Measure for Measure, Act 4 Scene 5 runs 14 lines of dialogue, spoken by 2 speakers. That is shorter than the play’s average scene length of about 167 lines. This scene is part of Act 4 of Measure for Measure.
Full Dialogue
Duke Vincentio ♂
These letters at fit time deliver me
The provost knows our purpose and our plot.
The matter being afoot, keep your instruction,
And hold you ever to our special drift;
Though sometimes you do blench from this to that,
As cause doth minister. Go call at Flavius' house,
And tell him where I stay: give the like notice
To Valentinus, Rowland, and to Crassus,
And bid them bring the trumpets to the gate;
But send me Flavius first.
The provost knows our purpose and our plot.
The matter being afoot, keep your instruction,
And hold you ever to our special drift;
Though sometimes you do blench from this to that,
As cause doth minister. Go call at Flavius' house,
And tell him where I stay: give the like notice
To Valentinus, Rowland, and to Crassus,
And bid them bring the trumpets to the gate;
But send me Flavius first.
Friar Peter ♂
It shall be speeded well.
Duke Vincentio ♂
I thank thee, Varrius; thou hast made good haste:
Come, we will walk. There's other of our friends
Will greet us here anon, my gentle Varrius.
Come, we will walk. There's other of our friends
Will greet us here anon, my gentle Varrius.
14 lines rendered verbatim from the dialogue corpus.
Who’s On Stage
Speaking characters in this scene
| Character | Lines | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Duke Vincentio | 13 | 92.9% |
| Friar Peter | 1 | 7.1% |
Line distribution
The top speaker in this scene delivers 13 lines, while the scene’s average per speaker is about 7 lines.
Total speakers on stage
2 named characters speak in this scene.
Scene in Context
Position within Act 4
This is Scene 5 of 6 in Act 4 of Measure for Measure.
Scene length vs. play average
At 14 lines, this scene is shorter than the Measure for Measure average scene in Measure for Measure (~167 lines).
Adjacent scenes
Previous: Act 4 Scene 4 · Next: Act 4 Scene 6