The Dark Comedy of Measure for Measure Measure for Measure, the last of Shakespeare's great comedies, is also the darkest of his comedies and represents his transition into opera tragic. This play differs from Shakespeare's other comedies and is in many ways more similar to tragedy than comedy. In setting, plot, and character development Measure for Measure has a tragic tone, however, since none of the main characters actually lose their lives, this play is considered a comedy. Almost all of Shakespeare's plays have a dual location: the real world of crime, punishment, and responsibility, and an idyllic world, where reality is malleable and forgiving. For example, As You Like It takes place both in the world of the court, which is dangerous for almost all of the main characters, and in the Forest of Arden, a sanctuary that heals conflicts until they are resolved. Measure for Measure, on the other hand, offers no safe haven for the characters. They are trapped in the corrupt mud called Venice. Angelo, named the city's scourge, lets no one escape his punishing hand. By not painting "Arden" to provide asylum, Shakespeare gives Measure for Measure a serious tone. Comedy is more like tragedy: intense focus on the gravity of the situation with little emotional respite for the reader and characters. Measure for Measure is like a tragedy even in the development of the plot. Shakespeare's early plays pose situations of extreme danger, but through plot development, Shakespeare handles the conflict with a lighter tone. The stakes are high, but it reassures the reader that good will prosper and evil will not escape some kind of punishment. Measure for Measure comes perilously close to being a tragedy throughout the play… midway through the sheet… the protection of her virginity never wavers; not even when his brother's life is at stake will he give up his morals. Isabella and Angelo are more closely related to Shakespeare's Othello than to Rosalind who constantly adapts to the situation. While Rosalind's capacity for change allows her to influence the plot of As You Like It, Othello's fierce and shortsighted determination causes him to stagger through a predetermined fate to a tragic end. Angelo and Isabella, in their stubborn adherence to principles, head towards a cruel fate, avoided only thanks to the duke's manipulation. Although Measure for Measure ends without the deaths of any major characters, it is only marginally a comedy. The characters, plot and setting resemble Shakespeare's tragedies more than his comedies. Shakespeare forces the "happy ending" and, in doing so, announces the end of his comic works.