... for his bond to be followed and the constant reminder of how much he has lent Antonio - three thousand ducats. This gives the reader a powerful impression of who and what the character of Shylock is as a person. With these thoughts in the audience's heads, it is easy to see why Shylock is doomed from the start of the trial even before it has begun.The Merchant of Venice? is a comedy play so we know ... that the play is set to include a harmonious ending, common sense ... allows us to guess that Shylock will lose the trial. Dramatic tension is induced when Portia, disguised as a young m...

• Word Count: 1866
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• Grade Level: High School

... play is in my eyes. Portia doing what she can for her one true love, Bassanio. Money is of no importance to her especially when it comes to the happiness or unhappiness of Bassanio. There are many places in the Merchant of Venice that show Portia and Bassanio's indifference, and what seems to be apathy toward wealth. Many are hidden and many are as clear as day ... to the reader. I found that reading into The Merchant of Venice was a fun and interesting experience. The way Shakespeare wrote his plays makes people really ... left him in debt to others. At first money seems to be of some...

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• Grade Level: High School

... to the vast history being lost. In this play, the merchant, Antonio, is put into a life-threatening position because of his past intolerance of the Jews, and the way he has treated them. By the end he has learned that tolerance is important, as well as mercy, justice and friendship. A tiny voice in the overwhelming darkness of our own ignorance, the Merchant of Venice speaks out, imploring the world to ... become more tolerant, to improve conditions for people everywhere. Despite personal differences in things as prominent as religion, the play is begging us to show tolerance, portrayed...

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Examine and evaluate some different interpretations of the role of Shylock in "the Merchant of Venice". "The Merchant of Venice", one of Shakespeare's comedies, is based around a group of Venetian Christians. The real power of the play however lies in the characterization and history of Shylock, a Jewish usurer, who charges high rates of interest on his lendings. Shylock is dedicated to his faith and has a good knowledge of the Torah, which he uses in his general conversation, showing he is a well-educated ... figure. As John Palmer explains, "The man ... ...

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... describes them to her liking after Nerissa names then. The suitors she scathingly attacks are, Prince of Naples, Count Palentine, Monsieur Le Bon and Young Baron Falconbridge of England. Portia is then shown as highly intellectual in Act 4 Scene 1 where she intelligently and wittingly saves Antonio from death at the point of Shylock's, a Jew, knife. In The Merchant Of Venice, the following happens - this is a brief outline. Bassanio wants to ... borrow money to court Portia as he has none, but, Antonio's money is tied up in his assets in the ships sent abroad, therefore Antonio borrows ...

• Word Count: 1430
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• Grade Level: High School

The merchant of Venice "The Merchant of Venice" by William Shakespeare is a play of two parts. One part follows the fortunes of Bassanio, the merchant's closest friend, Antonio, in his attempts to court the beautiful and rich heiress of Belmont, Portia. The other part to the play deals with Antonio and his bond he makes with Shylock, a wealthy Jew. He makes this bond in his name to finance his dear friend Basanio's courtship. Antonio ... agrees with Shylock that if the three thousand ducats ... is seen to be displaying greed, he is only looking after his possessions and business interest. Sh...

• Word Count: 2486
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• Grade Level: High School

The Merchant of Venice In the world of Shakespeare's play, the Merchant of Venice, contracts in their many forms are very important. There are binding legal agreements such as Shylocks contract with Antonio and the legalitorys surrounding Portia's fathers will. Less rigorous are the traditional expectations, which bind one person to another: Duty to ones parent or the expectation that money borrowed from a friend will be returned. Further-more promises are also ... ring. Which when you part from, lose, or give away Let it presage the ruin of your love" (III, 2, 170-174) Nerissa a good friend ...

• Word Count: 1808
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• Grade Level: High School

Anti Semitism was a strong theme in the Merchant of Venice. This play was considered a comedy in its day which suggests that the English thought it was funny to see Shylock persecuted for believing in the Jewish faith. The friends of Shakespeare who decided that Merchant of Venice was a comedy, justified this by saying the play was about love and marriage. These people left out the part when Shylock lends money to Antonio, ... and but a deal was made that Antonio would pay Shylock or have a pound of flesh removed. Antonio did not repay Shylock, ... yet another hold on you. It is enacted in t...

