Analysis of Act Four Scene One of The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare
In Shakespeare’s, ‘The Merchant of Venice’, Act 4 scene 1 has an
extremely important role in developing the drama, messages and
characters in this play. At the same time it also works on a part of
the play turned ‘comedy’.
In the Merchant of Venice, many messages are portrayed throughout and
in this significant scene. These include the self-interest of Shylock
against the love of Antonio, Antonio putting himself at risk for those
he loves, that mercy is more important than justice, women are in fact
wise and capable as in those days they were always undermined by men.
Another message in the Merchant of Venice is that you should quit
whilst you are ahead. These in the play are in fact magnified in Act 4
scene 1.
I believe that the main message of the play and especially Act 4 scene
1 is the huge and divine quality of mercy. Early on in this scene
everybody in the courtroom accept that the law is on Shylocks side,
but expect him to show mercy. Shylock does not show mercy in this
case, which in the end he ultimately regrets. ‘The slaves are ours‘.
So do I answer you. The pound of flesh which I demand of him is dearly
bought. ‘Tis mine, and I will have it”.
Later on, Shylock asks Portia why he should show mercy. In reply
Portia begins a long speech to what’s at stake, beginning with the
words “the quality of mercy is not strained”. She develops this
argument by saying that God would show mercy in his case and that God
is always merciful.“The man that hath no music in himself, nor is not
moved with concord of sweet sounds, is fit for treasons, stategems,
and spoils. The motions of his spirit are dull as night, and his
affections dark as Erebus”.
Nearing the end of this scene, Portia manages to turn Shylocks
greatest weapon; the law. Instead of showing mercy which she talks
of tune”, is a lark, not a nightingale and thus it are dawn and Romeo
They are two parallel characters. The symphony of the character. The play has many characters, each with their own role in it. keeping the plot line in mind. Some characters have very little to do with the plot, but some have the plot revolving around them.
project of the play, of which is touched upon in Act One. It is this
Within Shakespeare’s Othello, it conveys moral and subsequent reflection of events in its current society. In Act 4, Scene 2 (Part 1) demonstrates the road to Othello’s downfall and the success of Iago’s revenge. Within this scene, Othello interrogates Emilia for suspicion of Desdemona and Cassio’s affair, in which they have none, and with Othello's confrontation, he questions and insults her of her unfaithfulness and infidelity leaving Desdemona confused about what happened to Othello. Iago, called by Emilia, pretends to offer Desdemona comfort and Emilia raises notions of the possibilities and hypothesising that someone is 'feeding' Othello lies. Iago hastily covers these ideas to avoid exposure of the truth. This strong and indecisive scene twists the ideas of human nature within Othello’s mind and convinced perceptions of Desdemona, fulfilling Iago’s Revenge.
say, “If I can catch once upon the hip I will feed fat the ancient
In William Shakespeare’s play, Othello, the power that Iago has over Emilia in their relationship helps manifest the unfairness of gender roles thus, leading to a distortion of the worth of women. The power that Iago has over Emilia hurts Emilia’s self-confidence. The distortion of the worth of women ultimately leads to misunderstandings in Emilia’s view of relationships.
In Act 1 Scene 3, we are first introduced to Shylock, we see him as
In the play he takes on the role of a character as well as taking on
The Theme of Prejudice in William Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice. In The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare, there are two main characters. themes, prejudice, and loyalty. Prejudice is the more evident theme.
Drama and Tension in William Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice Introduction The merchant of Venice is about a merchant who borrows a loan to help a friend who wants to go to Belmont to Marie a woman called Portia. The person who borrows a loan is a merchant name (Antonio), and Antonio goes and gets the loan off a Jew name (Shylock). After Antonio borrows the loan, Antonio sign a bond saying that if in three month Antonio ships don’t return, shylock would have his pond of flesh.
In many of Shakespeare’s plays, Shakespeare uses multiple settings to contrast opposing ideas that are central to the meaning of the work. In The Merchant of Venice, Shakespeare uses the settings of Venice and Belmont to represent opposing ideas. The city of Venice is an international marketplace. Venice is diverse and full of people from many countries who practice their own religions. Venice is marked by its cultural melting pot and friction, along with its focus on business and greed. In contrast, Belmont is a city in which people flee to in order to get away from the realities of commerce. The city of Belmont is marked by harmony and peace. Many of the characters in the story leave the avaricious city of Venice in order to reside in the
... only reason why he really wanted the bond was to get an upper hand on
at the end of the 16th century was overtaken by England which was at a
Upon an initial examination of William Shakespeare’s play, The Merchant of Venice, a reader is provided with superficial details regarding the moral dilemmas embedded in the text. Further analysis allows a reader to recognize the multi-faceted issues each character faces as an individual in response to his or her surroundings and/or situations. Nevertheless, the subtle yet vital motif of music is ingrained in the play in order to offer a unique approach to understanding the plot and its relationship with the characters. Whether the appearance of music be an actual song or an allusion to music in a mythological or social context, the world of Venice and Belmont that Shakespeare was writing about was teeming with music. The acceptance or denunciation
In the play it can be seen that there are various ways in which the