The Two Worlds of Venice and Belmont Depicted in Shakespear's The Merchant of Venice

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The Two Worlds of Venice and Belmont Depicted in Shakespear's The Merchant of Venice

In 'The Merchant of Venice,' Shakespeare explores two different yet

similar worlds. The world of Venice and the world of Belmont. These

two worlds have many differences and some similarities. For example,

Venice is a completely different setting compared with Belmont. Also,

the characters in Venice are different but also similar to the ones in

Belmont. Furthermore, the society in Veniceis different compared with

the society in Belmont.

First of all Venice is an entirely different setting when compared

with Belmont. Venice is a city which is located on the sea coast in

the north of Italy. Its main streets are actually canals and the only

vehicles available are boats. In the sixteenth century, Venice was the

centre for international trade. It exported and imported goods from

all around the world and mainly by sea. However, this was perilous as

an unexpected storm could easily wreck a ship and drown the cargo.

Antonio encountered this problem in the play which leads to him almost

losing his life. 'Antonio hath a ship of rich lading wrecked on the

Narrow Seas' (Act 3 Scene 1 Line 2-3). Belmont on the other hand is a

place of romance and music and is a good setting for the casket story.

Compared with Venice Belmont is very peaceful probably because there

isn't trading from abroad. 'Moonlight and music emphasize the

tranquillity of Belmont,'

Secondly, the Merchant of Venice consists of two different stories.

The bond story and the casket story. The bond story is a dramatic

story about hatred and prejudice and features intense hatred between

Christia...

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...ch means that Shylock must have loved someone. Therefore, Antonio

is the only character left that is isolated.

In conclusion, Venice and Belmont are two very different worlds with

different societies and people. Overall, if you compare the characters

of Belmont with the characters of Venice you will find that they are

not very similar probably because they were brought up in different

societies. Furthermore, the two central characters Antonio are both

left unsatisfied. This is because in the end Antonio didn't find

anyone to love and marry and Shylock didn't get his revenge on

Antonio. The main reason why Antonio can't find love is probably

because he is too busy in his trading and business. On the other hand

Shylock can't be part of Venetian society because he is a Jew so they

are both similar from this perspective.

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