Act IV, Scene 1 of The Merchant of Venice
In Shakespeare’s day, Jews were banned from England, in fact Jews had
been banned since 1290 ad. The only Jews allowed to stay were the ones
who would convert to Christianity. When the Jews moved away from
Israel in the third century BC, they refused to mix with non-Jews who
they referred to as gentiles. They also refused to change their
beliefs and way of life. Non-Jews soon became resentful of the Jews as
they became successful in business and this hatred only grew. (In 1584
when the Queen’s doctor was executed for treason, many suspected him
of being Jewish. So much anti-Semitism was widely accepted in that
period of history.)
On the stage the Elizabethan audience were quite used to seeing Jews
prosecuted like Shylock was after seeing other theatre productions
such as ’The Jew of Malta.’ by Christopher Marlowe. However the modern
audience, being a post holocaust audience, is not so enthralled by
such persecution of the Jews and feels pity for Shylock at times.
The main character is a Jewish loan shark of a Usurer named Shylock.
He is hated by the Christians in the play because he is a successful
Jewish business man who takes the Christians money. This also reflects
upon the attitudes towards Jewish business men at the time.
The turning point in the play, act IV, scene 1, is where all of the
previous action in the play comes to a head. This is the part in the
play where the main plot and the sub-plot come together for the first
time in the play. The modern audiences see the relationship between
Antonio and Shylock as the main plot whereas the Elizabethan audience
sees the story b...
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...ve became worse.
The Elizabethan audience thinks this punishment is not out of the
ordinary and is not shocked by it, unlike the modern audience who
think the punishment is unfair and want to see what happens to Shylock
after this as this is the last time we see Shylock in the play. We won’t
know weather he becomes a Christian and does he gives his money to his
daughter? We want to know what happens to shylock after this as he has
kept us entertained throughout the play as has Shakespeare with a
range of devices, such as dramatic irony, important speeches,
foreshadowing and the disguise of certain characters. I think the
scene acts as a very good, exiting and humorous (for the Elizabethans)
end to the play. But slightly disappointing for the modern audience as
we want to know how Shylock carries on living.
this scene and the end of Act 1 Scene 4. The last scene ended on a
Act 3, scene 5 is a vital scene in the play, as it shows how the
In Act I Scene I, the first glimmer of hope is revealed in the play at a
Acts 3 scene 1 of the play is a turning point. How important are the
say, “If I can catch once upon the hip I will feed fat the ancient
Without Act 2 Scene 2 the whole play makes no sense. This is the scene
Shylock did to Lancelot so we have to cut him a little slack. But whatever he
The play is structured so that the climax, or rather the main premise of the play, appears near the beginning; al...
In my opinion Act 1 Scene 1 is the most important scene of the play
Some of the most important themes of the play are shown in Act 1 Scene
By the end of Act 4 scene 1, my view of Shylock is a man who wishes to
William Shakespeare shows how two tradesmen can have completely different lives when others view them differently in the play The Merchant of Venice. In the play, Bassanio, Antonio’s friend, needs money to pursue his love. They seek a loan from Shylock, a Jewish moneylender in Antonio’s name. The contract is for three times the value of the bond in three months or else Shylock cuts off a pound of flesh from Antonio. While all this is happening, there are love plots going on. One of which is for Shylock’s daughter to elope with Lorenzo, a Christian. Later on, Antonio’s source of money, his ship, is reported sunken in the English Channel, dooming him to the loss of one pound of his flesh. There is a trial on the bond, and when it seems sure that Antonio will die, Portia, disguised as a doctor of laws legally gets Antonio out of the situation and Shylock recieves harsh penalties. Antonio and Shylock, two similar businessmen of Venice, are viewed differently and are treated oppositely to heighten the drama of the play and mold a more interesting plot.
flesh and blood, hates him so much that she robs him and runs away to
Act 4, scene 1 links to the rest of the play in a number of important