...The Merchant of Venice Summary of the Book The Merchant of Venice is an interesting novel focusing on the Merchant, Shylock, who lends money to the poor in Venice and expects high interest that is over the amount borrowed. The story starts with a former generous Merchant, Antonio, talking to his friend Salarino and Solanio. He is sad, but he claims it is not about his wealth. He says, “In sooth, I know not…” He has shipped a number of goods that are still stuck in the ocean. When Bassanio approaches him for money he does not have any, he refers him to Shylock, but he tells him to secure it with his own (Antonio’s) credit. We are then taken to Belmont, where we meet Portia, the woman who make Antonio borrow money because of his intention to woe her. Portia has a lot of suitors who are after her father’s wealth. 3 caskets are made, one made of Lead, Gold and Silver. Any suitor who chooses a casket that has Portia’s portrait will have the opportunity to marry her and take all her late father’s wealth. The two Princes come and choose the wrong caskets. When Basanio goes, he chooses the right casket and this makes Portia happy. Shylock, who is a Jew, is also continuing with his business. He notes that the contract period has expired. He insists on taking Antonio to the court and that he has to get a pound of flesh as agreed in their contract. Antonio pleads for mercy, he says would pay double the price, but Shylock insists that all he needs is the pound of flesh. Meanwhile, Portia...
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...Stereotypes are saying bad things about someone because they belong in a certain group or race Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice and Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird both are based on the theme of stereotypes. In the next 3 paragraphs I will talk about stereotypes in To Kill a Mockingbird, The Merchant of Venice, and finally compare the stereotypes in both. There are many stereotypes and these 2 stories contain many that are alike. One big theme in To Kill a Mockingbird is stereotypes. First of all there is a stereotype that scout should wear a dress and act more like a girl because she is a tomboy. Aunt Alexandra says this. “Aunt Alexandra was fanatical on the subject of my attire. I could not possibly hope to be a lady if I wore breeches”(81). This shows that Aunt Alexandra wants Scout to be more like a lady. Secondly there’s Tom Robinson who is black and wrongly accused. Tom was accused of raping Mayella Ewell and in the end the jury voted him guilty even though Atticus explains the evidence is in Tom’s favor “To begin with, this case should have never come to trial”(203). This quote shows that Atticus’s evidence is perfectly clear and Tom isn’t guilty but in the end because Tom is black the jury assumes he is bad and votes him guilty. Finally black people don’t have the same rights as white people. For example Calpurnia brings Scout and Jem to church and a lady gets mad and asked Calpurnia why she brought white kids to the black church day. “I wants to know why you...
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...The Merchant of Venice Essay Fri, Dec 23, 2011 In Shakespeare’s The Merchant Of Venice there are many differences found between characters. These characters help create controversy and expand on main plots in the play. Some are more different than others. Through reading The Merchant Of Venice it is clear to see that Antonio and Shylock are very different people. It is their religious beliefs and behaviours that separate them from one another. The different religious views between the two characters creates division and prejudice between them. After they complete the bond agreement, Shylock leaves and Antonio says to Bassanio, “ The Hebrew will turn Christian, he grows kind ” (I. iii. 176). Antonio saying this presents the idea that Christians are kinder than the Jewish. This proves the ignorance Antonio shows towards the Jewish faith considering he was the one that kicked and spat on Shylock. While securing the bond, Shylock refers to Antonio and Christians by saying, O father Abram, what these Christians are, Whose own hard dealings teaches them suspect The thoughts of others. (I. iii. 157-159) This point shows the mutual lack of understanding of each other’s faiths as Shylock refers to Christians as a suspicious people. Due to the strong beliefs in their personal faiths, there has been much tension built between them because of their prejudices towards each other’s religion. When it comes to their possessions...
