Merchant of Venice - Comparing and Contrasting Antonio and Shylock
Comparing and Contrasting Antonio and Shylock The play is mostly built on racism against Jews around 1290 when Jews were expelled from England. "The Merchant of Venice" is one of Shakespeare's most accessible plays. The play is a comedy, however a modern audience consider it a tragic-comedy, and the play has an underlying plot of considerable moral dimension. This is because a Shakespearean audience would have believed that prejudice against Jews was acceptable, and would have believed "The Merchant of Venice" to be funny, a Jew who seems to have everything and at the end looses everything. Today, however it would believed to be a tragic-comedy because anti-Semitism is not acceptable and jokes against Jews would not be considered as funny. There are three main characters, portrayed in ways uncharacteristic of Elizabethan times: Antonio the wealthy merchant, Shylock the greedy usurer and the heiress Portia. Antonio is an ideal friend and is idolised within the community he is a wealthy man. He also lends money but does not charge interest. Antonio hates Shylock but not purely because he is a Jew. He disagrees with Antonio's money lending to make interest. He irritates Shylock because he helps people pay off their debts to Shylock before they have to have a forfeit. Shylock, on the other hand, is a money obsessed usurer. He charges great amounts of interest and if it is not
How Does Shakespeare Influence Audience Opinion Of Shylock in 'The Merchant Of Venice'.
How Does Shakespeare Influence Audience Opinion Of Shylock in 'The Merchant Of Venice' Shakespeare influences audience opinion in many different ways in 'The Merchant Of Venice'. However, some of the devices he uses may have differing effects on Elizabethan and modern audiences. Elizabethans had many prejudiced stereotypes that Shakespeare includes in his play. There was less diversity of cultures when Shakespeare wrote the play, and therefore there was a lot more bad feeling towards different races and religions. Elizabethans were also more religious than people are nowadays, so there feelings towards religion and religious beliefs were much stronger than they would be today. The Elizabethans did not like the Jews, mainly because of the stereotypes that were portrayed of them. Jews were seen to be money grabbing and the Elizabethan's disagreed with their ideas and values about life. The play was set in Venice, Italy where there was a law of equality which allowed trade to run smoothly as much of the Venetian way of life was based on trading. This would have an effect on the Elizabethan audience because Elizabethans believed that generosity was a great virtue to have, and they believed that Jews were not at all generous, something which is definite of Shylock's character. They also disliked usurers and merchants because they went against the Christian values. The play is
If a man has prejudged, negative opinions against a group of people, because of race, colour, wealth or any other reason, can he be considered to be “uneducated” in the modern world or has society merely educated him with narrow-minded views?
The Merchant of Venice If a man has prejudged, negative opinions against a group of people, because of race, colour, wealth or any other reason, can he be considered to be "uneducated" in the modern world or has society merely educated him with narrow-minded views? The concept of racism, prejudices and inequalities is dealt with throughout Shakespeare's "A merchant of Venice" and although it was written around 1598, like most of Shakespeare's works the themes are universal and timeless which makes them very relevant to contemporary society. The main themes of the play are justice and mercy and how these is given and received in the bitter relationship between Antonio, the Christian merchant and Shylock, a Jewish moneylender. "The merchant of Venice" is considered to be one of Shakespeare's comedies as it has a happy ending for most of the characters and an Elizabethan audience would find Shylock's tragedies amusing, but in the last four hundred years society has drastically changed. Would a modern audience have a different opinion on the treatment of Shylock or would the Elizabethan values remain? Fear of the unknown is part of human nature and the Jewish religion and its followers were very unknown to the vast majority people in Shakespeare's time. Jews started to enter England in 1066 and in the course of a generation they established communities in
The play "The Merchant of Venice" is described as Romantic Comedy. One aspect of Romantic Comedy is that it should contain Romance. This is evident in the fictional romance of Portia's marriage lottery in the Three Casket Story.
