The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare - explain how Shakespeare creates an impact on the audience
The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare was written between 1594-1596.It is classified as a comedy; it is also a work of good triumphs over evil, but serious themes are examined and some issues remain unresolved.
In the play Shakespeare has woven together plots from different books. Shakespeare gets the bond story and the story of the ring from an Italian novella, LL Pecorone, in a collection put together by Sir Geovanni and published in 1558. The story of the bond occurs in several sources including the Gesta Romanorum.
In the modern post- Holocaust 20th century, the problem of Anti-Semitism had been shown; Shakespeare described Shylock as a stereotypical character of a cruel, money-obsessed Jew. The play makes generalisation about Jewish people being the same and using Shylock as a representative.
The play revolves around two people; Shylock who is a vengeful, greedy money lender and a Jew, in contrast with Antonio, a generous, faithful Venetian merchant who is a Christian. There are two plots, the pound of flesh trial between Shylock and Antonio and the three-casket test involving Bassanio and Portia.
Antonio is the character who is involved in the trial scene against Shylock. He is shown as being a good and faithful person (Christian) as shown when the Duke shows his sympathy towards him at the beginning of the trial "I am sorry for thee". He is a person who would do anything for his friend. In this case Bassanio. Shylock is a Jew vengeing for Antonio's flesh. At the beginning of the trial scene Shakespeare shows the Elizabethan audience's the hatred for Jews in Venice, as the Duke addresses Shlyock as " A stony adversary, an inhuman wretch". This quotation clearly expresses the bigoted view of all Christians in the past days.
Shylock is the highlighted character here who is judged because he is a Jew. He is often addressed as "the Jew" or "Jew" by Belthazar (Portia in disguise). He is given many chances to withhold the bond but due to his blatant hatred for Antonio and Christians and the knowledge of the law, he refuses "I would have my bond". He is also a character, who shows love for his daughter Jessica, who then runs away with Lorenzo (a Christian) with the wealth that belongs to Shylock, so he disowns her.
In the trial scene the Duke confronts him with the question " How shalt hope for mercy ren'ring none?" Shylock's answer to this is, how the Venetian seem to treat their slaves degradingly as if some piece of worthless property, so he has the right to his bond. His stubbornness due to the lack of mercy builds up the audience's hatred for him. Even when Portia gives him one more chance to give mercy, he refuses. Here " the quality of mercy" speech is said.
Portia is not only beautiful as well as intelligent but she is also a clever conniving woman. She is the wife of Bassanio (Antonio's friend) who she dearly loves. She is disguised as a lawyer (Belthazar). In this lawyer role, Portia examines Shylock and Antonio .She too tries to persuade Shylock to drop the charge, reciting the most vital speech begins as " the quality of mercy is not strained". However Shylock again rejects mercy as an attribute from God. Portia then unveils a solution, Shylock can have one pound of flesh but no blood should be shed, she then points out how Shylock is a non-citizen of Venice and is threatening the life of a Venetian committing a major crime. Here Portia is almost hypocritical because she herself does not show mercy to Shylock.
Bassanio is Antonio's friend. Their love for each other is strictly friend ship. Bassanio is the character who borrows money from Antonio and agrees to the bond for him. But at the end he is prepared to die for Antonio " the Jew shall have my flesh, bones and all" His love for Portia is great as he goes to Belmont and wins her hand in marriage through the casket test.
Before the trial scene begins, the previous scene Act 3 Scene 5, all the topics have been sorted out to clear the pathway for the trial, ...
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Bassanio is Antonio's friend. Their love for each other is strictly friend ship. Bassanio is the character who borrows money from Antonio and agrees to the bond for him. But at the end he is prepared to die for Antonio " the Jew shall have my flesh, bones and all" His love for Portia is great as he goes to Belmont and wins her hand in marriage through the casket test.
Before the trial scene begins, the previous scene Act 3 Scene 5, all the topics have been sorted out to clear the pathway for the trial, for example Jessica and Lorenzo have reached Belmont and Portia is determined to help her husband's friend. The court is prepared for the trial to build up the tension in the atmosphere for the audience. The impact of the trial scene is very strong and powerful as this is the most concentrated part of the play. It plays out all the themes and there is a mixture of moods.
One of the reasons Act 4, Scene 1 is so dramatically effective is due to the tension created between Shylock and Antonio. At the very beginning of the scene, a slight sense of injustice is induced due to the fact that Antonio is seated and Shylock is standing before the Duke. In a Venetian court of justice, the accused is standing with the accuser seated, not the reverse. This gives the impression that Shylock is the one on trial when in fact it is Antonio.
