The play Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare has two major themes running through its story. Even though it was written in the late 1500s these themes still have significance today. The main characters of this play are Shylock‚ the Jew‚ who is a money lender charging interest to make living. Antonio is another character of this play and he is a fairly rich merchant. Antonio has a very good friend Bassanio‚ who wants to marry Portia‚ a wealthy woman who is Shakespeare’s heroine. Prejudice
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The Merchant of Venice In The Merchant of Venice‚ William Shakespeare portrays Shylock as a covetous Jew. Shylock charges interest to those who borrow money from him when they are in need. Shylock is mercenary. Shylock’s love for objects overweighs his love for his own daughter. This character trait shows that in Venetian times‚ it was a time of greed and selfishness. In The Merchant of Venice‚ Antonio discriminates against Shylock because he is a Jew. Shylock shows us his human moments –this embodies
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The themes of Shakespeare’s plays are just as relevant to today’s society as they were in his day. Discuss making close reference to The Merchant of Venice. In The Merchant of Venice hate‚ loyalty‚ pride and prejudice‚ love and friendship are just some of the themes investigated with in the play. These themes‚ although were evident in the time of Shakespeare‚ are just as significant and universal today. Shylock‚ the Jew‚ explores most of these negative themes as in the play he is depicted as being
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things happen to good people‚ sometimes we can’t explain it and sometimes they don’t deserve it. Since it is a familiar subject a lot of writers decide to incorporate karma‚ fate‚ destiny‚ in their stories‚ for example‚ William Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice. Its message revolves around fairness and so karma since in the end Shylock does not deserve what he gets. First of all‚ Shylock is portrayed as the victim in the play; he is not mean. He has never done anything to hurt Antonio who is in
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Merchant of Venice Essay The Merchant of Venice is a Shakespearian play whose plot is centered around love and loss. Throughout the play Shakespeare satirizes Jewish stereotypes and depicts acts of extreme bigotry‚ this has lead to a significant amount of debate as to whether or not Shakespeare was antiemetic. However when one makes a detailed analysis of the text it becomes increasingly evident that Shakespeare holds a very biased view of the Jewish people. Throughout the story‚ Shylock is tormented
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Conflicts in "Merchant of Venice" occur as a result of four major life themes: love‚ money‚ prejudice and disguise. Shylock‚ the Jewish moneylender is usually‚ and somewhat unjustly‚ held responsible for many of these conflicts. Though Shylock’s behaviour is‚ in many ways‚ evil‚and should by no means be exonerated‚ the conflicts he does cause are most often merely his vengeful attempt to respond to the prejudices he has experience caused by his religion. In the time of Shakespeare‚ prejudices were
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play‚ The Merchant of Venice‚ by William Shakespeare‚ is one that receives a lot of controversy in History. The main storyline of the play is about a Jewish moneylender named Shylock who strikes a deal with the Christian merchant‚ Antonio. Antonio’s friend‚ Bassanio‚ needs money for his wedding and asks Antonio for the money. Unfortunately‚ Antonio’s money is at sea‚ stored in boats; However‚ Antonio agrees to obtain money for Bassanio through Shylock‚ the moneylender. So‚ the two merchants strike a
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"The Merchant of Venice" is a play that relies on soliloquies to advance the plot‚ create mood and atmosphere‚ and to develop character among all the actors. I am here to prove how this happens in two different soliloquies and show you why Shakespeare put them into the play. My first soliloquy is from Lancelot Gobbo and it is taken from Act 2 Scene 2.I know that Lancelot is a secondary character‚ but this speech is really important in the outcome of this scene. He is talking about if he
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The Merchant Of Venice Essay May 31‚ 2012 There are two emotions commonly shown to motivate characters in the Merchant Of Venice‚ both positively and negatively‚ namely that of love and hate. These two emotions motivate characters such as Shylock‚ who’s actions are motivated by his hate for Antonio‚ Jessica’s love for Lorenzo and hate for her father and Antonio’s love for Bassanio and hate for Shylock. Antonio’s actions are motivated from both love and hate. These actions
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The Merchant of Venice Speech It has been almost four hundred years since Shakespeare completed the last of his plays. His work however continues to be played to sell out audiences still captivating people. His plays are still taught in schools with eager passion. Many people question the relevance of his work and lingering popularity. So what could a playwright from the seventeenth century have absolutely anything to do with a world full of advancing technology‚ fast food and materialistic views
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