Measure for Measure--2

A few years ago I met a guy who had played trombone in high school. One night a man comes into this guy's room, waking him up. This dark man asks "Do you know who I am?" The guy I knew, thinking the stranger to be the devil, says "Yes." The dark man then says "Stop playing music" and leaves.

There are a number of improbabilities in the interpretation the guy I knew offered for this story. First, the guy had very short arms. I can't imagine that he could even reach the farthest notes on his trombone. So, why would the devil trouble with a doomed musician, even if the musician had an instinct and was a Christian? What threat can a high schooler with access to two-thirds of a trombone's range pose to Satan? Isn't it more likely that a neighbor or always locked-away brother broke into the house or out of the basement to plead for quiet?

I want to believe the story, because the devil is such a fun literary character. But surely he has more important things to do than break up a high school marching band?

This does connect to Measure for Measure, because the Duke and his deputy are so persistently getting involved in matters (sex) that are none of their business--to the apparent exclusion of all other state obligations. The best part of Measure for Measure is the prisoner Barnardine. The crazy duke hatches a plan that will involve Barnardine being executed. He calls to him, to tell him to get ready to die. Barnardine just says no. He has a hangover and isn't interested in dying today. The duke and his co-idiots say "Well, you have to, it's scheduled and we need your head so that we can trick the duke's deputy into thinking that another prisoner has been killed." Barnardine says: no, I won't die today. He then goes back to bed.

The long last scene of the play is some of the craziest stuff in Shakespeare, I think, with the duke making basically everyone get married. It was a strange play, but good. Tomorrow I start Cymbeline.