• Word Count: 1361
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... were anti-Semitic, driven by their hatred of usury and the ancient tradition of antipathy between the two religions, Christianity and Judaism. In the early Middle Ages, Jews were accused of exploiting Christians, and they were banned from England. They were not allowed back into the country until several decades after The Merchant of Venice was written. Nevertheless, a small group of the Jews did exist in the country and they were tolerated but they ... were never really a part of Elizabethan life. This historical fact emphasizes Shylock's position as an outsider. The absence of Jews in...

• Word Count: 1692
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... 's The Merchant of Venice, justice and mercy are distinct opposites, with the former personified by Shylock, and the latter by Christians such as Antonio. One need look no further than Shylock's "Hath not a Jew eyes" soliloquy spoken in prose (III.i.52-72), which stands in counterpoint to Portia's speech on the "quality of mercy" in iambic pentameter (IV.i.190-212), to see the two ... "[Antonio] lends out money gratis and brings down The rate of usance here with us in Venice" (I.iii.55-5). Shakespeare portrays Shylock, driven by his desire to profit from his loans, as the antagonist, figh...

• Word Count: 1495
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In the play "The Merchant of Venice" by William Shakespeare many forms of prejudice are expressed through various characters in the duration of the play. There are several prejudice comments made by various characters, however, Shakespeare also includes statements that support his tolerance. This is what has aroused the controversial question of whether or not he shares the common prejudice of the Elizabethan era. After examining the play, we see that Shakespeare is somewhat prejudice, however ... see that Shakespeare is a tolerable and unbiased man through these sections of "The Merchant of ...

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• Has Bibliography
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... 're scared and cautious of their religion, not being tolerated in this country. Throughout the last two thousand years, into the twentieth century, Jews have been the victims of random pogroms. For instance, the crusaders, who sought to rid the holy land of infidels in the middle ages, murdered Jews and pillaged Jewish property whilst travelling to the Middle East. Racism still exists today and in The Merchant of Venice' through the sufferance and rogue ... character of Shylock. Shylock is portrayed as both ... ...

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... to believe that if a Jew converted to Christianity, as Shylock is forced to do in The Merchant of Venice, then all will be forgiven as the repentant Jew is now pure of heart. "...some Christians believed that the coming of the Kingdom of God was aided by converting the Jews to Christianity" (Hughes 5). As the play unfolds, Shylock appears to be the villain, but Shakespeare ultimately shows that he is as much a victim ... ultimate message: all humans are flawed. Trivial aspects like race, color, and religious preference, do not affect the natural greed that humans experience. The Merchan...

• Word Count: 1256
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... Shylocks true feelings towards the merchant are shown in an aside. He describes Antonio as a "fawning publican" and expresses his excitement at the chance of "catching him once upon the hip". The animosity between the two characters is clearly shown from the very onset of the scene and the social distance between them does not help to ease the tension. In our first glimpse of Shylock, he fits into the place of a stereotypical Jew. ... more offers, use no farther means" He accepts his fate gracefully and as the compassion felt towards Antonio by the audience increases the hostility shown ...

• Word Count: 1305
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... 90). The first outbreak of the plague in Western Europe was in October of 1347, at the Sicilian port of Messina in Italy (Jordan 90). The plague broke out when a fleet of twelve Genoese merchant ships sailed into the harbor of Messina, a town on the island of Sicily. In Messina, hundreds of people were said to be dying each day. In September 1346, the plague broke out at the edge of the Black Sea ... ships. It took only six months before the plague had completely devoured most of Italy. More than half of the population died in Venice (Jordan 90). Florence was one of Italy's most prospero...

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... rates escalated close to 500-600 deaths a day, 60% of Venice's population was gone. As with medical professions the clergy suffered great losses as well. Theirs was an occupational hazard; entering the home of the sick, doctors were at greater risk of catching the illness themselves. The clergy had to give the dieing their last rights and preside over the burials, this made for their demise. As indicated by Knox (page12 ... Central Asia in 1339. Plague reached Sarai, the Volga River, and the Crimea in 1345. From there it spread rapidly. By the next year, 1346, plague epidemics broke out...

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... or financial bracket. However, the root cause of their villainy may be a reaction to the abuse that they have undergone at the hands of others. This malevolence may be nurtured in a person, rather than being there from the start. It is on such occasions, where villains have themselves been exposed to wickedness, that the distinction between villain and victim becomes blurred. In "The Merchant of Venice- it can be stated that ... Shylock's character is in a constant state of limbo, between good and evil. However, this essay will include both sides of the argument and takes account of wha...