The section of this scene is the point that tells the audience what this trial scene is about. There is a mixture of moods where the Duke addresses Shylock with insults. The atmosphere in the early part of the scene is so tense that it seems as though Shylock himself is being tried. Shakespeare had given Antonio a speech of great dignity "Therefore I do beseech you. Make no offers, use no farther means." It seems designed to further heighten the audience sympathy for Antonio and turn them against Shylock.
When Shylock enters, you can imagine the Elizabethan audience booing; it is obvious that he is the Jew as to what he is wearing. This is the point where the Duke tries to negotiate a different thing with Shylock and asks him to show "gentleness". Shylock is a man of his word and he says he has taken a religious oath. Bassanio is furious at Shylock's answer and offers his life, a bond of friendship.
After the verbal accusations and exchange of insults, it seems Shylock has the upper hand. The audience can now hate Shylock even more. Then Portia enters, no one recognises her, and only the audience knows her true identity. Portia's first words "I did my lord" are all monosyllables, which suggests she will be direct. Her opening question can evoke audience's laughter because the answers are glaringly obvious to all. In this part of the scene, the speech is said. The audience would eagerly wait for Shylock's response, as it counter balances with Shylock's' speech in Act 3 Scene 1 "Hath not a jew eyes?"
Towards the end of the scene the audience will be confused as the accusations are going backwards and forwards, who will win this trial? Shylock is obviously gloating, as he knows he is winning. As Shylock is about to sink his knife into Antonio's Christian skin, the actors want the audience to feel they are really about to witness a bloody action. There is an agonising suspense.
When the trial scene begins, the Duke immediately addresses Shylock to "a stony adversary", which gives an impression to the audience to think that Shylock is not a likeable character. Antonio accepts the verdict of the bond and approaches Shylock. He also wishes to see Bassanio before he dies. Shylock tells the Duke how he'd rather take the option of the pound of flesh than the money and says how it "humours" him.
Bassanio enters and says what a cruel and heartless man Shylock is (showing his love for his friend Antonio). This part tells the audience how strong this friendship is between both friends. He offers Shylock blood money, thrice the original sum but Shylock repetitively refuses "if every ducat in six thousand ducats. Were in six parts ...I would have my bond!" Shylock refuses bluntly without any hesitation. The audience will be ever more strongly prejudiced against all Jews because of Shylock's greed for money.
The Duke asks for advice from Ballario, the learned doctor. He receives a letter from Ballario. Antonio is prepared to die for Bassanio and Shylock is sharpening his knife ready for his revenge until Gratiano calls him "O be thou damned inexcreable dog." Shylock refuses to show mercy many times and is ready to abide to the law "I stand here for the law."
The Duke receives a letter from Ballario saying "a young and learned doctor." Portia arrives (the young learned doctor) fooling the audience and people in court. Portia intervenes and immediately asks who's who, she asks Shylock " then the Jew be merciful" not knowing Shylock's many refusals to the Duke's pleas. Her speech begins "the quality of mercy is not strained" one of the most powerful and famous speeches of Shakespeare. Shakespeare includes a lot of images to stimulate the audience's imagination. He compares mercy to the gentle drops of rain that descend from Heaven "It droppeth as the gentle ran upon the place beneath."
Though this seems to make no impression on Shylock. The sentence "It blesses him that gives and him that takes" much like the quality of friendship between Bossanio and Antonio. Shylock is still refusing and refers to the law "I crave the law" showing more signs of greed. The audience expect that the powerful speech will change Shylock's view but it does not perturb him. The audience will grow more hatred towards him.
Portia and Shylock go on to share lines, a dramatic device, which increases pace and heightens excitement. Portia intelligently encourages Shylock to show how far he will prepare to go for justice. Shylock is happy "how do I honour thee." Once more she asks Shylock to give mercy, but he refuses, "I stay here on my bond!" Portia then gives out the rules, how Shylock is going to use his own knife which he sharpened in front of the audience to cut the pound of flesh and agrees to it "Tis true O wise and upright judge!"
Shylock is very disturbed when Portia suggests a surgeon to be there and says, "is it so nominated in the bond?" and this shows his thirsty side for Antonio's blood. Antonio is prepared to die "I am armed and well prepared" and talks to Bossanio for the last time. This scene is touching compared to the bloodthirsty attitude of Shylock. The audience are reminded about the relationship between the characters in the scene.
By now, the audience will be on the edge of their seats in anticipation of more dramatic occurrence.
Portia reminds the courtroom about Shylock's bond " the law allows it and the court awards it". This is the moment of triumph for Shylock, but Portia cleverly discovers " this bond doth give thee here no jot of blood," because of this certain yet most vital point Shylock is shown justice, he can have revenge but the clear law rule is "if thou dost shed one drop of Christian blood, thy lands and goods are by the rules of Venice."
