The Merchant of Venice
?The Merchant of Venice? was written by William Shakespeare almost certainly between 1596 and 1598 and was first performed at The Theater, London, in 1597. The play is classed as one of the sixteen comedy plays but it is also a ?problem? play due to the tragic elements woven throughout the intricate plot. It was performed in front of a xenophobic, Elizabethan audience who were not particularly well educated or literate but they understood the complexities of the issues being raised in the play and would have been less sympathetic towards Shylock than a modern day audience. The play concludes with a harmonious ending but throughout the plot, reoccurring themes of sadness and tragedy are included. This is why ?The Merchant of Venice? falls into one of the more difficult comedy plays. The play is set in Venice, an ancient civic republic and not a nation ruled by a King or Queen. Venice fascinated the Elizabethans, as it was commercially hospitable to people from all parts of the world e.g. Greeks, Jews and Protestants. The city was also a trading centre of great importance; Venice itself was a Catholic city and was politically independent. A place of great beauty, luxury and extremely artistic, it is the perfect setting for ?The Me
Portia not only frees Antonio at this point but also convicts Shylock of attempted murder. Shylock cannot go through with the bond and is forced to give up his fortune and to convert from Jewry to Christianity Shylock is a usurer, a person who lends sums of money to others, charging vast amounts of interest. However, Antonio also lends amounts of money, but minus the interest. This is one of the main reasons why Shylock hates Antonio with a vengeance as Antonio is supposedly causing Shylocks´s profits to drop. Shylock also hates Antonio for the differences in their lifestyles and religions-
Some topics in this essay:
Merchant Venice,
Bassanio Shylock-,
Hath Jew,
God Portia,
Christian Shylock,
Duke Venetian,
Jew Venice,
Theater London,
Elizabethan England,
Shylock Antonio,
merchant venice,
scene 1,
comedy plays play,
shylock hates antonio,
act 4,
comedy plays,
plays play,
shylock hates,
4 scene,
hates antonio,
act 4 scene,
4 scene 1,
shylock antonio,
elizabethan times,
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Approximate Word count = 1866
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)
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