Syphilis in Renaissance Europe and in Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure References to venereal disease appear as early in the second scene of Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure. Syphilis, the primary and most horrible of venereal diseases, ran rampant in Shakespeare’s time. By giving a brief history of the disease in Renaissance Europe one can gain a better understanding of the disease which will provide a greater insight into the play which would have …showed first 75 words of 2357 total…

…showed last 75 words of 2357 total…can be found in Shakespeare’s play. By reading and analyzing passages referring to syphilis in Measure for Measure it is clear that Shakespeare himself believed in these truths. Lucio, a character who speaks only truth makes most of the references to syphilis in the play. Bibliography WORKS CITED Brown, Donohue, Axnick, Blount, Ewen, Jones. Syphilis and Other Venereal Diseases. Harvard University Press. Cambridge Massachusetts, 1970 Rosebury, Theodor. Microbes and Morals. The Viking Press. New York, 1971