When invited by Duke Vincentio to assume leadership of Vienna during his feigned absence, Angelo metaphorically compares himself as a lump of metal being shaped into the form of a coin:
Now, good my lord,
Let there be some more test made of my metal,
Before so noble and so great a figure
Be stamp'd upon it.
Angelo hesitates before accepting the Duke’s offer to assume power in Vienna, insisting first that his “metal” should be tested a bit more before a “noble” and “great” face might be “stamp’d” upon it. In Shakespeare’s day, coins were stamped with the image of the reigning monarch, as is still the case today in Britain and many other countries around the world. Through this metaphor, Angelo imagines himself as some unminted or unmarked metal that must first be tested for quality before it can be stamped with the face of the King and made legal tender or official currency. In this way, Angelo’s metaphor is a variant of the common idiom “to test your mettle,” which means to demonstrate personal resolve and determination. Here, Angelo requests more training or preparation before he is willing to accept the Duke’s nomination. The Duke, however, overrules his objections and intends to “test” Angelo by putting him in charge of the city.
Claudio uses a metaphor to explain the policies of the new leader of Vienna, Angelo, to his acquaintance Lucio:
And the new deputy now for the Duke—
Whether it be the fault and glimpse of newness,
Or whether that the body public be
A horse whereon the governor doth ride,
Who, newly in the seat, that it may know
He can command, lets it straight feel the spur
Claudio has been imprisoned and sentenced to death for a minor crime that would have been ignored by the previous ruler of Vienna, Duke Vincentio. Here, he offers one explanation for the shockingly harsh policies of Angelo, who insists upon the strict enforcement of the law and severe punishment for its transgression. Claudio’s metaphor compares the new leader of the city to a novice horse rider who, “newly in the seat,” lets his horse “feel the spur” in order to establish his own “command” or authority. Angelo, he suggests, wants to show the citizens of Vienna that he means businesses and that his commandments must be taken seriously despite the fact that he has only recently assumed office. Claudio’s metaphor suggests that Angelo is compensating for his newness to the role by behaving in an overly punitive manner, making an example of whoever is caught breaking the law.
Lucio uses a series of closely related metaphors to describe the unsympathetic nature of Vienna’s new leader, Angelo:
Upon his place,
And with full line of his authority,
Governs Lord Angelo, a man whose blood
Is very snow-broth; one who never feels
The wanton stings and motions of the sense,
But doth rebate and blunt his natural edge
With profits of the mind: study and fast.
Lucio insists that Angelo’s blood “[i]s very snow-broth,” frozen water rather than warm blood. Further, he metaphorically suggests that Angelo “never feels / The wanton stings and motions of the sense,” but is rather completely unresponsive to pain and discomfort. These metaphors characterize Angelo as someone who is not quite fully human, never experiencing human desires or pains, and who is therefore unable to sympathize with others, or govern fairly. Instead, Lucio imagines Angelo as a cold, robotic figure, wholly invested in “profits of the mind” without any of the vulnerabilities that are “natural” to bodies.
Though Lucio does not realize this, his criticism of Angelo is deeply ironic. Angelo will soon prove to be very much vulnerable to his own bodily desires, and he violates his own moral code out of lust for Claudio’s sister, Isabella, despite his claims to piety.
Rejecting pleas to offer clemency to Claudio, Angelo uses a metaphor that compares a lenient state to a “scarecrow”:
We must not make a scarecrow of the law,
Setting it up to fear the birds of prey,
And let it keep one shape till custom make it
Their perch and not their terror.
Angelo’s metaphor reflects upon the effectiveness of a ruler in demanding obedience to his laws. A scarecrow, he suggests, will become familiar to birds if it is never swapped out or altered. Ultimately, the birds will come to think of it as a comfortable “perch” rather than an object of fear and terror, rendering it useless. So too, he implies, will the citizens of the city come to think of the law as an idle threat if the Duke never enforces it. Angelo’s metaphor implies that he intends to make a lesson out of Claudio, punishing him severely to show the other citizens of Vienna that the enforcement of the law will be taken more seriously under his leadership.
Angelo’s metaphor is in many ways similar to the Duke’s own comparison of the leader of a city to a father who must punish his children so that they do not become spoiled. Both Angelo and the Duke, then, wrestle with the difficult question of how to most effectively govern the city of Vienna.
Outraged at her brother’s request that she save his life by yielding to Angelo’s demands, Isabella uses a metaphor that compares mercy to a “bawd” or pimp:
O, fie, fie, fie!
Thy sin’s not accidental, but a trade.
Mercy to thee would prove itself a bawd.
’Tis best that thou diest quickly.
In this speech, she suggests that Claudio’s sins are severe, not merely “accidental” but experienced in the manner of a professional. Next, she declares that it would be wrong for her to take pity on her brother, as mercy, generally considered a positive trait, would “prove itself a bawd” or pimp. Just as a bawd such as Pompey Bum arranges sexual trysts between paying customers and prostitutes, Isabella feels that she would be a “bawd” in helping to extend Claudio’s life and thereby set him up to commit more sins in the future. Isabella’s metaphor suggests that mercy can in fact be a bad thing, as sparing Claudio’s life would only give him further opportunities to commit sinful acts, and therefore do greater damage to his soul. Mercy, then, would be like a “bawd” whose job is to facilitate sin. This speech represents the lowest point in the relationship between Claudio and Isabella in the play, as she is gravely offended by his plea for her to have sex with Angelo. For Isabella, it is more important to protect the soul than the body, and even death is preferable to sin.
