The Trial Scene in The Merchant of Venice
Written between 1596 and 1598 "The Merchant of Venice" is not one of
the most performed plays written by William Shakespeare. The play is
classed as one of the sixteen comedy plays and most productions often
use modern times and dress. It was performed in front of an audience
who were not very well educated but the issues being raised in the
play would have been understood. A modern day audience would be less
sympathetic than the audience of that period towards the Jew, Shylock.
Venice is the setting of the play; a nation that was not ruled by a
King or Queen, The city was also the trading centre of the world but
at the end of the 16th century was overtaken by England which was at a
new age. "The Merchant of Venice" has two main characters, Shylock, a
Jew and Antonio, who is an extremely wealthy merchant, an investor who
gets wealth using venture capitalism. In Venice, your word was like
having an agreement in writing. The breaking of this bond would result
in a serious penalty, as it would in today's society but in a
different nature. Shylock is a moneylender who lends sums of money to
others at a fixed rate but charges vast amounts of interest. However,
Antonio also lends amounts of money, but without the interest. This is
"Gratis". This is one of the main reasons why Shylock hates Antonio
because Antonio is meant to be making Shylock's profits to drop. They
both are 'bigots' because they also hate each other for their
religion.
"I hate him for he is a Christian"
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Shylocks only concern was for money. Shylock agreed to lend a sum of
mone...
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...y from his
confident and vengeful image. The scene is coming to and end as
shylock leaves the dukes court, when he does leave fellowship and
peace is brought back to the play because the Christians are now
dominating much like they are used to in everyday society. Justice,
sadness and comedy are successfully combined in "The merchant of
Venice" Many aspects of the plot such as the discrimination of Jews
are still in place in today's society. The play is a comedy but to a
first time reader or viewer of the play it would not seem so, the
ending of the play is an integral part to the structure of the play in
terms of its comedy value. "The Merchant of Venice", although I
recognise that the text is open to multiple interpretations is a
strong dramatic play: some interpretations can even directly
contradict one another.
are meant to present a show at the fete. The play uses comedy as its
the play is set in 1912. The main themes of the play are lies, love,
created the play as a comedy, showing how the world might be in the times of the
Most of the characters in the play seemed to be fairly young, energetic people. Their problems were so much more manageable and yet handled in a way that did not affect society. Their idea of marriage was so simple. They all knew they would be marrying someone from their territory and raising a family without ever leaving to see what was outside of the territory. To me, that seems like such a sheltered way to live your live. But now day’s things are so much more complicated. Problems that could be manageable are blown out of proportion and marriages end in divorce and broken families. People are constantly moving and unsettled. Stabbings that occurred accidentally in that time are committed on purpose or for no reason today.
meanings along with what is going on in the plot of the play, it is
this is important because it is a climax to the play so far and the
the play may be pass to modern society, that one may not learn, or even
The play is structured so that the climax, or rather the main premise of the play, appears near the beginning; al...
In conclusion I think that the stage directions and dramatic irony are significant to the play, and without them there would be no need for a lot of the events that happen in the play.
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.
one of the most important reasons could be the use of humour in the play.
Using the chosen texts, Twelfth Night and The Merchant of Venice, this essay will consider whether or not the dramatic effects of deception and disguise are significant in Shakespearean works. Deception and disguise show the difference between appearance and reality and often go hand in hand within many, if not all of Shakespeare’s plays. There are, for example, many instances of disguise leading to accidental deception, the use of disguise as a means to deceive in a form of self-preservation such as the tactics used within Twelfth Night and there are occasions when deception is used in a more malevolent fashion as shown in both Twelfth Night and The Merchant of Venice. Other characters are known to even deceive themselves, ultimately believing they are something they are not, as such deception and disguise is one of the most significant dramatic effects used in any Shakespearean play.
The Merchant of Venice written by William Shakespeare takes place in Italy in the late 1500s. The play focuses on 4 main characters: Antonio, Bassanio, Shylock and Portia. Antonio is a Venetian merchant who is in love with his best friend. Bassanio is the best friend of Antonio and the husband of Portia. Shylock is a Jewish moneylender and is hated by the people of Venice due to his religion. Lastly, there is Portia, wealth woman from Belmont. She is forced, by her father’s will, to marry the suitor who chooses the correct casket. Bassanio ends up being the lucky suitor and gets to marry Portia. Soon after the marriage they receive news of Antonio's appending sentence to death. Portia being a loving wife gives Bassanio the money to pay the bound. She decided to disguise herself as a doctor names Balthasar and replaces Bellario, so he can defend Antonio. Balthasar’s (Portia) duty is to look over the cause for the Duke and see if the still stands. She wants to save Antonio from death because he is the best friend of her beloved husband. In court, Portia demonstrates her intelligence and bravery in ways the Italian society consider worthy.
Defeating the enemy, light-heartedness, and a happy ending for the lovers are all elements in a comedic play. William Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice shows that love conquers all and that you can always defeat the enemy. Even if a pound of flesh is the difference between life and death, or if one wrong person chooses the casket that decides your fate. For example, The Merchant of Venice, Antonio, not only survives the fate of having a pound of his flesh taken from his body on account of his friend that could not repay the bond to a man who is seen as the devil, but gets thrice his money back and the villain is taken down. Not to mention that Antonio’s best friend, Bassanio, not only repays the bond and gets out of his debt to help his friend, but also marries himself a rich wife. In contrast, Portia, who was bound by her dead father to marry a man whom she could never love, cheated her fate and married the man she truly loved. What makes this play a comedy is clearly evident; the villain is defeated and destroyed, and happy endings are given to those that deserve them like the Christians.
The Merchant of Venice explores the theme of Appearance versus Reality. The theme is supported with many examples in the form of characters, events and objects.