TWO MAJOR THEMES IN MERCHANT OF VENICE A major theme in the Merchant of Venice is mercy. Mercy depicts a large part of this play‚ mercy is one of themes that ends it. In the courtroom scene of Act 4‚ scene 1‚ both the Duke and Portia present mercy as a better alternative to the pursuit of either law or revenge. The other characters accept that the law is on Shylock’s side‚ but they all expect him to show mercy‚ which he refuses to do. Portia then tries to persuade him to be merciful
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tragedies‚ while others are more ambiguous. The Merchant of Venice is a play that falls under the latter type‚ and it has been hotly contested whether this literary work should be classified a comedy or a tragedy. However‚ since the majority of the characters received a happy ending‚ the abundance of comic relief scenes and characters‚ and lightheartedness of the plot relative to other Shakespearean works leads me to conclude that The Merchant of Venice is indeed a comedy. One of the
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want to protect students from these harsh sentiments‚ it may be counterproductive to omit controversial texts from class rather than using them as a vehicle for raising awareness and sensitivity about issues of prejudice. When teaching The Merchant of Venice‚ then‚ it is important to raise the issue of anti-Semitism as a precursor to examining the text‚ and to explore this type of prejudice as both a historical and contemporary phenomenon. Throughout the play‚ Shylock‚ and by extension‚ all Jews
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Florence Lau College Writing Block H April 11th‚ 2013 Role of Justice in Count of Monte Cristo and the Merchant of Venice The Role of Justice Justice‚ as defined by the American Oxford Dictionary‚ is the quality of being fair and reasonable. The role of justice is to maintain peace and harmony in a society by making sure that virtuousness is outshining maliciousness. This role is often upheld by one of a higher authority who acts as a judge and gives an impartial analysis of a certain situation
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The Character of Shylock in Merchant of Venice Few characters created by Shakespeare embodies pure evil like the character of Shylock in The Merchant of Venice. Shylock is a usurer and a malevolent‚ blood-thirsty old man consumed with plotting the downfall of his enemies. He is a malignant‚ vengeful character‚ consumed with venomous malice1; a picture of callous‚ unmitigated villainy‚ deaf to every appeal of humanity2. Shylock is the antagonist opposite the naive‚ essentially good Antonio
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of The Merchant of Venice’ is apparently fanciful but in reality exactingly structured.</b></center> <br> <br>"The Merchant of Venice is a fairy tale. There is no more reality in Shylock’s bond and the Lord of Belmont’s will than in Jack and the Beanstalk." <br>H. Granville-Barker‚ in Prefaces to Shakespeare. <br> <br>This is one way of looking at the play‚ reading it or enjoying the performance. But it can be a contradiction to our actual feelings about this complex play. The Merchant of Venice’
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just robbed me and now hes crawling to beg a favor! I hate him! Him as a christian just make me hate him even more! Other than that‚ he stupidly likes to lend money to people without interest and that explains why the interest rate is low here in Venice. If i can get a hold of him‚ i will certainly satisfy my old gruge. He hates Jew and he cang stop complaining abt me and claim that my hard-earned profits as "interest"! I hate him! Its an insult to jews to forgive him in life! Bassanio: shylock‚
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and emotionally compelling plays‚ sonnets‚ and poetry. Two of his finest pieces of work‚ Othello and The Merchant of Venice feature dynamic characters‚ and insights into the chivalry and the xenophobic disposition of the English people at the time. Throughout these two stories‚ three primary female characters emerge‚ Desdemona from Othello‚ and Portia and Jessica from The Merchant of Venice. The female leads in each of these stories share many things in common such as their devotion to their mate
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ACT 3 SCENE 1 – THE MERCHANT OF VENICE Prejudice – lack of tolerance (Guarantor) Contempt – hate / contemptuous = hateful /despicable Villainised Shylock Shrewd businessman/moneylender – cruel/ruthless Theme of loyalty predominates the scene Feel a sense of sympathy for Shylock due to treatment received Denigrate – to make someone feel inferior Vindictive – Revengeful Camouflage – hide Shylock is cunning and wise – will be able to trick them Sly Shylock is very wise in the way he
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The Merchant of Venice Ever been in a situation where you do not know whether to be fair or bend the rules a bit? In The Merchant of Venice‚ mercy and justice are the continuing predominant themes. Situations occur‚ that doing the just act does not seem to be correct or the right thing to do. Technically‚ the correct thing to do is to follow and abide by justice and the law. For in this case‚ justice means the taking of a man’s life for the greed and sick revenge of another man. One of the true
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