"CLAUDIO: From too much liberty, my Lucio, liberty / As surfeit is the father of much fast"

From Act 1, Scene 2, Line 124

Upon being asked by Lucio about the nature of his restraint. This quotation is a very instructive example of the way in which language plays a crucial role in MfM. The last word of the line, 'liberty,' noticeably breaks the iambic pentameter. In fact, all three syllables of the word sit suspended outside of the meter in metrical isolation and therefore are imbued with some degree of metrical emphasis. Also interesting to note is the play between the metaphorical and rhetorical here (the word 'liberty' itself has taken liberty from the meter), as well as the overt contradiction in the dialog (how can 'restraint' be borne of 'too much liberty?').

Several lines later in the text Claudio continues in a related vein: "What but to speak of would offend again." The implication here being that to speak the act is to confer the same amount of offense as the act itself, again reinforcing the text's awareness of and emphasis on the importance of language and speech. All this supports the notion that Shakespeare, in MfM in particular, is very aware of the linguistic issues of his texts and how they relate to relationships, authority, power, gender, etc.

(Kevin Twohy)