The Nature of Justice in The Faerie Queen and The Merchant of Venice
The tension implied in the insistence to bind the definitions of justice, mercy, and equity in Elizabethan texts suggests that behind their representation there is more at stake than a conceptual problem. Elizabethan conceptions of ideal justice politicize their representations in order to justify the prevailing monarchy. Spenser and Shakespeare offer their own version of the nature of justice through female characters, Mercilla in Book V of The Faerie Queen and Portia in The Merchant of Venice. However the textualization of these categories works differently. For Spenser, justice relates itself to a divine ordering of the world, which connects his work with Elizabeth I, God's instrument on Earth. In the case of MV, law in the form of contracts and bonds, substitutes any divine mediation in the legal process, thus displaying, even though briefly, the artificial nature of justice.
Various treaties of the sixteenth century distinguish between justice, equity and mercy or clemency. James E. Phillips summarizes the definitons of these concepts at the time: "Justice is the absolute, measure for measure equation of exact reward and punishment according to the letter of the law, Equity is the taking into account of the individual circumstances in each case and mercy or Clemency is the human and divine impulse to forgive." (Phillips, 105) In the case of the monarch, he/she could only show mercy if the offence directly affected his/her person and once the offender confessed and pleaded for mercy.
Mercilla and Portia problematize the boundaries of these definitions. In the Proem to Book V of The Faerie Queen Spenser establishes his defi...
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...rs in the play) to function as the spokesperson for the law suggests that rather than an attack on the female sex, The Merchant of Venice subtly questions patriarchal assumptions about women.
Works Cited
Aptekar, Jane. Icons of Justice. New York & London: Columbia University Press, 1969.
Benston, Alice N. "Portia, the Law, and the Tripartite Structure of The Marchant of Venice." "The Merchant of Venice". Critical Essays.
Ed.Thomas Wheeler. New York: Garland Publishing, Inc., 1991.
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Stump, Donald V. "Isis versus Mercilla: The Aleegorical Shrines in Spenser's Legend of Justice." Spenser Studies , (1982), 3, 87-98.
The Effectiveness of the House of Commons as a Check on the Executive What is meant by the effectiveness of the commons check on the executive is basically, how able is the house of commons to prevent the Government (executive) from getting its own way or forcing its will upon the people of Britain. In theory the commons level of effectiveness is constant as each Member of Parliament has an opinion on every bill or motion that is put forward that is based on conscience. This is not practicable, however, as the party system and the party whips change this. The whips tell MPs which way to vote and can impose sanctions upon those MPs who rebel against the government.
During the Elizabethan era women had a status of subordination towards men. They had a role to marry and oblige to their husband’s wishes. Shakespearean literature, especially illustrates how a woman is psychologically and physically lesser to their male counterpart. The play, Othello, uses that aspect in many different ways. From a Feminist lens others are able to vividly examine how women were subjected to blatant inferiority. Being displayed as tools for men to abuse, women were characterized as possessions and submissive; only during the last portion of the play did the power of women take heed.
Wayne, Valerie. “Historical Differences: Misogyny and Othello.” The Matter of Difference: Materialist Feminist Criticism of Shakespeare. Ed Valerie Wayne. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1991.
Morality: mercy wins over justice, and yet there is a strong sense of justice having been done. Symbolically accomplished by the Duke (justice) taking on the habit of "a true friar" (mercy but with sense of justice) starting with I.iii.48.
William Shakespeare’s The Tempest provides dialogue that portrays the social expectations and stereotypes imposed upon women in Elizabethan times. Even though the play has only one primary female character, Miranda, the play also includes another women; Sycorax, although she does not play as large a roll. During many scenes, the play illustrates the characteristics that represent the ideal woman within Elizabethan society. These characteristics support the fact that men considered women as a mere object that they had the luxury of owning and were nowhere near equal to them. Feminists can interpret the play as a depiction of the sexist treatment of women and would disagree with many of the characteristics and expectations that make Miranda the ideal woman. From this perspective, The Tempest can be used to objectify the common expectations and treatment of women within the 16th and 17th Centuries and compare and contrast to those of today.
West, Rebecca. “A Court and World Infected by the Disease of Corruption.” Readings on Hamlet. Ed. Don Nardo. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1999. Rpt. from The Court and the Castle. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1957.
In Shakespeare controversial play, The Merchant of Venice, the character, Antonio calls this world "a stage where every man must play a part". He really cannot imagine that it will be a woman that will play the leading role on his "sad" stage. If not for a woman, Antonio would have found himself as a hunk of flesh in Shylock's trophy room. Portia, whose "little body is a-weary of this great world," uses her intelligence, quick thinking and fortitude to save the love of her own love. She also provides for the love of Jessica and Lorenzo, and let us not forget to mention her spiel on mercy and love at the onset of the trial. My question is why.
Print. The. Weisberg, Richard H. "Antonio's Legalistic Cruelty: Interdisciplinarity And The Merchant Of Venice'." College Literature 25.1 (1998): 12.
The Merchant of Venice is a play set in a very male and Christian dominated society where other religions and women rights weren’t very well accepted by the community. However Portia, a rich woman who had previously been controlled by men, triumphs as she manipulates tricks and saves the lives of the men.
Spiller, Elizabeth A. “Poetic Parthenogenesis and Spenser’s Idea of Creation in The Faerie Queene.” Studies in English Literature 40:1 (2000): 63-90.
In the 16th century, women and men were defined as having specific and contrasting roles within society. Men were defined as being powerful and dominant while women were defined as being submissive and meek. These ideals can be seen across cultures and throughout time. With these definitions of gender roles in place, the text suggests that gender is a social construct therefore qualities of femininity and masculinity are subjective. This is shown when Portia cross dresses as the lawyer Balthazar (IV) and when the truths of the rings are discovered by the two women (V). The strong female characters in the play exemplify that women are not confined to their social construct as they manipulate the male characters. During the 16th century only
Boss, Judith E. "The Golden Age, Cockaigne, and Utopia in The Faerie Queene and The Temepest." Georgia Review 26 (1972) 145-55.
The Advantages of the UK Having a Constitutional Monarchy As we enter the 21st century, the discussion about the existence of constitutional monarchy has become more and more commonplace. The ¡®constitutional monarchy¡¯ means the monarch's powers are largely exercised by the elected government. The Queen is Head of State which means she symbolizes the ultimate sovereignty of the state and represents Britain in an official capacity when foreign Heads of state visit the UK. Different people hold quite different point of views on this topic, however I, personally, would argue that the advantages of the UK having a constitutional monarchy are much greater than its disadvantages and the monarchy should not be fully abolished.
Mowat, Barbara A., and Paul Werstine. The Merchant of Venice. New York: Washington Square Press, 1992. Print.
through fear of god and so now we can abolish them as this fear is no