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
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An Exploration of the character Shylock in The Merchant of Venice

An Exploration of the character Shylock in "The Merchant of Venice" J.R Brown writes in his introduction to "The Merchant of Venice" that as modern readers we "carry our knowledge of the holocaust throughout the text." Due to the atrocities of the Nazi regime, modern readers are quick to sympathise with the play's Jewish character Shylock and pity his isolation and rejection by Christian society. However when examining Shylock, we must distance ourselves from current, more enlightened attitudes towards the Jewish people and closely analyse the use of language in the text within its historical context so that we may fully appreciate the character Shakespeare wished to portray to his audience, that of "the devil Jew." Before exploring the character of Shylock in "The Merchant of Venice" it is necessary to frame the tale by briefly examining the period in which Shakespeare was writing so that we may understand as E.E Stoll writes "the soil from which the character of Shylock grew." The play was probably written between 1596 and 1598. Despite the debates over the specific date of production there are several more general historical points that must be taken into consideration when exploring the play - particularly in its portrayal of the Jews. Although officially Jews had been banned from England in 1290 and were not formally admitted until the latter days of Cromwell's

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  • Level: AS and A Level
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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

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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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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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Discuss the presentation of the Christians in 'The Merchant of Venice'

Discuss the presentation of the Christians in 'The Merchant of Venice' Although set in Italy, 'The Merchant of Venice' reflects the attitudes of Elizabethan England; it shows many Anti-Semitic traits within the characters and Shylock, a Jew, is viewed as a greedy, manipulative man. However, the play also looks at whether Shylock is to blame for this or the Christians, who torment him because of his religion throughout the play. The first characters that we are shown in 'The Merchant of Venice' are Christians, showing us that Christians will play a very central role within the play. The characters of Solarino and Solanio appear in the first scene with Antonio and, although they do not play a role within the play that aids the plot evolvement, they do give a very good picture of how the majority of Christians perceive the Jews, which is as "currish" and "harsh". However, we do not see this dark side to them immediately; they appear to be jovial, comical characters in the first scene when they are trying to cheer Antonio up, and raise the tone by suggesting they all should "laugh like parrots at a bag-piper". However, as we see more of them throughout the play their true beliefs become very apparent. Even if they do not state bluntly their opinions towards Jews they express their hatred and prejudice in the language they use. For example, when talking about Shylock, they

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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

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  • Level: AS and A Level
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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

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  • Subject: English
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My Perception of Portias Portrayal in the Merchant of Venice

My Perception of Portia's Portrayal in the Merchant of Venice It is very difficult for a modern audience to see the Merchant of Venice as the Elizabethans did; we see this as a play mostly about Shylock, who is without question the most powerful role in the play, and one of Shakespeare's most fascinating characters. Portia's character is extremely debateable seeing as she is this supposedly innocent young woman who conforms to the patriarchal authority of her husband as well as her dead father, yet somehow manages to defeat the men at their own game in the dramatic trial scene and ring scene, in which she is the one who has the control, despite (or because of) the fact she is in disguise. There are a number of ways of trying to avoid confronting the apparent unpredictability in Portia's character. Portia has borrowed her courtroom clothes from her cousin Bellario in Padua, who is in fact a scholar, and at the end of Act 3 Scene 4, we see that she has also asked Bellario for some notes ('What notes and garments he doth give thee'), which could be her guide in the courtroom scene. You can then argue that the difference between Portia as we saw her earlier and as we see her in the courtroom is caused since 'The quality of Mercy' speech was written for Portia by Bellario and she is merely reading it, and that the same is true for the rest of her courtroom performance in which

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Compare and contrast the different worlds and different values of Venice and Belmont as presented in Act 1 of 'The Merchant of Venice'

Compare and contrast the different worlds and different values of Venice and Belmont as presented in Act 1 of 'The Merchant of Venice' Venice and Belmont are cities of contrast. Using examples of language, style of expression and characters I shall compare and contrast Venice as the centre of trade and wealth to the fictional Belmont, a fairytale place where love and happiness are the main concerns. I shall also consider the society that is depicted in each location and look at how this links to views of the audience both in Shakespeare's time and in present day. The audience is introduced to the world of Venice in the first scene. Venice is concerned almost solely with wealth and trade, which mirrors the view the Shakespearean audience would have had of it at the time. The language used by Antonio, Salarino and Solanio is dominated with the subject of trade. "Your mind is tossing on the ocean There where your argosies with portly sail..." The style of language Shakespeare uses varies between Venice and Belmont. The characters in Venice talk in verse using elaborate conceits to show their intelligence as was fashionable at the time. Even when attempting to cheer Antonio up, Salarino uses this as a chance to show off his wit and intelligence. This compares to the simpler but still humorous language used by the women in Belmont and suggest that perhaps it is not

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  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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