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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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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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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The Merchant of Venice illustrates a clear discrepancy between the moral values of its Christian characters and those of Shylock; at last revealing favor for the mercy‚ generosity‚ love‚ and self-sacrifice of the Christians. Irrespective of the religious hypocrisy displayed by the Christians of the play‚ they ultimately prove the victors‚ while those who disregard the virtues of Christian doctrine suffer highly disagreeable consequences. Shylock‚ a miserly Jew and heartless usurer characterized
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is differefnt inside the wolrd only sees him 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
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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 "Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice is still relevant today because it deals with issues which still affect us. Show how two of those issues are discussed in the play." Throughout the play a distinction is made between how things appear on the outside and how they are in reality‚ or on the inside. The issue of appearance versus reality is demonstrated in varied ways‚ mainly by the use of real-life situations. The first representation of this is Shylock’s generosity
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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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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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The Merchant of Venice Merchant of Venice deals with sensitive issues which are relevant even in today’s time. Appearance versus reality lies at the core of the play. Also‚ the social standing of the era is pictured beautifully in the drama. William Shakespeare is the most legendry English poet and writer. All over the world‚ he has been regarded as the greatest writer and the most marvelous dramatist. Often described as national
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