He insists to Angelo that he must at all times be allowed to speak his mind, though he will obey him. 2. 1. Escalus is an old lord at the Viennese court, a kind-hearted man who does not approve of over-severity. 3. Relationship to Shakespeare's Other Plays. and any corresponding bookmarks? Don't use plagiarized sources. Such repeated offending ‘would make. ', ‘One that, above all other strifes, contended especially to know himself'. Escalus is not blind to the need to deal firmly with villains: when Pompey and Froth are brought before him, in Act II sc i, Escalus is not taken in by Pompey's verbal trickery. A decision about guilt, and / or the passing of sentence by the person presiding over a court of justice. The administration of the law. Although Angelo remarks, without waiting to hear all the evidence, that he hopes Escalus will ‘find good cause to whip them all', Escalus takes great pains to give Pompey a full hearing. The Duke values Escalus: not only does the play start with praise of him, but at the end he is specifically thanked for his ‘much goodness', and promised due reward: ‘There's more behind that is more gratulate.'. Pompey, you are partly a bawd, Pompey, howsoever you colour it in being a tapster … I advise you, let me not find you before me again upon any complaint whatsoever; no, not for dwelling where you do. I shall have you whipped. As the play proceeds, it is Escalus who seems to strike the right balance between. He is deeply loyal and is outraged when Angelo’s virtue is called into question, and even more so when he hears of the Duke being slandered. The name ‘Escalus', spoken by the Duke, is the very first word we hear at the start of the play, and consideration of this character will show that this prominence is appropriate; although in some ways a minor character, Escalus is one of the most significant. Escalus takes sensible and practical steps to improve the rule of law in Vienna – perhaps the only person who does so: Alas, it hath been great pains to you: they do you wrong to put you so oft upon't … Look you bring me in the names of some six or seven, the most sufficient of your parish. He is moved by Claudio’s plight and tries all he can to convince Angelo not to have him executed, especially as Claudio is a nobleman. When the Duke leaves Vienna and has Angelo replace him, Escalus is named Angelo’s second-in-command. A woman in charge of a brothel, also known as a madam. An aged and trusted advisor to the duke, left second in command when the duke goes into disguise. Wisdom.