Who contributes more to The Merchant of Venice Shylock or Portia?

Who contributes more to "The Merchant of Venice" - Shylock or Portia? "The Merchant of Venice" is a play written by William Shakespeare, between the years 1596 and 1598. It is of the tragic comedy genre that Shakespeare is so familiar with; the play's plot illustrates how friendship and love triumph over greed. "The Merchant of Venice" consists of many intriguing characters, although there are two individuals that contribute to the play massively and can be appreciated from different perspectives. These characters are Shylock and Portia. Shylock is definitely the most complicated character within The Merchant of Venice, due to the fact that he possesses the two major roles of being both a villain and a victim. At first Shylock is portrayed as a monstrosity, who lusts for Antonio's life. Although when a deeper understanding of Shylock is attained, it appears that he is a righteous member of the community who has endured both physical and verbal abuse for his religion. He is first encountered in Act 1, Scene 3 were Antonio and Bassanio wish to receive 3000 ducats from Shylock's money lending business. Shylock is shocked that Antonio has came to him for a favour, "He hath disgraced me half a million, laughed at my losses, mocked at my gains, scorned my nation, thwarted my bargains, cooled my friends, heated mine enemies and what's his reason? I am a Jew" This listing

  • Word count: 1512
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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Merchant of Venice Notes

Act I-Scene 1 Walking along a street in Venice, Antonio (the "merchant" of the title) confesses to his friends Salarino and Salanio that lately he has felt unaccountably sad. They have noticed it, and they suggest that Antonio is probably worried about the safety of his merchant ships, which are exposed to storms at sea and attacks by pirates. Antonio denies this and also denies that he is in love, a possibility that both of his friends think might explain Antonio's pensiveness. Salarino concludes that Antonio's moodiness must be due simply to the fact that Antonio is of a naturally melancholy disposition. At this point, their friends Bassanio, Lorenzo, and Gratiano join them, and after an exchange of courtesies, Salarino and Salanio excuse themselves. Gratiano takes a long look at his old friend Antonio and playfully chides him for being so solemn and so unduly silent. Gratiano says that he himself never has "moods"; in contrast to Antonio, Gratiano is determined to always "play the fool." Lorenzo intimates that sometimes Gratiano is too much the fool-that is, he is too loquacious. He and Gratiano depart, promising to meet the others at dinner. Left alone with Antonio, Bassanio assures him that he should not worry about Gratiano's critical remarks. Antonio then changes the subject abruptly; he asks Bassanio for more information, as promised, about the certain lady to whom

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  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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Merchant of Venice - Do you sympathise with Shylock? Consider the presentation of his character and the way he is treated by Venetian Society.

Merchant of Venice Essay Do you sympathise with Shylock? Consider the presentation of his character and the way he is treated by Venetian Society. Shakespeare was a playwright in the 17th Century. He was born on the 23rd April, 1564, in Stratford-on-Avon, England and died the same day and same place in 1616. He lived comfortably with his family until he was 13. He father was involved in local affairs. He married at the age of 18 to Anne Hathaway who was possible pregnant. He attended Stratford-on-Avon's Grammar School. His father's financial problems forced Shakespeare to leave school when he was 13. He never attended a college and later became an actor in London at the age of 22. Shakespeare's most major accomplishes were Romeo and Juliet (1594-95), Julius Caesar (1599), Hamlet (1600), Macbeth (1605-06) and of course the 36 plays, 154 sonnets and 2 narrative poems that he wrote. Shakespeare owned the Globe Theatre in London; he was the most popular writer of his own age. Many people consider him to be the most gifted writer of all time and many of his phrases have been entered into the English Language. In this essay we are going to look at one of Shakespeare's most popular plays; The Merchant of Venice which was written between 1594 and 1596 in the Elizabethan Period. The play is a tragic-comedy written in his second period. It is set in Venice in the late 15th century.

  • Word count: 634
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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How has Radfords film version explored notions about value and culture in Shakespeares The Merchant of Venice?

