literature. Without an examination of both historic and contemporary anti-Semitism‚ students may be left with stereotypical and negative conceptions of Jews and Judaism. Certainly one of the most characteristic and troubling aspects of The Merchant of Venice is that the depiction of Shylock reinforces the stereotype of Jews as money- hungry and greedy. This stereotype has been around for centuries‚ and continues to be perpetuated today. Having students learn about some of the historical roots and
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Vicky Przybysz Ms. Innes-Murphy ENG 1DA 15 May 2014 A Lifelong Masquerade: The Role of Women in The Merchant of Venice In William Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice‚ the expectation and role of women to be passive is highlighted in the way they are regarded by men as weak‚ and the juxtaposing irony of their power. Since the beginning of time‚ women have assumed the natural role of caregiver and mother‚ and women in the Elizabethan era were no exception. Elizabethan women were subservient to
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V The Merchant of Venice The Merchant of Venice is a play by William Shakespeare‚ believed to have been written between 1596 and 1598. Though classified as a comedy in the First Folio and sharing certain aspects with Shakespeare’s other romantic comedies‚ the play is perhaps most remembered for its dramatic scenes‚ and is best known for Shylock and the famous "Hath not a Jew eyes?" speech. Also notable is Portia’s speech about "the quality of mercy". The title character is the merchant Antonio
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Common Features of a Shakespeare Comedy What makes a Shakespeare comedy identifiable if the genre is not distinct from the Shakespeare tragedies and histories? This is an ongoing area of debate‚ but many believe that the comedies share certain characteristics‚ as described below: * Comedy through language: Shakespeare communicated his comedy through language and his comedy plays are peppered with clever word play‚ metaphors and insults. 1. Love: The theme of love is prevalent in every
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ENGLISH ELECTIVE ASSIGNMENT Preface… This assignment focuses on the Characters in Shakespeare’s play “Merchant of Venice”. It highlights the major characters in the play and their importance in the play. It describes in-depth features of the major characters. Hence there is a detail analysis on four major characters of the play: Shylock‚ Antonio‚ Portia and Bassanio. Also‚ there is information about the types of characters found in all Shakespeare’s play. The purpose of this
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When she goes to court to help Bassanio’s friend‚ in order to be perceived as intelligent and respectable‚ Portia must disguise herself as a man. However‚ in court‚ Portia proves that she is extremely capable and brilliant in law—despite the stereotype surrounding her gender. The general portrait of a woman in Shakespeare’s time was that of a quiet‚ docile person who was
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or possibly seconds to gain power of others. It all depends on the how you create that power‚ and who you are using it against. In William Shakespeare’s play The Merchant of Venice most of the characters spend the whole time trying to gain and maintain power. The play is about a Jewish moneylender named Shylock lending money to a merchant‚ Antonio‚ for his friend‚ Bassanio‚ to travel to Belmont to try and win the heart of the heiress‚ Portia. Antonio must sign a bond in order to receive the money
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Review for Final English Exam I. Introductory Material 1. Merchant of Venice- By: William Shakespeare Setting- Italy (Venice and Belmont) 16th Century‚ 1500s Social Problem- Hatred between Christians and Jews Protagonist- Antonio (For Comedy); Shylock (For Tragedy) Antagonist- Shylock (For Comedy); Antonio (For Tragedy) Characteristics of Comedy 1. Young lovers struggling to overcome obstacles 2. Mistaken Identity 3. Clever plot twist with multiple plot lines 4. Puns 5. Stock Characters
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A young Venetian‚ Bassanio‚ needs a loan of three thousand ducats so that he can woo Portia‚ a wealthy Venetian heiress. He approaches his friend Antonio‚ a merchant. Antonio is short of money because all his wealth is invested in his fleet‚ which is currently at sea. He goes to a Jewish money lender‚ Shylock‚ who hates Antonio because of Antonio’s anti-semitic behaviour towards him. Shylock nevertheless agrees to make the short-term loan‚ but‚ in a moment of dark humour‚ he makes a condition - the
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In agreement with Dusinberre‚ Portia ‘retains a separate identity from her husband’ (1996‚ P85). This is evident within the play text as well as Ronen’s Hebrew adaptation of the play‚ especially in the trial scene as she disguises herself as a male judge (Ronen‚ 2012). However‚ it must be questioned if this representation of a woman is something that is specific to the comedy genre and not to tragedy. In relation to the tragicomedy or black humour ‘Scotland‚ PA’‚ Pat has her
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