Hamza Jafree 10W2 The Merchant of Venice The play "The Merchant of Venice" is described as Romantic Comedy. One aspect of Romantic Comedy is that it should contain Romance. This is evident in the fictional romance of Portia's marriage lottery in the Three Casket Story. Another aspect of Romantic comedy is evident when the central character Antonio is saved from Death and Disaster. The rule of comedy is that however serious the conflict may be, it should "all end well" in a resolution. As the Italian poet Dante (1256-1326) wrote: "A comedy is journey through hell to purgatory and up to heavens which ends well, but does not make the readers laugh." The play is described, as a comedy obeying all the conventions its settings is urban in Venice and countryside in Belmont, its characters middle class. It uses prose and iambic pentameter, there is a clownish comic servant (Lancelot) and a jester (Gratiano) Plot confusion arises from disguise and disaster is avoided, complications are resolved, marriage concluded. The main thematic and structural elements of the play all belong to the category of Romantic comedy rather than tragedy or history. The basic action of the play is moved by two interconnecting stories: . Bassanio's courtship to a wealthy heiress of Belmont, Portia, which is straightforward romance. 2. The story of the flesh bond is an ancient time narrative known to
How just is the outcome of the trial scene for Shylock in the Merchant of Venice?
Sanjoy Roy 11 Latymer How just is the outcome of the trial scene for Shylock in the Merchant of Venice? The trial scene of Act 4 Scene 1 is central to the whole theme of the Merchant of Venice, presenting Shylock's case for justice. It is a transforming scene hence making the events that occur important on the impact of the whole play. Justice is the key to the whole scene so when we say just, we mean a fair and moral judgement in relation to the law. In Shylock's viewpoint, what would be just for him is to have what he wants in the bond- a pound of flesh. Another central theme to the scene is mercy and the need for it alongside justice. The importance of mercy is referred to in this scene by the Duke and Portia in disguise. Portia describes it as 'the gentle rain from heaven' (line 181) as justice alone cannot bring fairness without mercy since 'mercy seasons justice' (line 193). So when Portia says 'then must the Jew be merciful' (line 178) she doesn't mean that Shylock must show mercy by law, but by being compassionate to Antonio and to forget what he has failed to do is the only moral course of action to achieving true justice and fairness. Nevertheless, as we see in the scene, the fixity of Shylock keeps him by the letter of the law so that he can gain revenge on behalf of himself who has suffered dearly. The whole aspect of the trial scene is to show the situation of
Shylock - Victim or Villain - What is your assessment of the presentation of the character and role of Shylock in 'The Merchant of Venice'
Shylock: Victim or Villain What is your assessment of the presentation of the character and role of Shylock in 'The Merchant of Venice'? Victim or villain. These two words are the total opposites of each other. A victim is someone that 'we' in general should, or may, feel sorry for and attempt to sympathise or empathise with. But a villain is the one person that people love to hate. The best example of this I feel is pantomime. The victims or heroes are clear-cut and the audience willingly cheers them. But as soon as the villain walks on stage he is hissed and booed, unfortunately it is not as simple as this in 'The Merchant of Venice' and how the audience react to the characters is all important in making the distinction between victim or villain. Although the title of the play: 'The Merchant of Venice', implies Antonio is the central character, I think that Shylock is the most important, often when he is off-stage, in the words and actions of others. There is still a debate over whether Shylock is wholly villainous, or whether his circumstances and life force him to a certain extent in his actions. This difference in interpretations can be highlighted in the way audiences would have reacted when the play was written, and how this compares to a more modern insight into the play. In particular, this reaction to Shylock is pivotal to the big question, victim or villain. In
Background to the "Merchant of Venice."
Background to the "Merchant of Venice." During the 16th Century, William Shakespeare wrote an extraordinary play and called it the "Merchant of Venice." Elizabethans of this time, were extremely anti-Semitic and because of their anti-Semitism the subject matter of the play alone would have grabbed the audiences' attention. Inspirations for the "Merchant of Venice" came from two different places for Shakespeare. Firstly there was a play showing called the "Jew of Malta." In this play, written by Christopher Marlowe the Jews were portrayed as monsters. Again, prior to Shakespeare's play Dr Lopez-who was queen Elizabeth's physician, was accused of attempting to poison the Queen. The events only added to the Elizabethans Semitism and because of these events the Elizabethans were not happy or pleasant towards the Jews. The "Merchant of Venice" seemed to be a perfect opportunity to express their hate for the Jewish nation. "Lopez" is the Spanish word for wolf. A wolf is a type of dog and throughout the book we read of Shakespeare referring to the Jews as dogs. Once again the Elizabethans would not have seen anything wrong with this, for that was how they referred to the Jews themselves. What we need to realise is that there isn't only one audience; in fact there are two- the 16th Century audience and the 21st Century audience. Whereas people of the 16th Century agreed with
The Merchant of Venice Is Shylock a victim or a villain?
