“The Merchant of Venice” is a play that relies on soliloquies to advance the plot, create mood and atmosphere, and to develop character among all the actors.
I am here to prove how this happens in two different soliloquies and show you why Shakespeare put them into the play.
My first soliloquy is from Lancelot Gobbo and it is taken from Act 2
Scene 2.I know that Lancelot is a secondary character, but this speech is really important in the outcome of this scene. He is talking about if he should run away from his master, who just happens to be Shylock. This soliloquy has all the makings of what a soliloquy should do.
It creates the mood that Lancelot (Shylock’s jester) is having alot of troubles trying to decide whether to run away or not. It must have alot to do with how Shylock treats him since he calls Shylock “a kind of devil” and also says that he can’t handle being “ruled by the fiend.” He must have really been mistreated under Shylock’s care to go as so far as to run away from him. It creates the mood of sadness and hatred in Lancelot, and a dark evil kind of feeling towards Shylock for what he has done.
It develops the character that Lancelot is a hard working man who is just trying to make a decent living but cannot because of the way he is being treated by Shylock. It also shows us that Shylock may be the character that, in the play, is the character to fear. We don’t know the details of what
Shylock did to Lancelot so we have to cut him a little slack. But whatever he did to Lancelot has made him very angry and disgruntled.
And it develops the plot by starting off the main reason for this scene which is for Bassiano to get into the picture and for Gratiano to ask him if he can go to Belmont with him. It gets to this stage by Old Gobbo asking
Bassiano if he will employ Lancelot, which he agrees to. It also tells of what to expect from Shylock in the later scenes which is unheartedness and ruthlessness. My second soliloquy is taken from act 3 scene 2. In this scene Portia asks Bassiano to wait a few days to before he makes his choice on which casket to open in order to see if he will be able to marry Portia, but Bassiano refuses and wants to make his choice immediately. He makes his choice and
Throughout the play, Shylock was often reduced to something other than Human. In many cases, even the simple title of "Jew" was stripped away, and Shylock was not a man, but an animal. For example, Gratiano curses Shylock with "O, be thou damned, inexecrable dog!" (IV, i, 128) whose "currish spirit govern'd a wolf" (IV, i, 133-134) and whose "desires are wolvish, bloody, starved, and ravenous" (IV, i, 137-138). Or when Shylock is neither a man nor an animal, he becomes "a stony adversary, inhuman wretch" (IV, i, 4-5). When the Christians applied these labels to Shylock, they effectively stripped him of his humanity, of his religious identity; he was reduced to something other than human.
speaks of music which is to be played while Bassanio makes his choice. Ok, this seems innocent enough; but examine the song--the first two lines of the song rhyme with lead! It doesn't take long for the subliminal message to be absorbed in Bassanio's brain, and the lead casket is chosen. This manipulative device is an indication to me that Portia has a need to make things go her way. She is afraid that Bassanio will make the wrong choice, and therefore assists him.
The evil nature of this individual is made manifest, and thus evil enters the story in a significant way.
Shylock is in many scenes of the play and his first one is Act 1 Scene
In Act 1 Scene 3, we are first introduced to Shylock, we see him as
Shylock also seems to show little or no love towards his daughter, Jessica. He may have been hurt by his daughter running away with a large amount of his wealth and with a Christian lover (Lorenzo); this is a point where Shylock can be viewed as a victim in the story. This still does n...
If he had been more daunted by Christian influence, he might have been forgiven, as Jessica is subjectively exonerated. He is not contrite and it is believed that his appalling birth cannot be absolved (Bonnell). All of the characters are defined by Shylock. Launcelot Gobbo, Shylock’s servant, treats his father disrespectfully, but this disdain is not ill-received by the audience; like the other examples of inequity, Launcelot’s apathetic attitude toward his near-blind father is inexplicably tolerated by past and contemporary society (Picker). Launcelot’s contempt is generally assumed to be a result of his underprivileged upbringing, if it is noted at all.
We see how she is manipulated by men through her father, who though dead, still manages to control who she marries from his will. He states in his will that from three different caskets the suitors will have to chose, in each of which will contain either a letter to the suitor or a picture of Portia. In one of the three caskets, either the lead, silver or gold casket, there will be a picture of Portia the suitor picking the casket containing the picture will be the suitor who will get to marry Portia. ‘I may neither choose who I would, nor refuse who I dislike, so is the will of living daughter curbed by the will of a dead father’ this shows that Portia would rather have a say as to who she gets to choose rather than being told who she has to marry. She overcomes that after two suitors who she wishes not to marry choose the wrong casket letting her know which casket contains her picture, so that when Bassanio becomes a suitor and she falls for him she is able to hint to him which casket to choose:
The nature of the contract between Portia and her father is as follows, Portia’s father state’s that all suitors must first select on of three caskets in order to marry her. The caskets are made of gold, silver, and base lead, all containing different messages. Only one of the three caske...
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
that he represents. Also, from the very beginning he seems to harbor emotions of anger and
Throughout the Merchant of Venice, while Portia is being courted. the reader can see that she does not like any of the suitors, except Bassanio. She finds a flaw in all the suitors and readers, as well, can see. the flaws in each as they present themselves to her. Her true love however, is for Bassanio
Shylock Deserves Sympathy Shylock is indeed a complex character and has the dimension of pain-he has suffered, still suffers and is one of a people who have suffered over centuries. However, to what extent should Shylock suffer and does he deserve our sympathy or hostility. Although anti-Semitism is totally unacceptable today, it was quite normal in Shakespeare's time. However, as he has done with other villains, Shakespeare actually plays around with his audience's preconceptions and makes Shylock an interesting, complex and sometimes likable character.
Shylock in William Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice Shylock has been very badly treated by certain Christians and he
We see that Shylock is a usurer and appears to be a spiteful old man who is a Jew; Jews were the ones who crucified Christ and are considered to be the enemies of Christians. Looking more into his character it may appear that he is an evil, unforgiving character, consumed with extreme hatefulness towards most others especially Christians. Then there is Antonio who appears to be the naive, essentially good guy who is a Christian. Because Antonio is a Christian he must defend himself against the Shylock. But why does Shylock seem so evil; there must be a cause for this something from his past. Shylock was wronged first; that does not give him the right to be evil towards others but he uses this as his excuse. From the job that Shylock has and his religion he was discriminated against from the start. When the discrimination started it caused Shylock to end up hating all Christians; he saw himself as an outsider, who was alienated by the society that surrounded him. Because of the wrongs that were already done to Shylock; he changed and then did many wrongs towards others. One of the gr...