"All that glistens is not gold" Explore the theme of deception in the Merchant of Venice. Why is it an important theme in the play?

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"All that glistens is not gold" Explore the theme of deception in the Merchant of Venice. Why is it an important theme in the play?

"Gilded tombs do worms infold"

Appearances may be deceptive and it is the use of the outwardly deceptive three caskets from which Portia's husband will be decided which shows the danger of judging by appearances.

This theme of deception is used throughout the play to mislead and confuse so things may not always be what they seem. Shakespeare uses deception to enhance the unfolding drama and involve his audience more fully in the play - the audience are party to deceptions which the characters themselves are unaware of.

Deceptions are a common occurrence in Shakespeare's plays. Shakespeare wrote about what he saw around him and so his observations could be said to reflect Elizabethan life. At the time of his writing, there were constant rebellions against the queen and so plots and deceptions were common place. Shakespeare also used his observations of Elizabethan attitudes to other cultures. Prejudice was common and the word "Jew" applied to hard hearted unscrupulous money lenders. An Elizabethan audience would have been happy to see a Jew, Spaniard or a Moor deceived and Shakespeare clearly tried to give his audience what it wanted. In contrast, the strong and witty Portia would have been admired by many, particularly ladies and even though she appears greedy, money grabbing and racist this would have been accepted in Elizabethan England. Any deception carried out by Portia would therefore be admired and applauded by Shakespeare's audience and it is not surprising therefore that many deceptions are carried out by her.

There are two main types of deception commonly used by Shakespeare. The first type are cruel and greedy. These deceptions are selfish. A character in the play is deceiving another for personal gain or out of spite or to gain revenge. The character does not think about the long term consequences of the deception, being only concerned with their own want.

The second group of deceptions, in contrast to the first are designed to help others. As Shakespeare's plot unfolds it becomes clear that these deceptions are somewhat fewer in number.

A major theme running though the play is that of Christians disliking Jews and Jews returning the feelings. Towards the start of the play Shakespeare introduces deception when Antonio (a Christian) wants a bond from Shylock (a Jew). Shylock agrees to the bond under the condition that Shylock gets a pound of Antonio's flesh for each pound he cannot return. This bond seems to come out of friendship from Shylock and he describes "I would be friends with you, and have your love…". The audience, however, knows at this point that Shylock is deceiving Antonio; although Shylock pretends to like Antonio "Antonio is a good man" and wants to be friends he has already expressed to the audience his hatred for Antonio. Shylock also describes the bond as "this merry bond". A merry bond is a bond which is not serious, a joke, and if the terms of the bond were broken you would not expect to see Shylock wanting to take up the strict terms of it. Again, this is another deception as later in the play Shylock wants full revenge by taking his pounds of flesh from Antonio. These are two deceptions played on Antonio by Shylock. An Elizabethan audience might expect nothing less of a Jew. By hiding his hatred for Antonio and making light of the pound of flesh, Shylock succeeds in his deception.

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The next cruel deception I am going to focus on is the elopement of Jessia and Lorenzo; a deception in this instant against Shylock. Lorenzo doesn't care about the consequences to Shylock as Shylock is a Jew and Lorenzo doesn't respect him because of this. He describes Shylock as "A faithless Jew". Jessia doesn't respect her father either and dislikes being a Jew. Jessica tells the audience how she is "ashamed to be my father's child" and makes the audience feel sorry for her by describing her unhappy home life "our house is hell…". Jessica is to be disguised as ...

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