Letter and spirit of the law

This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. The specific problem is: This article is tonally inconsistent and needs to be more effectively restructured to separate the Shakespearean usage, Biblical implications, and legal implications. Please help improve this article if you can. (January 2023) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

The letter of the law and the spirit of the law are two possible ways to regard rules, or laws. To obey the letter of the law is to follow the literal reading of the words of the law, whereas following the spirit of the law is to follow the intention of why the law was enforced. Although it is usual to follow both the letter and the spirit, the two are commonly referenced when they are in opposition. "Law" originally referred to legislative statute,^{[citation needed]} but in the idiom may refer to any kind of rule.

Intentionally following the letter of the law but not the spirit may be accomplished through exploiting technicalities, loopholes, and ambiguous language.