For much of the play, The Merchant of Venice appears to be vintage Shakespearean farce. A group of buffoons vie to marry the beautiful and wealthy Portia; women dress up as men and fool their betrothed; servants are willing accomplices in playful deceits. Where Merchant of Venice departs from the pattern of a typical Shakespearean farce is with the appearance of Shylock, the Jew. Shylock transforms this play from a simple comedy to a work of enormous complexity. In The Merchant of Venice, the contrast between the tragedy of Shylock and the comedy of the other characters raises many issues that are left unresolved for the thoughtful reader.
As the action begins Antonio, a wealthy merchant who deals in overseas trade, is sitting on a bench preening. The character of Antonio is clearly written as full of affection and devotion towards Bassanio. Bassanio wishes to borrow money to woo Portia, a woman of beauty and means who is constrained by her dead father's demand that she marry the man who solves the riddle and chooses the right metal casket. Antonio is having a cash flow problem, with his many ships out at sea and not yet returned, so he suggests borrowing the necessary funds from the Jew, Shylock. He agrees to post the required bond.
Enter Shylock, a comical yet sympathetic fellow, who makes clever jokes at the expense of the Christians in his presence, while conveying the pain and rage he feels as the victim of an unfriendly society. Quickly, the reader learns that he lends money because there are laws which prevent him from pursuing any other career. He resents that Antonio lends to his fr...
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...ntent, rattles the sensibilities of anyone concerned with the ills of society. It appears too easy to turn away from the pain of others to the comfort of our own lives. No thought or mention is given to Shylock and his end. Only Antonio seems disheartened, and seemingly only because he has lost the affection of Bassanio to Portia.
Shylock is the driving force that catapults The Merchant of Venice from simple comedy to a work of enormous complexity. The contrast between the tragedy of Shylock and the comedy of the other characters is difficult to dismiss. Many questions are raised and issues left unresolved for the thoughtful reader. The presence of Shylock makes the play unsettling, raising once again the subjects of discrimination, revenge, mercy, and the very essence of human weakness.
Everyone’s seen the classic cartoons. Wile E. Coyote chasing the Roadrunner around a bend, only the Roadrunner turns, but our comedic--and usually stupid--villain doesn’t. So, he falls from a height of what looks like about 500,000 feet, only to become a small puff of smoke at the bottom of the canyon. After all, if what happens to you when you fall from that height were to have happened to Mr. Coyote, that would have been a very short lived cartoon series. Maybe this example is an exaggeration, but the idea is the same: violence comes streaming into our homes every single day through our TVs not to be viewed, but to be devoured. It’s been proven that sex and violence sell. For those of us who can tell the difference between reality and fantasy, the effect of TV violence is miniscule. But for our children--who think when the Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers come to the local shopping mall, that it’s the biggest event since Bert told Ernie he snores too loud--the violence seen on TV seems like a logical reaction to life’s problems. And that’s a problem within itself. The impact of televised violence on children is only a slice of the pie that is the problem with the endless stream of violent acts on TV.
While engendering the bond in the inciting force of the play, Antonio says to Shylock – the antagonist – “Content in faith. I’ll seal to such a bond, / And say there is much kindness in the Jew” (1.3.149-150) which reveals how Antonio sees such positive terms in the deal. Although the terms may seem simples to follow, Antonio will still face the consequences of putting his life on the line for his dear friend, Bassanio. This bond portion of the play establishes relationships through the rivals and also gives background information about characters, which show the elements of dramatic significance. Subsequently, Shylock’s possessions are at stake during their trial after Antonio fails to pay him back because his argosies were abolished. Shylock’s punishment for attempting to
There have been researches that have shown that the estimated child, once passed elementary, will have been introduced to eight thousand murders, and more than one hundred-thousand acts of some sort of violence on television. Those numbers show a dramatic change in the way television shows have increased their violence rate. With numbers like these, violence can be extremely harmful to a child. In recent studies it has been proven that once children are put in front of a television, their concentration cannot be broken or wrecked. Most children who watch these violent shows have been less patient, more aggressive, and more likely to have lower grades than the children who watch television shows like Mr. Rogers. The more the child watches these violent shows, the faster he or she will unnaturally speed up the impact of the
Shylock lends Antonio a sum of money, that Antonio intends to pay back when his merchant ships arrive in Venice, one month before the debt would be forfeited. When Bassarnio arranges the sum of money, Shylock befriends them, only to stand aside and utter to him self, "I hate him for he is a Christian... If I catch him once upon the hip, I will feed my ancient grudge I bear him," Act 1, Scene 3. Shortly after saying, "But ships are but boards, sailors but men... the perils of waters, winds, and rocks...Three thousand ducats; I think I may take his bond." Shylock is setting his trap here. Shylocks terms of the debt are a pound of Antonios flesh from closets his heart if it be forfeited.
Portia play’s a major role in trying to persuade Shylock to be merciful to Antonio, as the story continues. Basannio, the loyal friend of Antonio also tries to persuade Shylock to show some sympathy towards Antonio, but is not shown.