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...Marginalization in William Shakespeare’s - The Merchant of Venice The normal human experiences we acknowledge everyday are built of a multitude of emotions, feelings, attitudes, values and characteristics that differentiate us from other beings like animals. The fabric of our human nature is a reflection of the human experience, our beliefs, attitudes, and events that we go through compacting different ideologies into our mindsets. William Shakespeare, through his plays presents these ideologies, attitudes and values, both relevant and present in the Elizabethan context as well as in a modern context. Through a reading and analysis of Shakespearean plays we can see the ideology of how through the marginalization of society, there is a cultivation of the cycle of hatred, leading to revenge, preventable if we are able to open up and be merciful and forgive instead of succumbing to hatred and revenge. These feelings of mercy, hate, forgiveness, and revenge are built into the core of our human nature, and hence it has been present in the people of society during Shakespearean times as well as being easily relatable and understandable to our modern day society, due to it being in the fabric of our human experience and nature since the start of the human civilization. Modern day society struggles with the woes of marginalization on a daily basis, as well as in past important events that has changed the course of history and society. From daily issues such as the people who detests...
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...Shylock's Speech in Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice By Hamada Shehdeh Abid Dawood Discourse Analysis English Department Faculty of Arts Hebron University 2010/2011 Abstract This paper aims at examining, analyzing and revealing Shylock's utterances in Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice, by relating his words to the power, ideology, value, and etc. in the play. What is found in this study is that Shylock, the Jew merchant, lacks power and ideology, but when he seeks to find these elements, he loses all of them. In addition, Shylock's language varies from both situations. When he is the weaker, he is the source where Christians used to evacuate their insults. Introduction William Shakespeare (1564-1616) was born in Stratford-upon-Avon and was the son of a glove maker. When he was 18, he married Anne Hathaway, and had three children. At the age of 20, he left Stratford and went to London where he became an actor and playwright. William Shakespeare wrote The Merchant of Venice around 1596. It is regarded by some scholars as the strongest and most successful of Shakespeare's early comedies (Encarta Encyclopedia, 2002). Shakespeare’s portrayal of Shylock has long been fodder for debate among scholars. By Shakespeare’s time, Jews had been officially banned from England for centuries. Because of this, they had come to represent to many citizens of the time a sinister unknown. Shylock’s inability to grant mercy to Antonio and his tendency to value the letter of...
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...one were to show mercy, then they would let go of the perpetrator freely, but would this be what the victim deserves? Through the conflict between Antonio and Shylock, “The Merchant of Venice” demonstrates how personal definitions of mercy and justice skew the way a problem between two parties is resolved. The contrasting positions between the Antonio and Shylock reaches its breaking point in the court trial where the once oppressed Shylock decides to refuse Antonio mercy. In public, Antonio, as with the rest of the Christian population, openly mistreat the Jewish people such as Shylock, calling them “dogs” and even spit on them. Moreover, through the bond made between him and Antonio, Shylock loses his daughter, Jessica, to the Christians with Lorenzo stealing her away. Blinded by anger, Shylock seeks revenge and insists on “justice” against the Christians through Antonio by fulfilling the condition of the inhumane bond; by parting with a pound of Antonio’s flesh although this, in reality is unjust. Shylock considers himself right in his position by claiming that he was only demanding legally what is written in the bond that was agreed upon between the two parties. Christians, under the dominant Venetian social beliefs, are characterized as compassionate and are expected to exercise mercy towards the Jewish people of Venice, although this is rarely ever the case. Mercy attempts to play its role in the conflict through Portia’s speech where she...
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...in Glücksburg Introduction The author of the comedy ‘Merchant of Venice is William Shakespeare. We are in the sixteenth century in Venice and Belmont, Italy. The big struggles of the play are Bassanio’s wish to marry Portia and his attempt to free Antonio of the loan he owes to Shylock to keep Antonio alive. Description The play ‘The Merchant of Venice’ opens up on a street in Venice. Antonio, a merchant, has some troubles he can’t explain. Bassanio, a friend of Antonio, enters the scene. He just came back from a trip, which was paid by Antonio. On the trip, he saw an heiress called Portia in Belmont. Portia is beautiful, clever and not to mention very rich. Bassanio wants to merry Portia, but he doesn’t have the money to go to Belmont. Antonio is paying for everything that Bassanio does, and again he will pay for the trip. The only problem is that all Antonio’s money is being held at sea. Antonio and Bassanio decides to go around town and raise the money. Meanwhile, Portia has to get married, but she can’t decide who she wants herself. Her father, before his death, made a test. Tre boxes, one gold, one silver and one bronze. Then suitors from the four corners of the world is coming and has to pick one of the boxes. The box with a picture of Portia, gets to marry her. Portia is complaining about all the men that comes to see her because she says there is something wrong with each and one of them. Antonio and Bassanio goes to a man named Shylock to borrow 3.000 ducats...
