Providence and Grace - Adrian Papahagi

Shakespeare’s problem plays are dark comedies, infected by the sex nausea that first manifested itself in Hamlet. Love is doomed in Troilus and Cressida, but the King’s providence and Duke Vincentio’s grace give it a chance in All’s Well That Ends Well, and in Measure for Measure, however distasteful Helena’s bed trick is, and however corrupt Vienna remains. In Troilus and Cressida, cuckoldry dominates, whereas in All’s Well and Measure for Measure the traditional marriages that define comedy are allowed to happen. Vincentio’s omniscience, providence and grace set the trend for t[...]