Measure for Measure · Character

Pompey

A bawd's tapster turned apprentice hangman, he jokes his way from brothel to gallows with the same cheerful, unbothered pragmatism.

supporting

Also known as Pompey Sir, Pompey Troth, good Pompey, trusty Pompey, noble Pompey, Pompey Bum, Pompey O, Pompey Master Barnardine

First appearance: Scene II

As a supporting figure in Measure for Measure, Pompey is not background color—the story leans on what they do once the chapter opens.

Brings news of the proclamation and reassures Mistress Overdone that her trade will continue despite the closures.

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Pompey serves Mistress Overdone in the suburbs until the morality crackdown shuts the brothels, then talks his way into Abhorson's trade to escape a whipping. His running argument that bawdry and hanging are both 'mysteries' is the play's funniest and sharpest joke about how Vienna's respectable and disreputable trades mirror each other. He matters because his comic descent tracks the city's tightening vice laws from below, and because his survival instinct keeps the low-life plot humming while the high-minded characters agonize.

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The fuller portrait of Pompey sits in Reading Lens — open the free preview to keep reading with notes on the page.

See Pompey in Scene II

Character Web

14 connections

A slice of how Pompey sits in the book — open the reader for the full interactive map.

Relationship types

Professional
Other

Character groups

Central characters
Minor comic figures

+9 more in the full Character Web

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Narrative arc

Story tension across the book — this chapter sits in Exposition.

Setup
Escalation
Breaking point
Aftermath
Closing

This scene is the dramatic climax because the Duke, now in his own habit, shifts from passive observer to acti…

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Relationships

Duke Vincentio
professional · ambivalent
The Duke, disguised as a friar, interacts with Pompey as a lowlife informant and subject… How this plays out →
Duke Vincentio
professional · ambivalent
The Duke, disguised as a friar, interacts with Pompey as a lowlife informant and subject… How this plays out →
Duke Vincentio
professional · ambivalent
The Duke, disguised as a friar, interacts with Pompey as a lowlife informant and subject… How this plays out →

Relationship notes

How these ties play out is in the reading companion — open the free preview.

See Pompey in Scene II

In the story

Pompey appears across 4 companion beats. Open any chapter in the free preview to see the notes beside the text.

Scene II
Brings news of the proclamation and reassures Mistress Overdone that her trade will continue despite the closures.
Scene I
A tapster and part-time bawd, he defends his trade and is warned by Escalus to avoid further complaints.
Scene II
A former bawd who agrees to become the hangman's assistant to avoid a whipping, engaging in banter with Abhorson about the 'mystery' of hanging.
Scene III
Lists the prisoners in the jail and assists Abhorson in summoning Barnardine for execution.

Chapter companion notes

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See Pompey in Scene II