Discrimination is a resounding theme in The Merchant of Venice (Meyers). All of the characters are affected by inequality. This inequity is clearly evidenced in Shylock, the Jewish usurer. He is treated with scorn and derision by all the characters. Shylock’s misfortunes stem not from poor attributes or even a poor background; it stems from the fact he is Jewish, and what is more, he is impeccably of that distinction.
The media, specifically television, has become more and more violent, in not all too subtle ways, exposing many children to behaviors not appropriate to a young audience. Remember ?the Menendez brothers, who ruthlessly shot their parents as they ate ice cream and watched TV in their family room, planted in children?s minds the worst possibility -- that a parent could die violently at the hands of a child.? (Medved, et. al. 243) Seeing the violence, hearing about it, watching news reports about violent acts committed by real people, especially other children, affects the viewer negatively. Children can not relate to what they see when they are so young, making the act of watching violent television extremely questionable. Children should not know about murder and rape; however according to Gloria Tristani, Commissioner for the Federal Communications Commission, by the time they finish elementary school, children have witnessed 8,000 murders and 100,000 acts of violence. (Tristani...
Everyone who reads The Merchant of Venice must bear in mind that it is, like any other literary work, a creation of a skillful writer, rising a case that can be a subject for many interpretations and not necessarily revealing a specific view of its writer, however it aims to convey a certain moral to the readers. Therefore, the character of shylock, being stereotyped or not, with its controversy is a tool manipulated to convey a moral message: when people live in a society that is open to cultural diversity and that values the contributions of all society members – regardless of cultural and ethnic backgrounds, race, life styles, and beliefs – they will be one step closer to living in a civil society. Works Cited 1) Encyclopaedia Britannica, the definition of "Anti-Semitism". 2) E. E. Stoll, Shylock (an essay in Shakespeare Studies, 1927). 3) John Palmer, Comic Characters of Shakespeare, Shylock. 4) John Palmer, Comic Characters of Shakespeare, Shylock.
The Merchant of Venice is a play that deals with an assortment of issues that range from politics to racial views of the Jewish people. An embodiment of these two issues can be best attributed to the character of Shylock. In a 2004 production of The Merchant of Venice, by Michael Radford, we see the character of Shylock is portrayed in a different light than that of Shakespeare's 1594 villainous Jew. Both productions pose a series of questions in comparison. An understanding of the era that these plays were written in and the audience’s perception of the production attribute greatly to a true analysis. Another aspect of these productions asks who Shylock was to Shakespeare and who he has developed into for Al Pacino and Michael Radford.
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.
This is where Shakespeare first introduces the devil inside Shylock. Had Antonio been a Jew, there would not have been a payment for flesh. Shylock’s hatred propels the story from start to finish. His hatred causes him to lose his daughter, drives Portia to use her money and wit to save Antonio, and why he ends up losing everything. While Shylock speaks with Salerio and Solanio, he demonstrates his frustration with the Christian people.
Television is a central feature of contemporary American life. American children spend more time watching television than they do in school. In 1989, the average child in the United States spent more time watching television than performing any other activity, except sleeping. In 1989 The Nielson Report on Television commented that children age 2 to 5 viewed approximately 27 hours of television per week. Children 6 to 11 years of age viewed more than 23 hours of television per week, and adolescents between 12 to 17 years of age viewed 22 hours of television per week (Sege 32). During the past several decades, violent programs have been steadily increasing in numbers on television screens. Many believe that there could be the possibility that a direct relationship exists between the violence witnessed on television and the increasingly violent behavior of children and adolescents (Palermo 23). Coming at a time when the homicide rate is
In this play, three timeless elements that are very relevant today and throughout history are prejudice, money, and love. Shakespeare included many examples of all these themes in his play. Bassanio, Antonio, Gratiano, Lorenzo, Portia, and Shylock are the main representatives of these themes. You could take anyone in history and compare him or her to anyone in this play. An example of this would be the prejudice and mean spirit that both Shylock and Hitler share. Shakespeare did a very good job showing these elements in real life scenarios. Samuel Taylor Coleridge put it perfectly; this play is a “representation of men in all ages and all times.”
Palmer, Edward L. Children in the Cradle of Television. United States of America: D.C. Health, 1987.
One of the main effects from an abundance of television is an increase in violence. In a paper done by Dietz and Strasburger they found that on average young people view over 1000 rapes, murders, armed robberies, and assaults every year while watching television. (Bar-on, 2000, p. 289) Numerous studies have shown that elementary children will imitate violent behaviors they see on television, particularly if the violence is rewarded. (Wilson, 2008, p. 100) With all of the violence on television children are developing more bad habits. It was found, in a study, that elementary school children exposed to a single episode of the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers committed significantly more intentional acts of aggression such as hitting, kicking, and shoving compared to those who didn’t watch the episode. (Wilson, 2008, p. 100) The...