• Word Count: 1557
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... to be a material thing instead of a human being. Another theme that presents itself in the play is religion. This play is seen as very controversial because of the anti-Semitic feelings voiced throughout. In Venice, at Shakespeare's time, Jews were being persecuted and were commonly seen as villains. Ironically, the villain of Merchant of Venice is the Jewish usurer, Shylock. All throughout the play, Shylock is taunted and ... ridiculed for being a Jew. In Act III, scene I, page 42-43, Shylock voices his contempt for Antonio and the way he is treated. He says: "I am a Jew/ Hath not a Jew...

• Word Count: 1397
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... exists, are really only pushing the tragic potential of this scene a small step farther that Shakespeare allows." Shakespeare's play The Merchant of Venice is an example of how the playwright uses his mentor's influence and makes it his own. Shakespeare differentiates his Merchant of Venice from Marlow's Jew of Malta by repositioning the trial scene, which is also the climax of the play, to the end. Marlow has his "trial" at the beginning. The trials also have two different ... time to make Shylock a fully developed, even sympathetic character. A more immediate model for the character o...

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... they did not poses some sort of obnoxious personality trait, we would all be bored to tears instead of entertained. Antonio's love for Bassannio is indeed relevant to the outcome of the play, and if he had said, um nah, sorry Bass, but I can't help you out, Shakespeare's story would end there and no one would be studying The Merchant of Venice today. The fact of the matter is that since this ... play is old, and the times have changed we all must critique and re-evaluate The Merchant of Venice in order to suit our more liberal times. I wonder if in a few hundred years someone will look ...

• Word Count: 1530
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... to find sympathy with Shylock? It is without doubt possible to find sympathy with Shylock. In Shakespeare's play Merchant of Venice it is clearly portrayed that the Elizabethans treated all Jews with equal spite. Therefore we as the modern audience are clearly expected to do the same. We are expected to think like the Elizabethans and treat all Jews with moral disgust and hatred. Yet as ... is open to interpretation; in parts of the play the audience feels almost sympathetic and pity towards Shylock and in other parts of the play, his actions are merciless, he turns back into this cunnin...

• Word Count: 1517
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... divided into five periods, which give us the picture of his drama creating progress. 1. "The age of studying" (1588-1599): comedies: Love's Labors Won, The Suffering of Two Noblemen from Verona, A Midsummer Night's Dream; tragedies: Titus Andronicus, Romeo and Juliet; historical acts: "Henry IV" in three parts, "Richard III", Richard II". 2. "The age of great comedies" (1595-1600): The Merchant of Venice, The Taming of The Shrew, The Merry Wives of Windsor, Much Ado About Nothing and ... historical dramas: "King John", "Henry IV" in two parts, "Henry V". 3. "The period of somberness and...

• Word Count: 1713
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... images "you"ll have your daughter covered with a Barbary horse" (I. i. 112) convey the ideas of someone less than human. The way race is portrayed reflects Shakespeare's and his society's attitudes to race. Earlier Shakespeare created two other moors. Aaron in "Titus Andronicus", and Marocco in "The Merchant in Venice". The most negative way, and the main way race is portrayed is through Iago's references to Othello and what ... he says about him, such as; "old black ram," and "Barbary horse."(I. i. 89-112) A more positive way that race is portrayed is through the character of Othello h...

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... immediately, Innocent lost control over the Crusade. The original plan was to meet in Venice and sail to the Holy Land, but financial problems evolved because of the many people that were supposed to board the ship. The Venetians agreed to give up the ships if the crusaders would help them capture the city of Zara. After capturing Zara, the Venetians wanted to take control over the city of Constantinople. Innocent did not want to ... the countryside to the edges of the Mediterranean Sea, where rotted merchant ships provided free transportation across to the Holy Land. The ships sunk whe...

• Word Count: 1799
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... rather than the depiction of characters. The plays written during this period were, The Comedy of Errors, Henry VI, Richard III, The Taming of the Shrew, Titus Andronicus, The Two Gentlemen of Verona, and King John. The second period consists of each type of writing. This period ranged from 1595-1600. The characterization in these plays led to great tragedies Shakespeare produced later on. A Midsummer Night's Dream, Richard II, Romeo and Juliet, The Merchant of Venice, Henry IV ... , As You Like It, Henry V, Julius Caesar, Much Ado About Nothing, Twelfth Night, and The merry Wives of ......

• Word Count: 1399
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• Grade Level: High School