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...Anti-Semitism and the desecration of the Jewish population have been in existence for nearly five thousand years. In William Shakespeare's “The Merchant of Venice”, we find that one of the characters is the subject and expression of anti-Semitic attitude that is persistent in Elizabethan society. William Shakespeare's “The Merchant of Venice” contains many examples that insult Jewish heritage because they were the minority in London in Shakespearean time. Although many parts of the play could be interpreted as offensive in modern times, Elizabethan audiences found them comical. The majority of London's population at the time was anti-Semitic because there were very few Jews living there. Shakespeare's “The Merchant of Venice” supports anti-Semitism actions and thoughts and therefore proves that Shakespeare was an anti-Semite. Antonio and Shylock, two similar businessmen of Venice, are viewed differently and are treated oppositely because Shylock is not a Christian but a Jew. One example of this is the way Launcelot treats Shylock in Act 2. In act 2, Launcelot is debating with himself whether or not he should seek a new master. Launcelot's problem is that he works for Shylock, who is Jewish. Launcelot persuades himself that, "Certainly the Jew [Shylock] is the very devil incarnation." Eventually, Launcelot convinces himself that he would much rather run away than be ruled by a Jew. Launcelot presents this argument to his father: "I am a Jew if I serve the Jew any longer."...
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...of The Merchant of Venice The play that was read is The Merchant of Venice. The author is William Shakespeare. This is a very good play with many lessons in it. Loyalty is a big part of the play, it is a big part of life. Loyalty is an important part of any relationship with friends, parents, and lovers. Loyalty is an important part of friendship. Loyalty seems to be a big part in this play. There were many examples of loyalty. One of them was when Bassanio was loyal to his best friend Antonio. Bassanio left his wife Portia to go help save Antonio from dying. That is a very loyal friendship. Parents are the people that deserve the most loyalty. Not being loyal to parents can make them lose respect for their child. In the play, Jessica was not loyal to her father. She stole his jewels, money, and ran away with Lorenzo. When she did this, her father resented her. Parents deserve to be treated loyally. Loyalty is especially important between lovers. In the play, Portia was loyal to Bassanio. When his friend Antonio was in trouble, she pretended to be a lawyer to go help him. She also gave Bassanio money for Antonio. Lovers should always be loyal to each other. Loyalty is an important part of any relationship with parents, friends, and lovers. Loyalty is an important part of any friendship. Parents are the people that deserve the most loyalty. People should be loyal to their lover. Everyone deserves to be treated with loyalty. Bibliography The Merchant of Venice. Shakespeare...
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...the play the Merchant of Venice there are many characters with interesting traits that play an important role. In particular, Antonio, the merchant has two roles, which depict two sides to him. They are a good friend and prejudicial. Antonio is a good friend because he will do everything for a friend in need. Bassanio, Antonio’s friend, asked him for money and Antonio said, “Thou know’st that all my fortunes are at sea Neither have I money nor commodity To raise a present sum Therefore go forth, Thy what my credit can in Venice do.” (I, I, 179-182). Despite the fact that Antonio has no money at hand, he still finds a way and gives alternative ways to help Bassanio, which makes him a good friend. Also he said, “My purse, my person, my extremist means lie unlocked to your occasions.” (I, I, 140-141). This quote shows that Antonio will do everything in his power and offer any kind of help he possibly can to his friends, which makes him a genuinely good friend. Despite the fact that he is a good friend there is a let down in his personality. Antonio is prejudice and in the play he says, “I am like to call thee again. To spit on thee again.” (I, iii, 128-129). This quote shows just how prejudice Antonio is. He spat on Shylock (a Jew) just because he is Jewish. He doesn’t like him because of his beliefs and that makes him very prejudice. Just because Shylock does not believe in the same thing as Antonio, it does not give him the right to be rude and judge Shylock. Antonio also said, “Content...
