# Provost — Measure for Measure character guide

> Provost in Measure for Measure by William Shakespeare.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Exit Provost, Provost This, Provost Angelo, Provost . Duke, Provost Reads, Provost Aside, Provost Sirrah, Provost God, Provost Alack, Enter Provost

**First appearance:** 0003-act-i-scene-ii

## Snapshot

The prison official who must carry out Angelo's harsh decrees while quietly bending them, a man of conscience caught between orders and mercy.

## Who they are

The Provost runs Vienna's prison at the moment its dormant laws wake up hungry, and he is the one who must lead Claudio to a death he privately doubts is just. His tension is professional obedience against evident compassion: he questions Angelo, shelters the Duke's schemes, and negotiates the awkward business of a reprieved head with a pirate's. He matters because the play's machinery of mercy runs through his hands, and because his willingness to be complicit in secret good is what keeps the story's darker plans from becoming merely cruel.

## Relationships

### [Duke Vincentio](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/measure_for_measure_se/characters/duke_vincentio)

_professional_

The Duke relies on the Provost as a loyal subordinate and confidant in his secret scheme to restore order.

### [Isabella](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/measure_for_measure_se/characters/isabella)

_professional_

The Provost assists Isabella in the Duke's plan to save her brother, acting as a cooperative official.

### [Lord Angelo](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/measure_for_measure_se/characters/lord_angelo)

_professional_

Angelo commands the Provost as his subordinate, ordering executions and enforcing strict justice.

### [Lucio](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/measure_for_measure_se/characters/lucio)

_social_

Lucio interacts with the Provost mainly in the context of Claudio's imprisonment, with Lucio being insolent.

### [Lucio](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/measure_for_measure_se/characters/lucio)

_social_

Lucio interacts with the Provost mainly in the context of Claudio's imprisonment, with Lucio being insolent.

### [Isabella](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/measure_for_measure_se/characters/isabella)

_professional_

The Provost assists Isabella in the Duke's plan to save her brother, acting as a cooperative official.

### [Duke Vincentio](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/measure_for_measure_se/characters/duke_vincentio)

_professional_

The Duke relies on the Provost as a loyal subordinate and confidant in his secret scheme to restore order.

### [Lord Angelo](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/measure_for_measure_se/characters/lord_angelo)

_professional_

Angelo commands the Provost as his subordinate, ordering executions and enforcing strict justice.

### [Duke Vincentio](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/measure_for_measure_se/characters/duke_vincentio)

_professional_

The Duke relies on the Provost as a loyal subordinate and confidant in his secret scheme to restore order.

### [Isabella](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/measure_for_measure_se/characters/isabella)

_professional_

The Provost assists Isabella in the Duke's plan to save her brother, acting as a cooperative official.

## In the story

### [Scene II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/measure_for_measure_se/chapters/act-i-scene-ii)

Escorts Claudio to prison under Lord Angelo's orders.

### [Scene II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/measure_for_measure_se/chapters/act-ii-scene-ii)

Seeks clarification on Claudio's execution and reports Juliet's condition; silently hopes Isabella succeeds.

### [Scene III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/measure_for_measure_se/chapters/act-ii-scene-iii)

He greets the disguised Duke and informs him of Juliet's situation and Claudio's impending execution.

### [Scene I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/measure_for_measure_se/chapters/act-iii-scene-i)

Present in the prison, facilitates the Duke's concealment and later leaves the Duke alone with Isabella.

### [Scene II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/measure_for_measure_se/chapters/act-iii-scene-ii)

The Provost accompanies Escalus and confirms Mistress Overdone's long career as a bawd. He also notes that the friar (the Duke) has visited Claudio.

### [Scene II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/measure_for_measure_se/chapters/act-iv-scene-ii)

Reluctant to defy Angelo's orders but eventually agrees to the Duke's plan after seeing the Duke's seal and hearing of his return.

### [Scene III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/measure_for_measure_se/chapters/act-iv-scene-iii)

Reports Ragozine's death and collaborates with the Duke to substitute the head.

### [Scene I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/measure_for_measure_se/chapters/act-v-scene-i)

Sent by the Duke to fetch Friar Lodowick, and later thanked for his care and secrecy.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/measure_for_measure_se/characters/provost
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/measure_for_measure_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/measure_for_measure_se/characters