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analysis of the merchant of venice
Essay Critical evaluation of the play Merchant of venice by William Shakespeare
a review of merchant venice by shakespeare
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Analysis of The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare
The Merchant of Venice was written in London by William Shakespeare in
1598. The first edition of the Merchant of Venice was published in
1600 by Thomas Heys. The play caused quite a stir when it was
published as the play is anti-Semitic, which means hostile or
prejudiced against Jews. No other books or plays in England had
covered a plot about a Jew. In England, when Shakespeare was writing,
Jews had been banished for the past 300 years. Shakespeare’s audience
would not have known any Jews; their knowledge would have been based
on rumours and prejudice. The audience of this play probably wouldn’t
have questioned the treatment Shylock received as we do today.
We are first introduced to Shylock when Bassanio wants to borrow three
thousand ducats from Antonio, but Antonio doesn’t have the ducats to
give Bassanio as his ships are out at sea and therefore Antonio won’t
have money until his ships come back. Therefore Antonio and Bassanio
ask Shylock for the ducats. Here, Shylock appears as a cautious
businessman but, we soon realise of Shylock’s hatred for Antonio, “I
hate him for he is a Christian; but more for that in low simplicity,
he lends out money gratis.” Shylock hates Antonio because he lends
money to people without interest unlike Shylock who charges high
interest and because Antonio is a Christian. Therefore I think that
Shylock is a villain. However, we do sympathize with Shylock when we
find out that Shylock is treated badly by Antonio, “Fair sir, you spat
on me on Wednesday last; you spurn’d me such a day; another time you
call’d me dog-and for these courtesies I’ll lend thus much moneys?”
Even though we do feel sympathy for him there, I think there is more
that meets the eye with Shylock as when Antonio, Bassanio and Shylock
are discussing the loan, Shylock suggests a pound of Antonio’s flesh
should be the price to pay if they could not pay Shylock back in time.
Shylock suggests a pound of flesh and not interest on the loan which
The Setting of Venice in Othello Othello is a fundamentally different character to all others in the play [1]. He is an outsider to Venice and therefore an outsider to the customs and society of Venice. In one way this is good for him. He is a renowned strong general who is much in demand from the Venetians.
"And what's his reason? I am a Jew. Hath not a Jew eyes? Hath not
he catches the clerk with her he will cut his ‘pen’ off. This type of
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.
In both of Shakespeare’s plays, "Othello" and "The Merchant of Venice", there are several instances in which the non-white and non-Christian characters are marginalized and are often the victims of prejudice and outright racism. This occurs in both "Merchant of Venice" and "Othello" particularly through the use and power of language and terms of reference. What is most fascinating about this seeming racism and bias against these characters, Othello and Shylock, is that they aren’t represented in either text as completely fitting the villainous or negative stereotypes other characters wish to put them in. Both Othello and Shylock are presented as sympathetic to varying degrees and although they posses several character flaws that some of the white and Christian characters wish to attribute to their race (Jewish as greedy and heartless and Moors as savage and barbarous) Shakespeare does not completely rely on these stereotypes to draw his characters of these two men. Although Shylock is indeed money-hungry, greedy, and oftentimes heartless, he is still portrayed sympathetically at points and his faults are not shown to be something associated with his race. Othello, most notably at the end of the play commits a savage act, but throughout the rest of the text, he is shown to be mild-mannered and exceptionally “civilized” as a general and aristocrat. This softening allows the characters to be represented as more rounded, but the fact still remains that racial bias and outright racism and prejudice are present in both texts.
Shakespearean works are well known for their depth, symbolism and philosophical view upon different aspects of life. Mirroring is one of Shakespeare’s favorite tools. Mirroring is used to emphasize the contrast and show differences between the sides of the society and ways of living of the characters. The Merchant of Venice is no exception. Just like all other plays of Shakespeare it has many of antagonisms and it portrays the most important and hot conflicts that used to be popular at that time just as much as they are now. Exploring this multi dimensional play is exciting, because the more you think about it, the more hints and tints you discover. The play takes place in two main locations – Venice and Belmont. These two places portray two different lifestyles. One of the most important and essential themes of the Merchant of Venice is wealth. Shakespeare has a special view of this subject; he sees love as a form of wealth (Milton 34). Venice represents earning of money, accumulating it, protecting it, fighting for it; and at the same time Belmont demonstrates having money an all other life’s pleasures, this is why life in Belmont is so happy, slow and peaceful, and the whole location is so dreamlike. Being rich and having nothing to worry about is a dream of most people. To my mind, Belmont and Venice present two different sides of wealth.
Response to Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice by a Modern Audience Since the time of Shakespeare, The play “Merchant of Venice” has had a dramatic effect on the modern audience today. In the 16th century, Jews were completely disliked, & Jews were not allowed to live in England unless they had converted to Christianity. = == ==
torture at the time. "Let me choose, for as I am, I live upon the
Shylock, in William Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice, is a complicated and confusing character. Throughout the years, people have debated whether he should be pitied or hated. Using the play, people have supported their opinions saying that he wanted to kill Antonio so how can he be pitied? Some say that his behavior was a result of anti-Semitism. It was. Some people are evil at heart by their own choice, but some have this badness forced on them. Shylock is an example of a tragic character who turns bad because of the anti-Semitism circulating around him and as a human, he responds to that negatively. In the beginning of the play, he only wanted revenge on the Christians for their insults, but after, it became more personal which is why he did not want to take mercy on Antonio and seemed like an animal.
In Shakespeare's The merchant of Venice there is a clear clash of opinions between Antonio and Shylock. Most of the characters in the play are definitely against Shylock because he is Jewish. But is the message that Shakespeare is putting across saying that all people should hate Jewish people? I think that it could well be for these reasons.
to pay it back. We see Shylock as a Villain in this scene as he plans
The film Shakespeare In Love is a very complex but straightforward plot. Where William Shakespeare was mandated to compose a play right at the moment when his imagination was minimal. Frustrated and looking for inspiration, he met a beautiful lady with the name of Viola de Lessups bumping his creativity giving birth to the so famous play “Romeo and Juliet.” The set of the events along with the actions Shakespeare and Viola take and the reactions they produce form the narrative of the film a long with the mise-se-scene made out of the movie a hit in Hollywood by capturing the attention of the audience with the combination of different artistic choices.
which tells us that Shylock is being referred to as a dog, not like a
Shakespeare's Portrayal of Female Characters in The Merchant of Venice and Henry V. Shakespeare's presentation and portrayal of his female characters in The Merchant of Venice and Henry V follows a typical pattern that is present in all of the Shakespearean plays that I have read so far. When looking closely at the fate of his female characters, this pattern becomes even more evident as it repeats itself no matter how different the plays are. For instance, Henry V and The Merchant of Venice are different in every respect. The female characters not only come from different backgrounds, they also have very different personalities. However, as different as these plays and their characters are, the female characters end up suffering the same fate.
Symbols and allegories play a vital role in William Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice. They provide a perspective that offers subtle allusions as to what Shakespeare intended, and act as a building block to many themes and motifs apparent in the play. Although the play has a number of tragic elements that are simultaneously comical, the key ideas present in the symbol of a ring is the themes of love, grieve, humanity and commitment. This significance of rings can also be viewed in performance such as Michael Radford’s adaptation of The Merchant of Venice and how techniques enable the importance of certain symbols or messages to be enhanced.