In Scene 1, the duke makes his disguise believable by acting the role he has adopted. As a friar, he makes a lengthy speech (6-41) reminding Claudio of life's little worth. Claudio is comforted and ready to accept his fate when his sister arrives.
The duke having retired, Isabella informs Claudio that she is unable to stop his execution. She hints that there is a way but one that is impossible to take. Grasping at straws, Claudio questions her. Isabella's explanation is slow and tantalizing, creating a buildup of suspense until she at last reveals Angelo's demands. Claudio's initial response is firm: "Thou shalt not do't" (103). But the desperation he was brought to by Isabella's slow rendering of her tale begins to take effect, and he slips a bit. Perhaps it would not be a deadly sin. Angelo would surely know. Driven by a fear of death that he describes eloquently in a speech reminiscent from Hamlet, he at last begs her to yield to Angelo.
Isabella's response at this point in Scene 1 is a show of violent temper, sparing Claudio no accusation. When earlier in the same scene he had shown his readiness to accept his execution, she had proclaimed proudly, "There spake my brother; there my father's grave / Did utter forth a voice" (86-87). Now she turns the praise to accusation: "Heaven shield my mother play'd my father fair! / For such a warped slip of wilderness / Ne'er issued from his blood" (141-43). Isabella's critics point to this speech as showing a lack of understanding and compassion. Her defenders, however, point out that Isabella's anger is a defense against her own temptation to yield to a beloved brother's pleas. The outburst both reflects the strained condition of her nerves and awakens Claudio from his self-pity. The reader should remember too that to Isabella, her brother is asking her to sell her soul, and his too, in exchange for "six or seven winters" (76) added to his life.
