L I T CHA R T S TM GET LIT TM The Merchant of Venice Author Bio Historical and Literary Context When Written: 1596–8 Where Written: England When Published: 1623 Literary Period: The Renaissance Related Literary Works: Though some describe The Merchant of Venice as a comedy because it ends with the marriage of its heroes Portia and Bassanio‚ it can also be described as a kind of “revenge tragedy.” Typically‚ a revenge tragedy revolves around the quest of its central character to avenge a wrong
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A victim is someone who has been singled out for cruelor unfair treatment. A villain is a wicked person or a criminal. Antonio’s counterpart‚ Shylock‚ is the most noteworthy figure in Shakespeare’s comedy‚ The Merchant of Venice. No consensus has been reached on whether Shylock is a tyrannical villain or a tragic victim. Shylock‚ in my opinion‚ is a bloodthirsty villain. In the following paragraphs‚ it will be shown that Shylock is a villain in every sense of the word. Namely‚ he is vengeful‚
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speech by Shylock evokes the social world in which he lives. For‚ as a Jew‚ Shylock rails in magnified language against Antonio‚ a Venetian who has castigated Shylock for his usury. Also‚ within the setting of this play‚ the Venetians limited Jewish merchants and moneylenders/pawnbrokers‚ making them live in "geti" (plural of "geto"). The guttural pronunciation of this word made it sound like ghetto‚ a word still used today to mark emargination. So‚ Shylock is perceived as inferior to the Venetian money
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CourseworkHelp : The Differences between Venice & Belmont In the play “The Merchant of Venice” by William Shakespeare the settings could not be more adverse‚ they are set in the most opposite atmospheres. One of the settings is named “Belmont”‚ this is Portia’s house…. the hero of the play. Whilst the other setting is “Venice” where Shylock… The evil character lives. Portia is a witty and clever character that endears herself to the audience by saving Antonio from Shylock’s clutches;
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Parent-Child Relationship Between Jessica and Shylock in The Merchant of Venice After reading The Merchant of Venice‚ we should ask ourselves if Shylock‚ who many people perceive as tragedy stricken and victimized‚ is in fact so hard done by after all. When it comes to family matters‚ I believe that Shylock is the ultimate cause behind his awful relationship with Jessica. In this play‚ Shakespeare portrays an old fashioned child-parent relationship in which the child feels inferior to the parent
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THE MERCHANT OF VENICE by “William Shakespeare” A Contemporary English Version‚ Emended and Rectified with Notes and Commentary by Jonathan Star DRAMATIS PERSONÆ DUKE OF VENICE PRINCE OF MOROCCO (MOROCHO -Q1‚ MOROCHUS-Q1) PRINCE OF ARRAGON (ARAGON ) A suitors to Portia ANTONIO (ANTHONIO -Q1 )‚ a merchant of Venice‚ friend of Bassanio BASSANIO ‚ winner of Portia LEONARDO ‚ a servant to Bassanio GRATZIANO (GRATIANO -Q1‚ GRAZIANO )‚ friend of Bassanio‚ with Nerissa LORENZO (LORENSO
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The Merchant of Venice Act IV Reading Questions 1. The duke opinionated what he thinks of Shylock by referring to him as “inhuman” and “uncapable of pity‚ void‚ and empty.” The Duke is not happy about Shylock wanting a pound of Antonio’s flesh and the Duke feels that Shylock will not feel bad for Antonio. 2. Antonio wants to “make no offers and use no farther means.” Antonio is grateful for what everyone has done for him‚ but he wants to move on with the trial so he can “have judgement”
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Mercy v. Justice Old Testament v. New Testament While the conflict between justice and mercy plays a key role in determining the outcome of The Merchant of Venice‚ this conflict is even more important because it provides a setting for the contrast between the rigid law and rules of the Old Testament and the concepts of mercy and forgiveness as taught by Christ in the New Testament. It is in the climactic trial scene that The Duke‚ hoping Shylock will excuse Antonio’s penalty‚ asks him‚ "How
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Shylock: Villain or Victim The Merchant Of Venice is the story about a merchant by the name of Antonio who borrows money from a Jewish moneylender by the name of Shylock‚ in order to fund his best friend Bassanio’s romantic ambitions. The majority of the residents of Venice during the time this story was written were Christians‚ just like Antonio. At the same time there was a considerable amount of hatred toward those who were not Christians. Antonio needed money quickly and he had no other choice
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for the ’Merchant of Venice’ was ’The Jew of Venice’. Which title do you think is the more appropriate? ’The Merchant of Venice’ tittle has been carefully chosen and it is apt and suggested. There has been some controversy among the critics that the tittle belong to Shylock or Antonio. This controversy arose because in the first entry the play had been named ’The Merchant of Venice’ or ’The Jew of Venice’. Later on the double tittle disappeared and it was named ’The Merchant of Venice’. So critics
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