William Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice shows many ideas and values that are still relevant today. Gender inequality‚ one of the main themes throughout the play‚ one of the most talked about topics in the country. Marriage in The Merchant of Venice left women with no freedom in choosing who they wanted to marry‚ while marriage now has given women the choice. Women did not have a say‚ their thoughts were never taken into consideration. Shylock makes a deal with Antonio who doesn’t fulfil his
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Anti-Semitism and the desecration of the Jewish population have been in existence for nearly five thousand years. In the Elizabethan era‚ a question of anti-Semitism invariably arises. In William Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice‚ we find that one of the characters is the embodiment and expression of anti-Semitic attitude that is pervasive in Elizabethan society. "Anti-Semitism was an intricate part in Shakespeare’s years. Jews were considered vile and scorned upon. Shakespeare presents
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Appearance versus reality is one of the central themes of Shakespeare’s play‚ Hamlet. The characters frequently put on guises which conceal their true intentions. For example‚ Claudius‚ in reality a murderer and usurper‚ plays the roles of grieving brother and rightful king and the adulterous Gertrude plays the role of a virtuous queen‚ when she is‚ in her son’s view‚ a truly insidious woman. Even Hamlet himself assumes the role of a madman in his attempt to establish the reality of his uncle’s guilt
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After reading The Merchant of Venice‚ one may think that Antonio or even Bassanio is the hero. While that may be true‚ there is a possibility that there is no hero. There is a heroine. Portia is not expected in the beginning to emerge as a heroine or even as a major character. She is merely a background character from the subplot. As the play begins to wind down‚ the reader will find many examples in which Portia saves major characters from their own dilemmas. The first (and most obvious)
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In the Merchant of Venice‚ Shakespeare illustrates his feelings towards Jews in 17th century England through the use of a commonly known stereotype during the time‚ the racial tension between Jews and Christians. Shylock is the focal point of the play‚ and acts as the traditional stereotype of the Jew in Elizabethan times. The merchant of venice is often seen as an anti-semitic work due to the stereotypical portrayal of the jewish character shylock. Some would argue that the most inevitable interpretation
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contribute back to the community‚ the society will fall apart and be unable to maintain balance and stability. In William Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice and Arthur Miller’s The Crucible the reader sees examples of injustice inflicted on the victims within the plays through the people with power within the community. The Christians in The Merchant of Venice mock Shylock the Jew countless times while the high court in The Crucible believe citizens are practicing witchcraft without a proper testimony
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previously limited to that of the stage Jew. While most adopted this general theme using it to mock Jews in the hopes of a cheap laugh‚ one play has stood the test of time. This is of course none other then the Shakespearean masterpiece The Merchant of Venice. During the Elizabethan period‚ the concept of a Jew was based on rumour and the occasional public performance‚ for example Christopher Marlow’s infamous play “The Jew of Malta” in which a greedy stage Jew tries to poison‚ murder and generally
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(Lawrence&Lee 51). Society often victimizes individuals who have a value system or a personal sense of morality that does not conform with its own. William Shakespeare‚ Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee expertly articulate this concept within The Merchant of Venice and Inherit the Wind. Bertram Cates and Shylock experience multiple forms of persecution in each of their towns. The fact that both characters undergo a tangible penalty highlights the similarities as well as the differences between the two
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The Merchant of Venice is a play set in a very male and Christian dominated society where other religions and women rights weren’t very well accepted by the community. However Portia‚ a rich woman who had previously been controlled by men‚ triumphs as she manipulates tricks and saves the lives of the men. We see how she is manipulated by men through her father‚ who though dead‚ still manages to control who she marries from his will. He states in his will that from three different caskets the suitors
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The Merchant of Venice Opinion Piece Essay Most times in William Shakespeare’s plays there would be a full of complex characters‚ that when there thoroughly analyzed show their true personalities. This is true in his famous play‚ The Merchant of Venice‚ the character Portia is not the helpless and innocent young women many other characters perceive her to be but in reality she is completely different. Shakespeare shows Portia’s true colours when she makes racist jokes towards Jews and people
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