Angelo, Escalus and the Duke present three kinds of ruler. How does Act I establish similarities and differences between them?

Act I sees the introduction of three important characters of the play, each taking up a incompatible approach to function. The Duke, Angelo and Escalus all use their power in a very different way, closureing in different consequences and effectiveness.The first bureau of authority we see in action is that of the Dukes. The opening snapshot alerts the audience to the fact that the Duke plans on leaving the city, for a reason which we are not made sensible of, and that he plans on leaving Angelo in charge. As of yet, we do not know what sort of closing this is, because we do not have the substantial insight into the character of Angelo to be able to make a judgement. However, the Duke does comment on the fact that his first select for principle in his place was Escalus, Old Escalus,/ though first in question, is thy secondary. This does give the audience more an insight into the Dukes last. It may suggest that he is die of his choices because he didnt just go with his first instinct, he thought about it and chose a less self-evident candidate. This suggests that he may have deeper meaningful reasons as to why he has not elective his or so obvious replacement, ca using the audience to see him perhaps as a wise character, peradventure regular(a) cunning, both characteristics that would make a redeeming(prenominal) pattern.However, one may question why it is that he has to afford in the first place. Although he cl disciplines that it is to do with a meeting with the King of Hungary, this is credibly not to be the case (as retrospective audiences will know). The audience may be made to think that the city of capital of Austria has got into such a slack state in terms of laws and punishment, that it needs a solution. This would mean that the Dukes actions could be seen as white-livered. His plan involves him running away and leaving someone else, probably less capable of the chisel than he is, in charge with all of the power.One could see this d ecision as very regardless and unwise, no matter what his ulterior motives may be. We see that Angelo, too, thinks that this may not be the best decision, permit there be some more test made of my metal,/ Before so noble and so great a figure/ Be stampd upon it. This shows that Angelo thinks he may not be able to do the job as well as the Duke thinks he can. We might expect him to be ecstatic that the Duke has elected him to be his replacement, but instead he questions his own ability. This allows us to doubt the Dukes decision and wonder how good a pattern he really is. He decides to prefer a a lot more peaceful fictitious character in ruling, causing us to wonder if he is fit for ruling at all.This could be seen as an act of fear, suggesting he may be too afraid to start world a strict ruler and using his authority. As a Duke, it is likely that he will be in the public view a lot of the time, causing his every action to be scrutinized. His decision to run away and hurtle s omebody else in his place could be a result of snap fastener under the pressure of society constantly judging all his choices.Of course Act 1 painting iii shows us what is really behind the Dukes plan. Here he openly admits to being too chassis a Duke, We have strict statutes and most biting lawsWhich for this fourteen years we have let slip. This confirms our suspicions that the Duke has not been the best, most consistent ruler. Vienna has gone into a state of slackness, where some vital laws no extended apply. He suggests to the Friar that Angelo is the more appropriate man to awaken all these laws than himself. This, again, could be because the Duke is scared of feeling like an evil person and being judged.However, the Duke does seem to put good reason behind his cerebration. He says that because it was him that let the laws become so slack in the first place, it would seem hypocritical of him to suddenly utilize these laws after letting them be for so long. One may be abl e to empathise with this idea, agreeing that maybe to ensure new laws are kept and taken respectablely, then a new ruler mustiness come into play. Of course, the Duke thinks of the perfect way to introduce a new ruler and yet still prepare his authority over the city, pretending that he is leaving temporarily and is in need of someone to take his place.Here is where we gain our insight into Angelo as a ruler. In Act 1 scene ii, we read that Claudio has been sentenced to death for sleeping with Juliet. This is at the hand of the new and temporary ruler, Angelo. The audience is immediately thrust into the assign that Angelo has been put in and is made to quickly judge what kind of decisions he is making. One may designate that his strict imposition of the laws is a good decision as a new ruler as he has not yet established himself or what kind of Duke he will be. This complies with the contemporary ruler at the time, King crowd together I of England, who wrote in his book Basi likon Doron, And when ye have by the severitie of arbitrator erstwhile settled your countries, and made them knowe that ye can strike, then may ye thereafter all the days of your life mixe justice with mercie, punishing or sparing, as ye shall finde the crime to have been wilfullie or rashlie committed, and according to the by-past behaviour of the committer.This quote from James I suggests that a ruler should first establish himself as a good and fair ruler who wishes to strive for justice by punishing those who go against it. Once his people know that he is serious about the laws of his country, then a good ruler can use judgement to punish where appropriate. This supports the actions of Angelo, who is put in the difficult position of trying to establish himself in a city that is already undermine because of his predecessor. The audience may sympathise with him due to the situation that the Duke has left him in.However, we could argue that this strictness will ineluctably put an innocent man to death. It may be suggested that the best choice for Angelo would be to use divulge judgement when considering which laws to enforce again and which to just let lie. This could be seen as Angelo being inexperienced and nave, something which again may bring us to pity him being submerged into this position of authority. One could level off interpret Angelo as being a nasty, cruel man who wishes to abuse his power that he has been given, specially as it is only temporary. However, the reluctance with which he took up the position suggests that this is not the case and the more likely case is that he fears being rejected, peradventure even mocked, by his people and as a result he wishes to take a leaf out of James Is book and imposes order among Vienna.A much more compromised ruler would be that of Escalus. Although Act 1 sees very little of his ruling skills, we do lift up the reputation he holds and the respect that the Duke seems to have for him. As said befor e, the Duke states that Escalus would have been the obvious first choice for his temporary replacement, and yet he changes his mind. This may suggest that the role of the Duke may lead to some reach of lesson that may need to be learnt by the Dukes choice. He may think that Escalus would not gain anything from the role as he is already too wise and knowledgeable about mankind, Your own science/ Excceds, in that, the lists of all advice/ My strength can give you. This shows the respect that the Duke has for Escalus and how aware he is of Escalus already existing abilities. This may explain why he feels that Escalus would not benefit from leading Vienna whilst the Duke is away.However, you could argue that this may not be the best angle to choose a ruler from. It seems that the Duke may be choosing a ruler from the point of view of who it would benefit most but what he should perhaps be doing instead is thinking about who will benefit the city most and who will be the most effective ruler. It seems that Escalus would possibly have been a wiser choice.In spite of this, the fact is that Escalus will be there to guide Angelo no matter what decision he makes. This means that he is there should Angelo feel the need for any assist and it excessively means the Escalus will indeed have some power and authority over the nap of the city. This allows the audience to see what kind of ruler he is anyway, even though he is not the highest authority around. This produces a direct comparison between the three as rulers and means that the audience is able to match them in turn as they each show their signs of rulership.In conclusion, it appears that each character that is presented as a ruler takes up a different corner in terms of how they each approach their position of authority. While the Duke has recognised that he has been too leniant in recent years, it could easily be suggested that his actions are cowardly and even unwise. Angelo, on the other hand, sees the opport unity to enforce laws that have not been in place. This seems to be the aim of the Dukes plan, yet one may question to what extent the Duke wished Angelo to force these laws on the people. This makes us assume that Angelo has taken almost the complete opposite approach to the Duke. Escalus, however, seems to provide a contrast between both the Duke and Angelo. Whilst he does not seem like the type to let people get away with anything, he also does not seem like the type to put innocent, decent men to death. It seems to me that Escalus is the character who follows James Is advice the best, using his judgement and circumstances to provide honest justice.