Duke Vincentio: The Director Who Writes the Ending

The Duke hands power to Angelo at the start of Act 1 and does not actually leave Vienna. He disguises himself as a friar called Lodowick and stays. His stated reason, given to Friar Thomas in Act 1 Scene 3, is that he has been too lenient for too long and wants Angelo to enforce the laws he himself has failed to enforce. He also admits he wants to observe Angelo without being seen.

By Act 3 he is actively running the plot. He tells Mariana about the bed trick. He tells Isabella what to say in Act 5. He orchestrates the public unmasking of Angelo with precise timing. His management of every character in the play is so complete that critics have compared him to a playwright staging his own drama, which is either a commentary on divine providence or a commentary on the limits of human control, depending on your reading.

His 'Be absolute for death' speech to Claudio in Act 3 Scene 1 is the play's most debated monologue. It argues that life is not worth living in terms so thorough that Claudio almost agrees, until he thinks about actually dying. Whether the Duke sincerely believes what he is saying or is simply trying to manage Claudio's expectations is unclear.