Merchant of Venice Essay Mark Twain once said that “the very ink with which history is written is merely fluid prejudice.” Throughout history, prejudice has been a major foundation of society, influencing the thoughts and actions of many generations. A society built upon prejudice and discrimination is a fragile and dissonant one. It cannot be harmonious when riddled with hate and intolerance as seen in Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice. The copious inequalities in Venice divides
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“Oh Shylock, you villainous, poor, comedian” In the play Merchant of Venice written by William Shakespeare, the main character, Shylock is a wealthy, local Jewish man who goes about his day like any other Jewish man in Venice. He makes a living by loaning money to the Christians in need, but then charges them much extra in interest. The Christians of course, do not approve of this one bit, but they cannot argue with him or else he will not lend them money! Shylock is one of the main characters
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In the play Merchant of Venice written by William Shakespeare, the main antagonist Shylock is often portrayed as a cold-hearted villain. Shylock is actually not the villain but a victim of society. In defense to the above statement, Shylock was legally entitled to collecting his bond, Antonio deserved the punishment that Shylock was looking for and lastly, Shylock receives nothing and loses everything while his enemies gain all. Venice was the trading center of the world at this time and one’s word
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The Love of Money The characters in Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice, love money so much they will go to great lengths for it, even if that means that they have to choose money over their religion or friends. On the other hand, one character chooses friendship over money and will go to an even greater length to keep it. When Antonio decides to borrow three thousand ducats from Shylock to help pay for his best friend, Bassanio’s trip to see Portia, a very wealthy woman, he must be able
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Two Interpretations of an Elizabethan Production of The Merchant of Venice An Apprentice: Today is a good day! My master occasionally gives me an allowance for new clothes and such, but I have managed to save one penny – enough to go see a performance at the theatre this afternoon (Gurr, 2004; McEvoy, 2006). I am so excited that I arrived over an hour before it is supposed to start. I do not know much about the play being performed today. The white flag towering above The Globe tells me that it
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William Shakespeare displays many themes throughout his plays, but there is usually one central theme that controls the play. In The Merchant of Venice, there are two different father- daughter relationships, Shylock and his daughter Jessica, as well as Portia and her dead father. Though both relationships ended in favor of the daughters and the bonds displayed was that of control and rebellion, the two daughters and fathers were not the same. Portia, a beautiful and rich young woman, has found
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The Merchant of Venice Long Essay – Question 4 The Merchant of Venice is one of Shakespeare’s greats, part of the reason why it is regarded so highly, which includes the way it can be interpreted as an extremely complex play, is the way in which the characters interact and their personalities which evolve into incredibly detailed, three dimensional figures. One main person that falls into this category of being truly complex is the title character, Antonio. Although he may seem straightforward
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The Merchant of Venice Discussion Essay Racism has been an issue all throughout history and still is an issue during present day. The Merchant of Venice is a play written by William Shakespeare and is supposedly a ‘comedy’ about a money lender who seeks revenge on a merchant over an unpaid loan. All throughout the play there are many themes that are recognised and one of these major themes is racism. Some examples of how racism is displayed in the play are, the different views
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With close reference to the text do you think that Shylock should have shown mercy to Antonio in the play The Merchant of Venice? In Shakespeare's play, The Merchant of Venice, (which was influenced by the Jew of Malta, written by Christopher Marlowe in 1589), a Jew named Shylock has been insulted in many ways. Examples of these are, he was spat at, been called a dog, had his religion insulted, had disruptions in his business and have his only daughter kidnapped. To add to this, he had Jewels
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Christians, and Commerce: How the three are represented, varyingly, in both the Merchant of Venice and the Jew of Malta. Bibliographic Information: Kitch, Aaron. "Shylock's Sacred Nation." Shakespeare Quarterly 59.2 (2008): 131-55. Project MUSE. Web. 10 Nov. 2014.
