The merchant of Venice During the coarse of reading “ The merchant of Venice” a ply write by William Shakespeare‚ we as a class have discussed the importance of Shylock being a villain or a victim. Even as a controversial character in our society today‚ I couldn’t feel more strongly about Shylock being a victim. Shakespeare has portrayed him as a victim of Racism and a part of a suffering ethnicity. In the 1400’s‚ there was a lot of Racism toward the Jews. They were treated like lower class
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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. In the beginning of the play‚ Shylock (the Jewish money lender) tells the audience of his hatred for Antonio. Shylock hated Antonio for many reasons. Antonio had disgraced him‚ hindered him half a million‚ laughed at his losses‚ mocked his success‚ scorned his nationality‚ and more‚ but Antonio was in need of money to help
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Throughout The Merchant of Venice Antonio keeps referring to Shylock as “The Jew”‚ a term that was so derogatory at the time. Although there isn’t much use of direct anti-Semitic slurs‚ the enmity towards the subculture still lurked in the passages of the play. When Shylock slyly alluded to Jacob from Genesis‚ justifying his practice of usury‚ Antonio responded dismissively‚ saying that “the devil can cite Scripture for his purpose”. By calling Shylock “the devil” due to Shylock’s faith. In the merchant’s
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the Old Testament and the concepts of mercy and forgiveness as taught by Christ in the New Testament. It is in the climactic trial scene that The Duke‚ hoping Shylock will excuse Antonio’s penalty‚ asks him‚ "How shall thou hope for mercy rend’ring none?" He is referring to expectations of judgment in the afterlife. However‚ so is Shylock‚ when he counters‚ "What judgment shall I dread doing no wrong?" This exchange perfectly presents this conflict between of the Old Testament and the New‚ in which
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Question: ‘Shylock is a Jew in a predominantly Christian society just as Othello is…living in a predominantly white society. But unlike Othello‚ Shylock rejects the Christian community as firmly as it rejects him.’ (W.H. Auden‚ ‘The Dyer’s Hand’‚ 1963. Quoted in ‘Shakespeare’s Comedies’‚ edited by Lerner‚ Penguin 1967.) In light of the above quotation‚ compare and contrast Shakespeare’s presentation of prejudice‚ considering how audiences of different periods might react to it. (2000 words)
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the outcome of this scene. He is talking about if he should run away from his master‚ who just happens to be Shylock. This soliloquy has all the makings of what a soliloquy should do. It creates the mood that Lancelot (Shylock’s jester) is having a lot of troubles trying to decide whether to run away or not. It must have a lot to do with how Shylock treats him since he calls Shylock "a kind of devil" and also says that he can’t handle being "ruled by the fiend." He must have really been
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be looked at differently in the modern society. The title of the play refers to the character of Antonio‚ who is ‘the Merchant of Venice’‚ even though the Jewish moneylender‚ Shylock is the more prominent character‚ who leaves the audience with strong emotions and a desire to introspect and reflect upon their own lives. Shylock is well known for his dazzling speech in act three‚ where he manages to elude the villainous‚ egoistic‚ and disreputable façade of himself‚ which is put up due to the naïve
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between sympathy and hatred for Shylock through his quotes and the actions that happen through out the plot. Shylock was portrayed as a devil multiple times throughout the play as a selfish money lender who cares more about his ducats then his own daughter! The quote “Why‚ there‚ there‚ there! A diamond gone cost me two thousand ducats in Frankfurt! The curse never fell upon our nation till now‚ I never felt it till now... no tears but a’ my shedding.”(3:1:53) Shylock‚ emphasizes how he wants the
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friendship. The story is about‚ Shylock a wealth Jew‚ lending one of his enemies‚ Antonoi‚ three thousand ducats. Although Antonio is a rich merchant all his resources are in his ships‚ trading too distant countries‚ but because he wants to help out his friend‚Bassanio‚ he has no choice but to ask Shylock for a loan ‚ not to know it could lead to his death. In this play there is a big difference between the Christian charaters and Shylock‚ the main difference being Shylock seems to be more interested
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In Elizabethan Europe‚ Jews were seen as the lowest class of society‚ and were discriminated against to extreme degrees. Around the 1000s Jews lived in Europe amongst everyone else‚and did not live in ghettos. A Jew was often wealthy‚ and many became money lenders in their societies. Because of their jobs‚ they often had to be their own debt collectors as well. This led to much resentment against them‚ and the views on Jews were starting to turn negative. As time went on‚ these views became more
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