Extension Essay How has Radford's appropriation explored notions about value and culture in Shakespeare's 'The Merchant of Venice'? If one was to define Value as something held in high esteem and Culture as ones beliefs and customs then Radford's appropriation explores the notions about Value and Culture in a different light to those conveyed in the original text by Shakespeare. Michael Radford composed a film appropriation of Shakespeare's 'Merchant of Venice' and although it follows the plot of the original text, the story itself has a different outlook. This may be due to the traumatic history of the Jewish people in regards to WW2, the holocaust and related events around that period of time. With the protagonist of Merchant of Venice, Shylock, being Jewish and facing severe hardships the tone of the text differs from the film adaptation. It is mainly through Shylock that the differences from original text to film are visible, due to it being the portrayal of his character, which is subject to the change in notions of Value and Culture. Michael Radford has taken Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice that was cast as a comedy and used film techniques to warp perceptions and conform the story into that of a tragedy. One notion about culture that is extensively explored in both the original work by Shakespeare and the appropriation by Radford in Merchant of Venice is the

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  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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Show how Shakespeare employs tensions and oppositions to present conflicting principals and prejudices of the time.

Show how Shakespeare employs tensions and oppositions to present conflicting principals and prejudices of the time 'The Merchant of Venice' can be seen as a series of tense oppositions. Shakespeare writes about many conflicting issues that were controversial at the time, but does not enforce any opinion on the audience, inviting them to form their own conclusions. The contrasts in 'The Merchant of Venice' are important because they incite the audience to consider moral issues such as prejudice, discrimination and bigotry. Shakespeare creates the characters with the intention of relating them to the common person; the sins and discrepancies in their lives are typical of the everyday goings on in Venice at the time. I will consider love and hate, comedy and tragedy, justice and mercy, expectations versus reality and finally men against women. All of the oppositions are linked to the concerns of Shakespeare's audience. This means that Judaism, for example, was a concern and also hatred to Shakespeare's audience. The play was consequently very eye-catching and appealing to the people of Shakespeare's time. 'The Merchant of Venice' is a story of love and hate, and both emotions are expressed powerfully in the play. On the one hand the play appears to be full of love and friendship: Portia and Bassanio; Jessica and Lorenzo; Gratiano and Nerissa. However, bitterness and hatred

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  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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Shylock in The Merchant of Venice.

Shylock - Although critics tend to agree that Shylock is The Merchant of Venice's most noteworthy figure, no consensus has been reached on whether to read him as a bloodthirsty bogeyman, a clownish Jewish stereotype, or a tragic figure whose sense of decency has been fractured by the persecution he endures. Certainly, Shylock is the play's antagonist, and he is menacing enough to imperil seriously the happiness of Venice's businessmen and young lovers alike. Shylock is also, however, a creation of circumstance, and even in his single-minded pursuit of a pound of flesh, his frequent mentions of the cruelty he has endured at Christian hands make it hard for us to label him a natural born monster. In one of Shakespeare's most famous monologues, for example, Shylock argues that Jews are humans and calls his quest for vengeance the product of lessons taught to him by the cruelty of Venetian citizens. On the other hand, Shylock's coldly calculated attempt to revenge the wrongs done to him by murdering his persecutor, Antonio, prevents us from viewing him in a primarily positive light. Shakespeare gives us unmistakably human moments, but it often steers us against Shylock as well, painting him as a miserly, cruel, and prosaic figure. There are, perhaps, fewer disturbing lines in all of Shakespeare than Shylock's promise to Solanio and Salerio in Act III, scene i, that he will outdo

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  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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Compare and Contrast life as we know it in Belmont, with life in Venice.

Merchant Of Venice - Coursework Mark Jenkins 11TH set 1* Compare and Contrast life as we know it in Belmont, with life in Venice. Belmont is totally different to Venice in some respects and ways, yet startlingly similar in others. Life in Belmont is at a slower, more relaxed pace than with life in Venice, where it is all hustle and bustle with the merchants. Belmont is also set back in the hills and countryside, which makes it a much more peaceful place to live simply because there is no noise from the markets and the Rialto in Venice. Venice is where all the merchants do their trading and selling, and Belmont is for the better off people, the aristocrats and the like, who prefer a more tranquil outlook on life, rather than rushing around with all the others. It is very fitting that Portia lives in Belmont, rather than Venice, because she seems to be the type who would prefer the quietness of the countryside, this also reflects her mind also, the calm collected way she acts, compared with the hot - headedness of some of Venice`s merchants. The similarities between Belmont and Venice are quite startling in some instances, because people have differring views on the word beautiful - for example in a modern world, big business people find large cities beautiful, and walkers in the countryside find that beautiful - it depends on the angle you look at it. Venice is a