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Armish Singh Eng 245 A04 Scott Wilkins 02/14/13 Shylock is a complex character from William Shakespeare’s tragic comedy, The Merchant of Venice, who personifies Jewish stereotypes and is despised and insulted by the other characters throughout the play. Shylock is an outsider, both literally and figuratively; he lives separated from Christian society and is cast as an archetype Jew. At many points in the play, Shylock--and by extension, all Jews--are depicted as greedy, devious, and cruel. Jews
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English 101-210 Final Draft Battle of the Directors The Merchant of Venice, also known as “The Jew of Venice” is a drama play originally written by William Shakespeare in 1598. The major conflict occurs when a man named Antonio (Venetian merchant) fails to pay off a loan to a greedy Jewish money loaner known as Shylock who demands a pound of flesh from Antonio in return. Antonio and his friends take a journey through friendship, love, and hatred in an attempt to free him of his pound of flesh
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The Merchant of Venice is the darkest of William Shakespeare's romantic comedies. No other comedy threatens its title character with imminent death or portrays its villain as an outsider with a thirst for blood. No other comedy engages such serious issues as the contrast between law and grace or between mercy and justice. And no other comedy is so lacking in comic characters and comic scenes. More important than all these, no other comedy is so dominated by a single character, nor is any other character in Shakespeare so fully developed
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Cosmas Papadopoulos Blair Morris Shakespeare Over Time 02 May 2014 Fall’n Dignity in Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice and As You Like It Modern Western Ideology views wealth as the accumulation of capital. To be wealthy is to have money. The OED defines wealth as “Prosperity consisting in abundance of possessions; ‘worldly goods’, valuable possessions, esp. in great abundance: riches, affluence”. This OED definition spans from the Middle Ages to today. This definition was applicable to the social
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The Merchant of Venice - Themes - The world is full of hatred, but it is also full of love. Shakespeare’s play, “The Merchant of Venice,” reveals and examines through events, several timeless and universal themes: prejudice and the many different manifestations of it, hatred and vengeance and how it is a cycle, and love and its different forms. Prejudice comes in many different forms, including racism, sexism, and anti-Semitism. Portia dislikes the Prince of Morocco because he is dark-skinned
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million different centers of energy and daring those ripples build a current that can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance.” In Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice, Shylock is the core of all ripples. He lashed out against the prejudice that was thrust upon him and is considered evil for doing so. The Merchant of Venice brought together different characters of different religions. Shakespeare used characters in this play to reflect sixteenth century views on Christianity and Judaism
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country for over 300 years, a harsh but important example to note how England was such a consolidated cultural society with their own individual views, beliefs and practices. In saying this, when Shakespeare wrote his play, the foreign setting in Venice and Belmont in Italy, would have been highly appealing for the audience. The audience may have had not had much or any knowledge about other societies and how they live or what they were like, so in turn it may have been highly fascinated about the
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The Merchant of Venice by: William Shakespeare Is being called a dog a threat? In Shakespeare’s, The Merchant of Venice, Jews and Christians don’t get along and push each other around. Shylock is a Jewish moneylender and is lending money to a Christian. Antonio, the Christian, promises Shylock if he does not pay him the three thousand ducats that he borrowed Antonio will owe him something else. Is a deal a deal? Shylock is ensured he will gain the money he lent. Shylock is a villain that wants the
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GCSE English 9th of January 2013 ssay on The Merchant of Venice Plot Summary | | http://www.essayempire.com/img/tp.gif | | | ACT 1 Bassanio badly needs a favour from his close friend Antonio - money in order to woo the wealthy heiress Portia. Though Antonio's capital is tied up overseas, he gladly agrees to let Bassanio borrow the money in his name. Bassanio arranges a loan with the moneylender Shylock, who spots an opportunity to be revenged on his old foe Antonio -
