Merchant Of Venice - Revenge, Bigotry & Loyalty
The Merchant of Venice can be classified as an early Shakespearean comedy, though it examines serious themes such as revenge, bigotry and loyalty. Revenge is the most distinct and important issue in the play and can be seen through Shylock’s motives. It can be defined as ‘the hurt of damage done to pay someone back for the bad things they have done to you’. In order to get his revenge on Antonio, Shylock expects a pound of flesh if the loan is not paid back within three months. The thought of giving a pound of flesh is absurd but to Shylock, this is a once in a lifetime opportunity he must grasp. The idea of bigotry is also very evident in Act 3 scene 1 and Shakespeare does this by giving Shylock a speech. In this long and passionate speech, Shylock questions the reason why he is being disgraced and discriminated and this makes the reader sympathise for the misfortunate Jew. Antonio and Bassanio are two of the other main characters in this Shakespearean play. Though many critics consider a unique relationship between the two, loyalty plays a major role in the play. Antonio offers to borrow money from Shylock for his friend Bassanio, who needs it desperately in order to travel to Belmont and win the heart of a beauty queen, P
In Act 2 scene 2, a different type of loyalty can be seen. Lancelot Gobbo decides to betray his Master, Shylock, and go to attain work from Bassanio. Shakespeare uses this character as a comic relief and throughout the play, Lancelot Gobbo is the comedy clown. “Well, my conscience says, ‘Lancelot, budge not.’ ‘Budge,’ says the fiend. ‘Budge not,’ says my conscience.” Lancelot’s reasoning is confused and digressive, but it ultimately brings him to the realisation that since the Jew is “a king of devil”, he should not serve him, although the conscience usually requires a man to give loyal service to his master. Lancelot speaks of Shylock as the devil’s “incarnation” and this shows the extent of his hatred for the selfish Jew. In Conclusion, revenge, bigotry and loyalty are all important and significant themes within the play ‘The Merchant of Venice’. Shakespeare also uses many literal techniques to get across the his ideas such as emotive language, descriptive words, exaggeration, and imagery. Revenge is the key theme and is relevant with Shylock and his bond with Antonio, while loyalty can be seen between Antonio and his best friend Bassanio. In the most famous speech in the play, Shylock talks about how he is being treated unjustly simply because he is a Jew and this coincides with the idea of bigotry. Revenge is one of the main themes in the play and the character Shylock symbolises evil in the world. The traits of his character are rapidly laid down in the first three acts, his focus on money, hatred of Christians, pride in Jewish identity, caution, and calculation. The audience’s attitude towards Shylock varies throughout the play, first the reader is shocked at his stunning hatred towards Christians, but then Shylock talks about his treatment by Antonio and
Some topics in this essay:
Jew” Shakespeare,
Christians Shylock,
Lancelot Gobbo,
Solanio Shylock,
Antonio Bassanio,
Antonio Shylock,
Portia Revenge,
Venice’ Shakespeare,
Bassanio Belmont,
Merchant Venice,
pound flesh,
act 2,
2 scene,
antonio bassanio,
act 2 scene,
disgraced hindered,
scorned nation thwarted,
scene 1,
act 3,
3 scene,
cooled friends,
extent hatred,
thwarted bargains cooled,
gains scorned nation,
mocked gains scorned,
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Approximate Word count = 1220
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)
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