On The Archetype Of The Transference Of Evil In Measure For Measure

William Shakespeare is known as the greatest dramatic genius.Measure for Measure,probably written in 1604,is one of Shakespeare's problem plays.Different researchers have explored it from varied aspects.Among those who study the archetypes,most of the researchers connect the play to the Bible.However,the Bible is not the sole source of archetype and scholars rarely analyze the play with other archetypes.In fact,the archetypes of the ancient customs in The Golden Bough,a comparative study of mythology and religion,are also worth studying.The relationship between the play and those archetypes is an area that researchers have scarcely touched.This thesis tries to use the �transference of evil� mentioned in The Golden Bough to analyze the archetype of the substitutions in the play Measure for Measure.The transference of evil is a kind of ancient rite which reflects savages' opinion on how to get rid of the immaterial evil.They believe they can transfer the evil to others through the rite.This original rite also appears in Measure for Measure.In the play,the four groups of substitutions are based on this archetype.This thesis elaborates on the archetype of transference of evil of the four groups of substitutions in the play by exploring the similarities between the substitutions and the archetype.Then it makes a further study on the influence of the transference.The thesis at last reveals that the archetype of the transference of evil in the play promotes the development of the plot and adds artistic beauty to this play.