More handpicked essays just for you.
The drama of the merchant of venice
Critically discuss the theme of love over self-interest in Merchant of Venice
Analysis on the play Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
The Merchant Of Venice by William Shakespeare
The "Merchant Of Venice" is a poem I have studied recently and will be
going on to describe it's four themes - Love/Hate/Friendship and
Money. I will go on to describe contrasting characters in the poem.
The theme Love is mostly shown through Portia & Bassanio, because all
she wanted was to have a choice in the man she married and the reason
she could not do this was because her fathers will had forbidde. When
Portia & Bassanio meet they really feel they want to be with each
other but she does not want Bassanio to chose casket straight away
because if he picks the wrong casket he must not see Portia again. He
feels there is no time like the present. He studies the caskets
carefully then chooses the lead casket and asks Portia for the key. He
opens the casket & surprisingly he sees a picture of Portia and scroll
permitting the man who opens the casket to marry his daughter and
tells them what else they will receive. Hate, hatred comes from
Shylock and his hatred for Christians so naturally Christians will
hate him. As Shylock is Jewish he doesn't feel like he should be 1 of
the crowd, he feels above the crowd. He lends money and makes money on
the interest. Antonio lends money to people with out using interest so
that Shylock will lose money. Antonio feels that Jewish are low and
shouldn't be allowed were Christians go, Antonio will spit & kick
Shylock as he passes as if it were a petty playground fight. In the
end after Shylocks hard as nails look he turns out to have feelings
like any other person.Although Antonio may seem mysterious, isolated
and weary-dissilusional he cares a lot for his friendship with
Bassanio and is willing to bite his tongue and ask the man he hates
most for money all because of friendship. Money only became an issue
because Shylock was Jewish & Antonio was a Christian, if there wasn't
a difference in religion Antonio wouldn't be lending out money for
to give her child away for its own safety because it was the time of
Sigmund Freud, the father of psychology and psychoanalysis, spent a great deal of his time and effort examining the conscious and unconscious mind, which is pertinent to Hamlet. When reading Hamlet, most people jump to basic conclusions about Hamlets madness without delving into what the actual cause is, but using the psychoanalytic lens can give readers a better understanding of Hamlet’s insanity. For example, the main question of the play is why Hamlet didn't kill Claudius earlier in the play. Many people argue that he’s religious and is a man of inaction, but while looking through the psychoanalytic lens it is evident that Hamlet can’t kill Claudius until Gertrude is dead. Kendra Cherry is a psychosocial rehabilitation specialist who holds a Bachelor of Science in Psychology and is the author of What is an Oedipal Complex. Cherry gives a simple understanding of the Oedipal Complex which states “According to Freud, the boy (Hamlet) wishes to possess his mother and replace his father, who the child views as a rival for the mother's affections” (Cherry). In the play, Hamlet’s actions are motivated by the Oedipal Complex and his unconscious forces (id, ego, and superego) which prove that only by the death of Gertrude can Hamlet kill Claudius.
Iago’s deceit and manipulation in Othello Iago is widely credited, in the words of Agatha Christie, as “the greatest villain of all time”. He is a manipulative character who “weaves a web of deceit” by exploiting even the tiniest faults in others. By maintaining a facade of comedy and boyishness he uses his honesty and twisted truth to play others “like a virtuoso” and “drive... them to madness”. In the play Othello, Act 2 Scene 1 is perhaps the most enlightening scene with regards to the truly manipulative character of Iago.
Marriage oppressed her, she needed freedom, freedom to grow and do what she wanted to do, and marriage took that away from here. Chopin didn't believe that one person should take away another's freedom.
In Othello racism starts from the first scene of the play where Iago is angry about the
...nd “there needed no proof”(300) because she totally trust her husband and is willing to give up her life into loving her husband. Women in the eighteenth century choose to obey everything their husband said, they voluntarily bow to the power of their men because of love.
Shakespeare, provides a brilliant example of 'seeing the other' in his play The Merchant of Venice. Through the course of the play, Antonio's actions indirectly tell of his homoerotic love for Bassanio, and also creates a sense of question of the line between loving friends or lovers. Antonio helps Bassanio win Portia's love, through provisions of money, advise, and offering his life up, ironically meeting the inscription on the lead casket that must be chosen to win her hand: “Who chooseth me, must give and hazard all he hath”(2.7.19-20). The Merchant of Venice's other is Antonio, who “loves the world only for [Bassanio]”(2.8.52).
Antonio, in which he gets to cut off a pound of flesh from his body,
In the comedy, The Merchant of Venice, the roles and responsibilities of women is a significant social issue proposed by Shakespeare. This theme is communicated by the only three female characters in the play: Nerissa, Portia and Jessica. For example, in Act 4 during the trial between Antonio and Shylock, Portia and Nerissa disguise themselves as Balthasar and Bellario to free their friend. However, Jessica also plays a minor role in portraying the independence of Jewish women in a Christian and Elizabethan society, by successfully betraying her father, Shylock. These characters portray Shakespeare’s overall opinion on women, as well as a modern audience’s view on Elizabethan society in many significant ways by accentuating themes, ideas and contextual links in the form of the play itself.
or came by it,/What stuff ’tis made of, whereof it is born,/ I am to
In Shakespeare’s Othello, Iago is portrayed as a cruel puppet master, using his high order critical analysis and manipulative skills to exact on those he believe wronged him; as he weaves a web of deceit to ensnare the play’s protagonist (and namesake of the play) Othello. Various movie adaptations have portrayed the characters in different ways, often resulting in a fusion of the context of the age, artistic license and Shakespeare’s character. One such fusion is Stuart Burge’s 1965 filmic portrayal of Iago in his Othello. Act II, scene I is a prime example of how Iago can be adapted for film.
The playgoers of Shakespeare's times, a successful drama was one that combined a variety of action, along with a mixture of verse and prose in the language used. This variety was achieved, and character and atmosphere was summarized. Modern playwrights tend to describe their characters in detail in the stage directions, leaving very little for the reader to discover. However, Shakespeare's describing of a character is scarce. Usually, when reading Shakespeare's work, the audience has to detect the personality of the character by the character's action in the play, relationship towards other characters in the play , and most of all the character's manner of speech. Most of the times, the passages are of great poetic beauty discussing love, dramatic speeches filled with bombast, humorous speeches, and mischievous wordplays.
When William Shakespeare wrote, The Merchant of Venice, he included a female character that influences the play dramatically. In most of Shakespeare's plays, the women have little power and intelligence. In The Merchant of Venice, however, Portia is a woman that saves the life of a man with her wit and intelligence. Another woman created by Shakespeare that posses qualities similar to Portia is Beatrice, from Much Ado about Nothing. Both women add to the main themes of the play because of their ability to use their intelligence and witty remarks as well as having a loving heart. The women share many similarities as well as many differences which seem to be inevitable because Portia seems to be put on a pedestal that very few can reach.
Shylock is still looking for them and is very mad when he finds out that she has
In one part of the play Shylock shows a side to him we have never seen before. Instead if seeing him as the man who is greedy and