# Measure for Measure — Character guide

> Key figures in Measure for Measure by William Shakespeare.

- [Duke Vincentio](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/measure_for_measure_se/characters/duke_vincentio.md): The Duke of Vienna who disguises himself as a friar to observe his city's moral state.
- [Lord Angelo](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/measure_for_measure_se/characters/lord_angelo.md): The strict deputy left in charge by the Duke, who enforces old laws against fornication.
- [Isabella](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/measure_for_measure_se/characters/isabella.md): A novice nun who pleads for her brother Claudio's life and faces Angelo's corrupt proposition.
- [Claudio](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/measure_for_measure_se/characters/claudio.md): Isabella's brother, sentenced to death by Angelo for impregnating Juliet before marriage.
- [Lucio](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/measure_for_measure_se/characters/lucio.md): A flamboyant and gossipy gentleman who befriends Claudio and later slanders the Duke.
- [Escalus](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/measure_for_measure_se/characters/escalus.md): An old, wise lord who advises Angelo and shows mercy in the subplot.
- [Mariana](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/measure_for_measure_se/characters/mariana.md): Angelo's former betrothed, abandoned after her dowry was lost, later helps Isabella.
- [Provost](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/measure_for_measure_se/characters/provost.md): The compassionate prison official who carries out the Duke's secret orders.
- [Pompey](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/measure_for_measure_se/characters/pompey.md): A clownish servant to Mistress Overdone who becomes an assistant to the executioner.
- [Mistress Overdone](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/measure_for_measure_se/characters/mistress_overdone.md): A brothel keeper in Vienna who is arrested under Angelo's new strict laws.
- [Master Froth](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/measure_for_measure_se/characters/froth.md): A foolish gentleman and customer of Mistress Overdone's brothel.
- [Elbow](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/measure_for_measure_se/characters/elbow.md): A simple-minded constable who brings Pompey and Froth before the judges.
- [Barnardine](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/measure_for_measure_se/characters/barnardine.md): A drunken prisoner who refuses to be executed on schedule.
- [Abhorson](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/measure_for_measure_se/characters/abhorson.md): The grim executioner who takes Pompey as his assistant.
- [Friar Peter](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/measure_for_measure_se/characters/friar_peter.md): A friar who assists the Duke in his disguise and the final revelations.
- [Juliet](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/measure_for_measure_se/characters/juliet.md): Claudio's beloved, pregnant with his child, for which he is sentenced to death.
- [Francisca](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/measure_for_measure_se/characters/francisca.md): A nun who speaks with Isabella at the convent.
- [Mistress Kate Keepdown](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/measure_for_measure_se/characters/mistress_kate_keepdown.md): A prostitute who had a child with Lucio.
- [Ragozine](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/measure_for_measure_se/characters/ragozine.md): A pirate whose death provides a head to substitute for Claudio's.
- [Varrius](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/measure_for_measure_se/characters/varrius.md): A lord who accompanies the Duke at the city gates.
- [Friar Thomas](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/measure_for_measure_se/characters/friar_thomas.md): A friar who helps the Duke obtain his disguise.
- [Frederick](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/measure_for_measure_se/characters/frederick.md): A minor lord mentioned in the final act.
- [Young Master Rash](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/measure_for_measure_se/characters/young_master_rash.md): A young man briefly mentioned in a comic exchange.
- [Julietta](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/measure_for_measure_se/characters/julietta.md): An alternate name for Juliet, used in the stage directions.

HTML index: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/measure_for_measure_se/characters