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The play “The Merchant of Venice” was written by William Shakespeare in the late 15th century and was then published in the 16th century. Shakespeare wrote many of his plays for the independent queen, Queen Elizabeth. The play was initially written as a comedy in order to portray the division of the Jews and the Christians, by using anti-Semitic text. The play portrays the theme of power in different parts of the play and by different characters. Power can be shown by money and wealth, as the plot
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merchant of venice In the films Charlie and The Chocolate Factory, Edward Scissor Hands, and Batman film director Tim Burton makes his films enjoyable for all ages. In Charlie and The Chocolate Factory, young boy Charlie receives the gift of a lifetime that changes his life forever. In Edward Scissor Hands, outcast Edward lives his life with scissors as hands. In the film Batman, Bruce Wayne lives a life of two personalities, million dollar man and town hero. Tim Burton uses low camera angles
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Ali Hussain English 11 February 6, 2011 Character Analysis of The Merchant of Venice What is character? Character is the mental and moral qualities distinctive to an individual and can be determined from what a person says, does or what others think of him or her. In the play The Merchant of Venice Antonio’s generosity, caring attitude and cruelty to Jew’s, Bassanio’s friendliness and good reputation, Portia’s thoughtfulness and Shylock’s manipulative nature along with generosity are understood
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Valda Oei Mrs. Cutcliffe ENG5HL 2014 Oct. 16th In the play the Merchant of Venice, the language and diction Shakespeare used, shows the complexity of humanity. No matter the wealthy merchant Antonio or the fair lady Portia or even the “evil” Jew Shylock, they all have various dimensions in their appearance. While the characters are expressing the dialogs, the different sides of characterizes are shown to the audience. Portia, a high born class lady, was portrayed with a contrast
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think. In his plays, Shakespeare uses different allegories to present ideas through the usage of symbols and exceptional usage of language. In the comedic play The Merchant of Venice, Shakespeare uses different themes, motifs, and symbols to connect certain ideas to his audience. The setting of the play is in sixteenth century Venice and Belmont, Italy. One of the main ideas that surround the play is the religious conflict between Christians and Jews. Which leads to an unequal separation between
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monastery to pray there for the success of her lord, the house is put under the charge of Lorenzo and Jessica, and then promptly she assumes the masculine disguise of a lawyer and with Nerissa, also disguised as a lawyer’s clerk, at once leaves for Venice. Through the trial, she conducts herself with rare masculine self-confidence. There is no masculine shyness and diffidence. (Naque: 128) Her Complete Womanliness The complete and perfect womanliness of her character is very impressive. Her womanliness
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In The Merchant of Venice how does Shakespeare present both Shylock as both victim and villain? Throughout the play, ‘The Merchant of Venice’, Shylock reveals many personalities; therefore making him such an emotionally complex and detailed character that shows elements of being both a victim and villain; and to come to my decision to whether Shylock is either of the two, other characters language towards him and his reactions will perceive different ideas from different era’s in time to determine
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Melanie Pejovic pd 1. I f your dad was overprotective would you make the choice to stay or run away? Would you want to branch off and start your own life with your own rules or be under strict instruction? That’s the choices Jessica had to make when she decides to run away from Shylock and take all his belongings with her. Personally, I feel like Jessica’s choice to run away was the right thing. In feeling this way, I feel like the place has two themes; loyalty/betrayal and power/control
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Elizabethan courtly society. It can be said that the answer to that question is both yes and no. It is apparent in The Merchant of Venice that Shakespeare’s writing was strongly influenced by the society surrounding him while A Midsummer Nights Dream is much less realistic and so original that one might think he came from another time period all together. In The Merchant of Venice there are countless examples of how Shakespeare’s works were a product of society. One of the main similarities is religion
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([1] – MAP) The city of Venice is located on the western side of the gulf of Venice at the northwest end of the Adriatic Sea in Italy. ([2] – MAP) Venice was founded in the 5th century and is spread over an archipelago of 118 small islands. The world heritage site includes a larger area than just the city of Venice – it includes most of the Venetian Lagoon and surrounding islands as well. Venice was inscribed into the UNESCO world heritage list on the 22nd of April 1986 after a nine year
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