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Class discrimination in merchant of venice
Critical analysis of the merchant of venice
Critical analysis of the merchant of venice
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Today Bassanio came up to me asking for my moneys. Later on I told him that I would lend him the moneys without any interest. I was very cautious in the repeating of his demands. Antonio is naive risking his life hoping the ships will return. I am clever because I am using this opportunity to get revenge. I made Bassanio nervous when I called Antonio a good man and they both probably knew the meaning. I'll show Antonio when his ships fail to return. Lancelot is getting on my nerves again. He is snail-slow in profit and he sleeps by day. My daughter seems to want to get out of the house and might be getting annoyed with me. I am sure that it is just a phase.
Because it meant that Bassanio would lose even more of the money he borrowed I decided to attend the feast with all those creepy masks. I took no pleasure in it but I intend to ruin Bassanio. Bassanio will have all the ducats spent in no time.
I forgot about my anger over my daughter's flight when I heard about Bassanio's ship wrecked in the English Channel. I then quickly remembered my daughters leaving when Tubal came to me with information on Jessica's reckless spending of my moneys. My heart was broken when I heard about I exchange for a monkey, she traded the ring that was a gift from my wife to me. I should have seen this coming.
My hate turned into a disaster in only a short time today. First, Bassanio offered me double the money that was borrowed, but I was too stubborn to accept and reminded the court that the flesh was mine by law. I looked into Antonio's eyes and he seemed to have felt that he deserved what should have come. As I was sharpening my knife, Gratiano started abusing me. I guess I deserved what was happening but what happened next I'm not sure of. A lawyer came in and seemed to be on my side until she mentioned that I could only take Antonio's flesh, no blood. I was shocked to hear this but I then tried to accept the double amount but knew it was too late because that wasn't written on the bond. If that was not enough I could not just go home. The lawyer bent the law and would have taken away my life if it weren’t up to the Duke.
Shylock is partial to blame for Jessica's rebellious actions. Jessica is talking to Lancelet Gobbo about how she is planning to run away from her father’s house: “ I am sorry thou wilt leave my father so./Our house is hell and thou, s merry devil,/Didst rob it of some taste of tediousness” (2.3.1-3) With Jessica saying this she is telling Lancelet Gobbo that she wants to leave because living with Shylock is a living hell to her. She is also telling him about her plans to rob her Shylock’s house just because she can and she is using it as a way to get revenge on Shylock for making her life a living hell. After Shylock leaves to go to a party Jessica dresses up a boy, robs Shylock, and runs away with a Christian: “Here, catch this casket; it
Then when we returned, the king was very pleased to see both of us for
In Susan Pharr's "The Common Elements of Oppression", she defines "the other" as the outcast of society, the ones who stand up for what they believe in, no matter how `against the grain' it may be, the ones who try the hardest to earn acceptance, yet never receive it. In Shakespeare's "Merchant of Venice", Shylock, the `villain' is portrayed as the other simply because of his faith, because he is Jewish in a predominantly Christian society.
In Act 1 Scene 3, we are first introduced to Shylock, we see him as
receives. So it would not be fair to say that he was totally evil as
The plot, characters, and relationships present in William Shakespeare’s play, The Merchant of Venice all revolve around the concept of money; a theme that is strongly linked to the religious dichotomies explored throughout the comedy. At the beginning of the play, Antonio and Bassanio 's money-rooted relationship is introduced. Bassanio asks Antonio to lend him three thousand ducats. Antonio agrees to take out a loan for his friend, even though Bassanio had previously borrowed money and had not yet returned it. Antonio’s willingness to help out his seemingly untrustworthy friend, demonstrates his belief that friendship is more imperative than money. As a Christian, Antonio is following the expected trend; he is valuing life over stuff. Another
The Merchant of Venice and Othello: Shylock vs Iago. Shakespeare's use of timeless themes makes his works relevant to the modern reader. His two plays "The Merchant of Venice" and "Othello" deal with the seeking of revenge and forbidden love. In "The Merchant of Venice," Shylock, the main character, is a Jew who loans money and charges interest.
in steps of 5 so that the electromagnet was not too strong or too weak
Let us look at the marriage plot. Already in I,i Bassanio reveals his plans of wooing Portia. He describes his undertaking as a quest; "her sunny locks/ Hang on her temples like a golden fleece/ Which makes her seat of Belmont Colchos' strond,/ And many Jasons come in quest of her."(I, i, 169-172). We might notice how he describes Portia's looks in an almost petrarchan manner. He is describing a single feature of her (her hair), and thereby objectifying her. More importantly, Bassanio's words tell us that he is aware of the economic gains that he can achieve through the bond of marriage. This makes us ask an essential question: What does Bassanio want to achieve through wooing Portia?
Portia then goes onto speak about why Shylock could show mercy and for what reason but with0out pressuring him into this act. He declines the offer. He states that he "Shylock: . . . I crave the law
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
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.
which tells us that Shylock is being referred to as a dog, not like a
at the end of the 16th century was overtaken by England which was at a
Shylock, in Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice, epitomizes emotion unrestricted by moral character or intellectual rationality. Shylocks' conversation at the beginning of act four, scene one clearly demonstrates this as the Duke and Antonio urge Shylock to use both his empathetic and rational abilities. Shylock’s humanity, a trait which would normally allow him to feel empathy, is doubted by Antonio who describes Shylock as. By calling him "stony" and "inhuman" and "empty," Antonio draws attention to Shylock’s clear lack of empathy and humanity, and furthermore, suggests that Shylock is deeply and inherently evil, describing him as something monstrous or animalistic.