this entire play.

One thing I have noticed is that this play is not filled with a lot of likable characters. At least, I am having trouble finding characters to like. A lot of them have something that makes me feel kind of "eh" about them. The Duke, for instance, has the ability to put a stop to all of this right away. Yet, he waits, and gambles with other people's lives while he waits. It is very frustrating. How do you guys feel about the characters? And what do you think of Claudio given what has happened?