  • Word count: 550
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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Analysing Shylock's Dual-Role as Villain and Victim

Analysing Shylock's Dual-Role as Villain and Victim Shakespeare presents Shylock as both a villain and a victim in 'The Merchant of Venice'. To what extent is this true? Shylock is shown as a villain because he has attempted to kill Antonio, he's abused Jessica's freedom and cares more about his money than his daughter. He is, however, presented as misunderstood and a victim, because not only is he physically abused in the text (he is spat on and kicked), his business is undermined, and he is an alien in his own city. A modern audience would not understand Shylock's personality as well as an Elizabethan audience, or at least as Shakespeare would have seen Shylock, because the racial tensions between Christians and Jews at Shakespeare's time have been mostly resolved, and because it was written for an Elizabethan, Christian audience. Consequently, it shows Christians in a forgiving light, in that their actions against Shylock, the Jew, are largely exonerated, both morally and in the courts. Jews in Elizabethan times were generally thought of as murderous, sometimes accused of poisoning wells and wiping out whole (Christian) villages at once. One of Shakespeare's contemporaries, the playwright Christopher Marlowe, portrayed one of his Jewish characters, Barabbas, as a villainous, well-poisoning murderer. Shakespeare however, presents Shylock as 'a villain of circumstance', he

  • Word count: 1535
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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The Merchant of Venice

The Merchant of Venice 'Despite giving some good lines to Shylock this is ultimately an Anti-Semitic play "Examine Shakespeare's representation of Jewish people in the play": Though "The Merchant of Venice" the reader finds Shakespeare's representation of Shylock as a man who is hated by many, and he indeed has moments of extreme irrationality and inflexible assertion that make him a rather unattractive and even terrible character. Yet, there are many moments in which Shakespeare overcomes the reader to consider the different angles of this most interesting character. We can say with certainty that Shylock is not without motivation. His treatment at the hands of the Christian merchants is decidedly un-Christian. They spit on him, call him a dog and finally take half of his money and force him to convert. Shakespeare presents Shylock sympathy at the beginning of the play, when Shylock claims a Jewish person is equality with a Christian. All this is in spite of Shylock's famous plea for sympathy in Act III, Scene I: "I am a Jew. Hath not a Jew eyes? Hath not a Jew hands, organs, dimensions, senses... If you prick us, do we not bleed? If you tickle us do we not laugh? If you poison us, do we not die?" Shylock begins by eloquently reminding the Venetians that all people, even those who are not part of the majority culture, are human. A Jew, he reasons, is equipped with the

  • Word count: 2084
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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The Differences between Venice & Belmont.

The Differences between Venice & Belmont In the play "The Merchant of Venice" by William Shakespeare the settings could not be more adverse, they are set in the most opposite atmospheres. One of the settings is named "Belmont", this is Portia's house.... the hero of the play. Whilst the other setting is "Venice" where Shylock... The evil character lives. Portia is a witty and clever character that endears herself to the audience by saving Antonio from Shylock's clutches; Whilst Shylock is evil and bitter. I agree with the book, "The times of Great Shakespeare" which says that Shylock is "fighting a loosing battle against his persecutors". The play is about when good and evil clash. Belmont is a pleasant and peaceful place compared to Venice, Which is busy and depressing, this atmosphere is created in the readers mind by the continual prejudice and vengeful attitude portrayed by the characters. In Venice there is a large amount of friendships based on money, Venice is the setting for The Rialto and therefore the business side of the story. The whole play is about what happens when contrasting plots and personalities collide, e.g. (Belmont = nice, Venice = nasty. Portia = Heroin, Shylock = villain) In Venice people are prejudice against Jews because it is allowed in their religion to lend money as a business. The Christians in Venice are against money being lent

  • Word count: 1060
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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