Shylock is confused about the fact mentioned and is puzzled. At that point Shylock is satisfied to take the money, but knowing that Portia will not let him go without a penalty, he has to give half his goods to Antonio and half to the state and his life to the Duke's mercy. The Duke and Antonio are merciful as they spare his life.
Antonio humiliates him even more because he bequeaths half his goods to Lorenzo, the husband of Jessica, Shylock's daughter and also a Christian. Without settling there, Shylock has to lose one of the most important and meaningful things, his religion. This would satisfy the Elizabethan audience but a modern audience would not be neutral with this sentence. In the end justice was defeated at the jaws of victory.
Portia had cleverly triumphed but the real question is, did she practice upon what she has preached " the quality of mercy". As she did not show mercy towards Shylock at the end.
The character's emotions are clear throughout the script and speak during the trial scene. This causes some of the characters to become vulnerable. Portia uses her knowledge of Jurisprudence to exploit these emotions to her advantage in the trial. She uses cunning strategies to effectively confuse the characters' presence in the court.
Shakespeare adds a bit of light humour to the tense atmosphere of the trial by the ring plot. Portia and Nerissa test their husbands' love for them. Both are disguised and ask for their wedding rings in return of the victory. Both men give their rings away but soon find out it is Portia and Nerissa playing a trick on them.
The two main themes of the play are Justice versus mercy and friendship versus greed. Friend ship is shown when Antonio is prepared to die for his friend, Bassanio and so agreed to the bond even though Bassanio is doubtful " I like not fair terms and a villains mind" Antonio is confident that he will be able to pay up the bond within two months. To the Elizabethan audience, the friendship between males would have been perfectly acceptable as Venice was almost characterised by friendships between men.
An example of love is the love between Portia and Bassanio. He goes to Belmont where he hears " In Belmont is a lady richly left" and so wins her hand in marriage. Contrast to this is Shylock's greed for wealth, due to this account, when his daughter elopes with Lorenzo with all the money.
About eighty per cent of the play is in verse and twenty per cent in prose. Comic and low status characters traditionally use prose. High-status characters speak in verse in serious scenes. The poetic style is thought to be particularly suitable for moments of high dramatic scenes like the court room scene. But both Portia's (very high status) and Narissa speak all of Act 1 Scene 2 in prose. Shylock as a Jew has low status in Venice, and many of his speeches are in prose. The fact that his " hath not a Jew eyes?" is in prose, demonstrates that Shakespeare can use prose and verse effectively to express the characters' feelings. In the trial scene Shylock uses verse because the scene is serious.
Mostly the verse is in blank verse; an example of this is the balcony scene in Act 1 Scene 6 in this play (between Jessica and Lorenzo). Shakespeare uses blank verse to create a dramatic impact. Another language device used by Shakespeare is antithesis. An antithesis is the opposition between two words against each other. This device is used a lot in the trial scene, for example " you must prepare you bosom for his knife". ("Your bosom" in contrast to "his knife") Shakespeare uses it to create conflict through his use of opposites.
Another use of literary device is imagery. Shakespeare uses it particularly as it stimulates our imagination. Portia's speech "the quality of mercy is not strained" is an example, which is full of images to create a more dramatic effect on Shakespeare's stage. Boy actors performed all female roles due to lack of female actors during the time of Shakespeare. However the contemporary audience do not face his problem, usually male and female take the role to heighten romantic exchanges especially between Portia and Bassanio.
Shakespeare successfully combines the themes of comedy, irony, sadness, horror and justice in "The Merchant of Venice" to produce a play full of dry humour and thought provoking storylines. Many aspects of the plot such as the discrimination of Jews are regretfully still in place in today's society. Throughout the play there are also the reoccurring image of the scapegoat. Both men Shylock and Antonio fit this description, with Shylock is clearly the social outcast, who is driven out of society and Antonio represents the goat about to be sacrificed.
Many people regard this scene to be defining Shylock's thirst to take revenge. Well I agree to this as it clearly expresses Shylock's view of Antonio. I do not blame Shylock for this attitude as Antonio has done unforgivable things to him in the past. The court room scene has expressed all characters' thoughts and emotions towards each other. The tension between the Jews and Christians are powerfully explored, though my view is that Shylock should be the winner but he is defeated. The trial scene is brilliantly shown in the courtroom as if a real life event. The actors who take part in this scene show their significance in helping to create a dramatic effect. For Shylock justice had been hanging throughout this scene, creating suspense. Antonio has won the case and a sentence has been given; though I think it is unreasonable.
Shakespeare has successfully used devices to create a great impact on the audience. The effective use of language style and structure contributed effectively to the play's success.
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