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...Lucas Glanville Explore the Dramatic Interest of Act I in The Merchant of Venice The play opens with Antonio, the Merchant of Venice, speaking about his deep sadness to his friends, Salarino and Solanio, although he is at a loss to explain why he is so sad. This immediately intrigues the audience and forces them to wonder why he is in such a melancholy mood themselves. Antonio's depression is coupled with Portia's own similar weariness (Line I, Scene II), whose opening line echoes Antonio's. Shakespeare contrasts their two separate worlds very effectively, comparing the world of downtown Venice - a gritty, male world dominated by business, politics and conflict - and that of Belmont, which is a dream-like, female space in which thoughts of love and marriage prevail. These two characters feeling almost identical feelings in parallel worlds tells the audience that it is inevitable that they will come together in some way. A dramatic device used throughout the first act is tension. Various elements of the plot are woven together in such a way that we are often left on a mini cliffhanger, wondering what will happen next. First of all, there is of course the bond, when Shylock demands a "pound of flesh" off Antonio if he is not paid back soon enough. Antonio takes the bond lightly; but Bassanio is suspicious of it from the start: "I like not fair terms and a villain's mind". The audience knows that the deal will have bad consequences, despite Antonio's ignorance to this...
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...Nobility and aristocracy have always been associated with etiquette and eloquence – they have perpetually been regarded as the epitome of politeness in their day-to-day dealings. It is thus not surprising that Shakespeare’s characters in The Merchant of Venice copiously demonstrate examples of modals and politeness maxims that are “…[C]losely connected to the speaker’s attitude…[and] play an important role in language interactions (Nakayasu, 2013: 6).” throughout the play. Politeness theory, therefore, refers to the choices that are made in language use – the linguistic expressions that acknowledge that we have awareness of the public self-image or sense of self of the people that we address, also known as “face (Cutting, 2008:43).” The focus of this essay falls on the use of modals, principles of politeness and politeness maxims in Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice to establish the attitude of the characters by means of their linguistic communications. Modality – the grammatical category that is characteristically represented by the use of modals and the status of the proposition which expresses the event (Nakayasu, 2013: 8) – can be more straightforwardly described as indicating the attitude of the speaker towards what has been proposed. Examples of epistemic modality (belief in the factual status of the proposition) include: “I should not see the sandy hourglass run but I should think of shallows and of flats (Act I.i.25-26),” “Shall I have thought to think on this,...
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...William Shakespeare: Merchant of Venice The name William Shakespeare will be remembered for as long as one can imagine. People from all around the world constantly read Shakespeare’s plays, as they are known to be some of the best plays in history because of their unique and profound qualities that helped Shakespeare earn his title of “the greatest dramatist of all time.” Unfortunately, because Shakespeare lived long before modern-day playwrights and poets, the worlds literary society knows much less about him and his background than they do about his plays. Although there is very little evidence that proves Shakespeare’s existence, he did once live during the 16th century. Historians have made assumptions about Shakespeare’s life and the events that he experienced in order to piece together a timeline of the mysterious poet’s life. There are not any actual birth records that exist, but scholars have found church records, which state that a William Shakespeare was baptized on April 26, 1564 in Stratford-upon-Avon, England. Educated assumptions are all that scholars have in terms of sources relating to the early life of Shakespeare. However, information about his adulthood has been gathered and allows for people to get to know the poet a little more personally. Shakespeare married Anne Hathaway on November 28, 1582, in Worcester, in Canterbury Province. Shakespeare was only 18 when he and Anne got married. His young age did not stop him from becoming a father shortly after his...
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...The Merchant of Venice and The Crucible, when their characters step away from their morals and carry out wrongful actions. Although the underlying reason for the characters’ social demises is similar, the motives for their actions are specific and personal. By carrying out actions fueled by revenge, both Abigail...
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...Throughout several of William Shakespeare’s plays, he has a character or characters that dissemble, which according to the Oxford English Dictionary is defined as “to alter or disguise the semblance of (one’s character, a feeling, design, or action) so as to conceal, or deceive as to, its real nature: to give false or feigned semblance to; to cloak or disguise by feigned appearance.” By dissembling or disguising, it allows one to be someone they are not and do things they don’t normally do. In plays such as Twelfth Night, Much Ado About Nothing, Hamlet, and The Merchant of Venice are just some of Shakespeare’s works in which he utilizes the concept of disguise. Shakespeare uses disguise of behavior and dress in his plays Hamlet and The Merchant of Venice. In Hamlet, Hamlet himself feigns madness in order to seek the truth of...
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