From ancient times‚ through to the Renaissance‚ friendship between two men was regarded as the highest form of social relationship‚ even surpassing that between a man and a woman in matrimony. This is portrayed through “The Merchant of Venice”‚ written by William Shakespeare which was written between 1556 and 1558. This platonic natured friendship is still portrayed in modern literature‚ but due to changed opinions because of the society in which it was written it is more subtle in expressions as
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The Merchant of Venice In “The Merchant of Venice” by William Shakespeare is a play in which the themes of love and hate are dominant. The Merchant of Venice is a tale set in Venice about a merchant named Antonio who attempts to help his friend‚ Bassanio marry his love Portia. In order to do this he is forced to borrow money from a Jewish money lender called Shylock. In this essay I will discuss the nature of these themes and the main characters involved. I also intend to consider the different
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Hauptseminar: Adaptation of Shakespeare Dozent: Prof. Dr. Lars Heiler Spezialist: Henry L. The Merchant of Venice Parents & Children Shakespearan plays are almost always deep-rooted‚ in the relationship between parents and their Children. The Merchant of Venice presents three parent-child relationships. 1.) Portia and her dead father 2.) Jessica and Shylock 3.) Lancelet and the old and ‘‘sand‘‘ blinded Giobbe Two father-daughter
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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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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 lenders‚ who do not charge interest. While more modern interpretations differ from the older
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The Merchant of Venice William Shakespeare‚ in the Merchant of Venice‚ portrays Shylock as one vivid character who can be analysed in various ways. Shylock is portrayed as a complex character who defies explanation and who will probably never be fully understood. Rather than a one-dimensional villain viewed through the eyes of the Elizabethan era when the play was written‚ Shylock can also be seen as both an Elizabethan stereotype and a fully drawn human being when the play is viewed through modern
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The Merchant of Venice Study Guide Name: ______________________________ Hour ____ Shakespeare gets contract story from Italian novel collection by Ser Giovanni Fiorentino circa 1558. “Pound of flesh” story occurs as early as 1378. Casket plot appeared in Greek romances—is used as a means of a test. Act I 1. What important background information is established in the first scene? 2. Does Shakespeare intend the audience to view Bassanio as a spendthrift and a “gold digger”? 3. Why‚ in
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How is your prescribed text made memorable through the interaction of ideas and the ways these ideas are represented? “The Merchant of Venice” by William Shakespeare contains many memorable themes. Through the use of techniques ideas are represented. These ideas are the power of money‚ conflict/prejudice between Jews and Christians and the role of women. The memorable ideas represented throughout the play are extremely important to “The Merchant of Venice” and is the reason why it is called a ‘problem
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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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How does Shakespeare use language differently for Portia and Shylock in the judgement scene and elsewhere? In this essay I will be discussing how characters language changes throughout the play‚ centering on the judgment scene. The Characters I will be focusing on are Shylock and Portia. The first difference in the language is how Portia and Shylocks language portrays them as characters. Shylock is seen as the villain in the play he is manipulative‚ blood thirsty ‘’Nearest his heart’: those are
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