William Shakespeare's The Merchant Of Venice
In this piece of work, I am to discuss whether Portia is a modern
woman of the sixteenth century. I am aiming to discuss many of her
elements, relating and comparing them with the time in which the play
is set. I will be looking at what aspects mark her out as a ‘modern’
woman and those that mark her out to be a ‘renaissance’ woman.
When William Shakespeare wrote, ‘The Merchant of Venice’, he included
a female character that leads 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. Portia is one of Shakespeare's
great heroes, whose beauty, lively intelligence, and quick wit are
very well known in the society in which she lives. She is known
throughout the world for her beauty and good qualities, and she is
able to handle any situation with her great wit. Portia is
thought of a perfect woman. This is brought forward to us before she
appears, as Bassanio describes her to Antonio and says,
‘In Belmont is a lady richly left, / And she is fair and, fairer than
that
word.’
Act 1 Scene 1, lines160-170
We can say that Portia shows many of the acts of a Renaissance woman.
She is not ambitious. We think of her as something that many men would
think for an ideal woman. However, with her opening line,
'my little body is aweary of this great
world'
young woman is clearly appealing, smart, and interested in the world, and the tone in these
To begin, the final choice that the old lady gives the Knight is a very interesting choice especially after her lecture. In the end of the story the Knight is faced with the choice of either having a ugly and old but beautiful woman on the inside or having a beautiful, young woman on the outside and ugly on the inside. The question is a very intriguing question especially considering first of all how the Knight had treated her and what kind of lecture she gave him before she asked him this qu...
William Shakespeare attained literary immortality through his exposition of the many qualities of human nature in his works. One such work, The Merchant of Venice, revolves around the very human trait of deception. Fakes and frauds have been persistent throughout history, even to this day. Evidence of deception is all around us, whether it is in the products we purchase or the sales clerks' false smile as one debates the purchase of the illusory merchandise. We are engulfed by phonies, pretenders, and cheaters. Although most often associated with a heart of malice, imposture varies in its motives as much as it's practitioners, demonstrated in The Merchant of Venice by the obdurate characters of Shylock and Portia.
Here comes Beatrice. By this day, she’s a fair lady. I do spy some marks of love in her. Works Cited Shakespeare, William.
Women in the time of Jane Austen dedicated their lives to being good-looking (seen in the vanity of Lydia and Kitty especially) and accomplished to ensure they were marriage material, just as the maiden tried to be enchanting and desirable for The Prince. Both texts illustrate an imbalance and struggle for equality within the oppressive rules and expectations that revolve around women’s lives, and so, their relationships.
She leans toward a feminist nature and seems resentful toward most men. For women, she is easy to respect and admire. She is an intelligent woman, however, she may not know the limits of her game. That is the beauty of society.
Duke of Venice: The official authority in Venice, the duke has great respect for Othello as a public and military servant. His primary role within the play is to reconcile Othello and Brabanzio in Act I, scene iii, and then to send Othello to Cyprus.
say, “If I can catch once upon the hip I will feed fat the ancient
Racial barriers are often used as a means to manipulate a member of a minority group. in The tragedy, Othello, was written by William Shakespeare(1564-1616) an English poet and playwright, who is often contemplated as the greatest writer in the English Language. The story begins with Othello, a black general in the Venetian army who secretly marries Desdemona, a white woman. Early on, Othello promotes Michael Cassio as his lieutenant over Iago, fostering mass jealousy. Desperate to get even with Othello, Iago creates elaborate plans to ruin his marriage with Desdemona. Iago’s effective manipulation skills lead Othello to take his wife's life and then his own. Iago is successfully able to deceive Othello because of their many differences, mainly racial, and Iago's understanding of how manipulation works.
It is clear that the race of Othello is a factor in his downfall. A
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.
Fair Phyllis is a song or poem written in the 16th century by John Farmer, in this poem he tells the tale of a relationship between a shepherdess and her lover, in which is told by the song and in history has been presented with the Italian practice of “word art”. This beautiful song is very special in the format of the piece, it is sung in a cappella, meaning that many voices work in harmony to create the song, while the work itself is first monophonic, then for the last part it become homophonic switching off between one person singing and then many at different paces and tones. At the beginning of the song where it is monophonic the highest voice is reinforced by the other voices, while in the latter half of the song when it changes to
There was no doubt that Lady Gloucester was out of her element. The annual ball of Dorian Gray was no place for a woman of her nature, but that was the beauty of witchcraft- no one would have the slightest idea. Gloucester blended in well, speaking with those of the upper class whom she had usually tried to avoid. Although she was soaking in the exhilaration of her new found respect, she did not let her main focus waver.
torture at the time. "Let me choose, for as I am, I live upon the
“If half thy outward graces had been placed upon thy thoughts and counsels of thy heart! But fair the well, most foul, most fair. Farewell, the pure and impiety and impious purity. For the I’ll lock up all the gates of love and on my eyelids shall conjecture heading to turn ...