The Merchant of Venice: A Tragicomedy Patricia Green INTRODUCTION Shakespeare in the High School Classroom The Merchant of Venice‚ by William Shakespeare‚ does not fit the conventional definitions of a tragedy or a comedy. It is categorized as a comedy‚ although one of the two distinct plotlines is a tragedy. This play is multi-faceted and is really a combination of two plays in one; therefore it lends itself well as a source for teaching different lessons in the high school classroom. This curriculum
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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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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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as what he is on the outside . In literature this is a significant topic . Many people think they know someone but they really don’t . Shakespear’s play the Merchant of Venice ‚ is a great example of this quote. In the play The Merchant of Venice ‚ one of the main characters ‚Bassanio comes to his best friend ‚Antonio ‚another main chracter‚ to borrow money . One may think he needed money for living expenses or to pay someone back. Instead Bassanio asks Antonio for money to make him seem rich
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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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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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Through the development of Shylock and Portia‚ Shakespeare has been able to address the main issues of The Merchant Of Venice such as mercy‚ law and revenge but he also questions their principles of trust. Also through Shylock‚ there are other issues such as racism and money that have been portrayed considerably and the role of women has also been developed by Portia. It’s not only these characters that demonstrate other major issues‚ as the concept of love and loyalty shown by Bassanio and Antonio
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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 The play The Merchant of Venice is a comedy about a man named Bassanio who wants to travel to Belmont to try and win the love of a rich‚ beautiful and intelligent heiress‚ names Portia. Bassanio has his friend Antonio borrow money from a Jewish money lender for him so that he could travel to Belmont. The Merchant of Venice has many different themes‚ including the two themes; revenge & love and friendship. The first theme in the play The Merchant of Venice is revenge
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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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