The Merchant of Venice Is Shylock a victim or a villain? The Merchant of Venice is a play written by William Shakespeare in the Elizabethan period. It is set in Venice, situated in the northeast of Italy, in the 15th century. The play is primarily looking at the treatment of the Jewish nation in Venice but also the great conflicts between Christians and Jews. The attitude differences between an Elizabethan audience to the modern-day viewpoint also brings further depth to the play when viewing it now. Primarily the play is about two characters; Antonio, a prosperous and popular Christian merchant who has many friends and is dearly loved, and Shylock, a Jewish moneylender who earns his wealth through charging usance on loans. In the first scene of the play, we see Antonio as a generous, wealthy, popular, loved Christian merchant. Bassanio is his closest friend who owes Antonio money. However, because of how generous Antonio is he is still willing to lend money to Bassanio, which he needs to win the hand in marriage of fair Portia; this actually breaks Antonio's heart because of how he loves his best friend. Antonio, however, doesn't have the ready capital at that time to loan Bassanio because all of his capital is tied up in merchant ships at sea, but he is willing to allow Bassanio to take out a loan from a moneylender in his name. Even in this opening scene we see the
How does Shakespeare portray character and relationships in Act 1 Scene 3 of 'The Merchant of Venice'?
The Merchant of Venice First Draft How does Shakespeare portray character and relationships in Act Scene 3 of 'The Merchant of Venice'? 'The Merchant of Venice' is one of Shakespeare's most popular plays and Act 1 Scene 3 is a key scene. There are three characters involved in the scene and these are: Antonio, Bassanio and Shylock. Shakespeare portrays their characters effectively as well as the contrasting relationships between them. He uses various themes, his language and style and the plot of the bond to achieve this. Before I look at scene 3 it is important to look at the first scene of the play. At the beginning of Act 1 Scene 1 Antonio, the merchant of Venice, is portrayed as a troubled man, "In sooth, I know not why I am so sad," (line 1) and a character in low spirits as his friends Salerio and Solanio try to raise them. He seems to be in a state of sadness as he and his friends discuss possible reasons this. Looking for reasons for the sadness is also a convenient way for Shakespeare to tell us how highly Antonio is regarded by his friends, and to make sure we know all about his business interests. We learn that he is a businessman. Antonio is a character who has confidence in his decisions, because even though Salerio and Solanio discuss their nervous feelings about one of his merchant ventures, and we learn that there are many risks and worries facing a merchant
Shylock: Victim or Villain?
English Coursework Shylock: Victim or Villain? "The Merchant of Venice was probably written in either 1596 or 1597, after such early plays such as Romeo & Juliet and Richard III but before the great tragedies of Shakespeare's later life. The Merchant of Venice is an intriguing drama of love greed, and in some aspects racism but most importantly revenge. The cross dressing heroine and the Italian location makes it similar to earlier comedies but the characters of Shylock and Portia Shakespeare's first great heroine, elevate it to the first rank of his plays. (Internet: www.shakespeare.com) Shylock is a Jewish moneylender in Venice; the Christians have abused him in his city, especially Antonio and his friends. I think that this is partly because Shylock is the only Jew in most of the city. "His quest for revenge consumes his cunning one-track mind." (Internet) This makes the audience think whether he is a victim? Or whether he is a villain? In my essay I will be looking for this and supporting my ideas with evidence from quotes from the text. Shylock is a very different character from the others because of his religion, beliefs, and the way he dresses and other characters like Antonio think that he is a target for them to pick on and be nasty and mean to him because of his creed, Shylock tells us some of the names Antonio has called him and also the way he has