Shylock‚ Villain or victim? The Merchant of Venice June 8th‚ 2011 In the play The Merchant of Venice Shylock is supposed to be the protagonist‚ the definition of protagonist is; the leading character or a major character in a drama‚ movie‚ novel‚ or other fictional text. But the way Shylock is portrayed is more along the lines of being both victim and villain. Shylock is out for one pound of Antonio’s flesh which will in the end kill Antonio and the flesh will do him no good anyway. But he
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In the play ‘The Merchant of Venice’‚ there are several characters who behave in villainous ways but Shylock is the most villainous character out of all of them. Do you agree? Throughout ‘The Merchant of Venice’ there are many examples of villainous acts performed by the characters. Although the character of Shylock may perhaps stand out in the mind of the reader‚ these acts are not solely limited to him individually. shylock cannot be considered the only villain in the play‚ for he shoulders much
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Silence Within Shakespeare’s tragic comedy‚ The Merchant of Venice‚ one is exposed to yet another one of his works that has an intensely packed storyline full of different characters with their own complex subplots that contribute to the main plot. One of the main characters‚ Jessica‚ is daughter of Shylock‚ who is a wealthy Jewish moneylender in Venice. Shylock is characterized as a villainous type of character within the play‚ partly because of being a Jew and partly because of his rude and mean exterior
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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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how they are in reality. The issue of appearance versus reality is demonstrated in varied ways‚ mainly by the use of real-life situations. The choosing of the three caskets is used as the main explanation of appearance versus reality in “The Merchant of Venice”. The suitor of Portia must choose either a gold‚ silver or lead casket‚ where the right choice will allow the suitor to marry her. The Prince of Morocco‚ on choosing the beautiful gold casket with the inscription‚ "Who chooseth me shall gain
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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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Shakespeare Merchant of Venice Essay I have been studying the play The Merchant of Venice written by William Shakespeare. The play genre is drama and it is set in the late 1590s. It is set in two cities Venice and Belmont. The play is about usury between a Christian and a Jew. The Christian is a man named Antonio‚ who is The Merchant of Venice. The Jew is a wealthy man called Shylock who is facing a lot of religious rivalry at the time. Antonio’s friend Bassanio comes to him to ask for money
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One of the most central issues in ’The Merchant of Venice’ is that of the antagonism between the Jews and the Christians. The unconscious‚ inborn dislike of cultures which jeopardise our way of life. Ever since people have left their homelands to settle in other places there has been conflict between different cultures. So‚ in the play‚ Antonio‚ Bassanio‚ Gratiano and many more of the Christians feel resentment towards Shylock the ’alien’. This is partly because of the trap that he has led Antonio
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Reality in Merchant Of Venice This theme of Appearance Vs. Reality is used throughout the play to mislead and confuse so things may not always be what they seem. Shakespeare uses deception to enhance the unfolding drama and involve his audience more fully in the play – the audience are party to deceptions which the characters themselves are unaware of. Prejudice was common and the word “Jew” applied to hardhearted unscrupulous moneylenders. An Elizabethan audience would have been happy to see a Jew‚ Spaniard
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ACT III RECAP SCENE 1- Act 3 begins on a street in Venice with Salanio and Salarino. Salanio and Salarino are concerned by news that Antonio has lost a ship. Shylock comes on the scene and Salanio and Salarino ask of news among the merchants. Shylock can only talk of his daughter’s betrayal. They express the opinion that she is very different from her father and it was time for Jessica to leave. They then question Shylock directly about the news of Antonio’s ship. Shylock states that he will need
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