Disguises occur throughout Measure for Measure, symbolizing the way in which all people conceal their true nature to some extent. Vincentio spends the majority of the play in disguise as Friar Lodowick, hiding his true status as the duke in order to investigate the social problems of Vienna. Similarly, Isabella and Mariana use disguise in order to preserve Isabella’s virginity and trick Angelo into consummating his marriage to Mariana. These disguises are intentional and they are undertaken in order to bring about greater social order. Vincentio even uses a disguise to help save Claudio’s life. He remarks when he has the head of another prisoner sent to Angelo in Claudio’s stead that “death’s a great disguiser” (IV.2.2079). For Vincentio, Isabella, and Mariana, disguise is not a malicious lie, but rather a way to restore proper relationships.

However, Shakespeare also evokes the language of disguise figuratively to indicate that all social interactions result in something being concealed. Disguise is most harmful when it relates to Angelo and The Problem of Hypocrisy. Vincentio frames Angelo’s seemingly upstanding behavior as a sort of disguise when he laments “O, what may man within him hide / Though angel on the outward side!” (III.