In William Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice‚ gender roles are explored‚ culminating in two distinct scenes of cross-dressing. The men of Elizabethan society enjoy a prominent status based solely on gender‚ to which women are clearly outsiders. This is particularly evident in Jessica’s newfound freedom when dressed as a pageboy in Act 2 and Portia’s and Nerissa’s immediate elevation in social standing when they take on male personas in Act 4. Through these two instances of cross-dressing‚ Shakespeare
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William Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice shows many ideas and values that are still relevant today. Gender inequality‚ one of the main themes throughout the play‚ one of the most talked about topics in the country. Marriage in The Merchant of Venice left women with no freedom in choosing who they wanted to marry‚ while marriage now has given women the choice. Women did not have a say‚ their thoughts were never taken into consideration. Shylock makes a deal with Antonio who doesn’t fulfil his
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Love and Money Love is a dominant theme in Merchant of Venice. It actually is the umbrella of other sub-themes‚ which are love of friends‚ love of family and love of lovers. Shakespeare gives more focus to these themes as they are significant and serious issues in life‚ thus giving his play a universal approach that fits everywhere and when. The irony‚ however‚ is that there is no real love shown in these relations. One can notice that love is associated with self-interest or with the love of
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In Say Yes‚ A normal white couple are just talking and washing dishes. The story is about one topic- interracial marriage? Husband argues ‘No’ while his Wife Ann argues ‘Yes’. Husband makes rational points like statistics pointing such marriages do not work while wife makes the point that if two people love each other race does not matter. Soon the argument heats up and at a point Ann accidentally cuts her thumb. The husband without expecting everything rushes to get her first-aid. He started washing
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Shakespeare’s Purpose of The Merchant of Venice There are different intents to illustrate in each of Shakespeare’s plays. In one of his plays‚ The Merchant of Venice‚ his intent was to illustrate that whatever you do to a person or to a group at the start‚ will always come back to you at the end. (karma) However‚ if we take an honest look at those thing that we have done‚ it doesn’t always come back as the same. Just as judging a person by the cover isn’t always right‚ you need to dig deeper into
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Final Essay for Merchant of Venice Although the Merchant of Venice‚ written by the renowned playwright William Shakespeare‚ is part of brilliant romantic comedy series‚ it is known largely for its drama and intense allusions to themes and concerns of the time period‚ which may 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
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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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Shakespeare on Religious Dehumanization: Bringing Awareness‚ Not Change Discrimination and hatred across religions can be often become a normal part of everyday life‚ and can be difficult to eradicate and extinguish. In William Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice‚ the idea of the “normality” of everyday prejudices comes across in interactions and the portrayal of Shylock‚ a Jewish moneylender in Venice. Through Shylock’s character‚ Shakespeare provides a commentary on how his society has viewed Judaism
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Jamie Huo 11/21/13 First draft Blurred Lines: Where No Means Yes In a society where rape culture is beginning to seem so normative‚ Blurred Lines by Robin Thicke reveals how rape culture is imbedded in our society through our collective beliefs and has rendered sexual violence as acceptable and ordinary. The song has a catchy beat and is fun to sing along with‚ however‚ the meaning behind the lyrics go far deeper than most people think. This paper examines Blurred Lines to claim that the song
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The Merchant of Venice Written task 1 How and why is a social group represented in a particular way? The Merchant of Venice was written by Shakespeare and printed for the first time around the sixteen hundreds‚ just after a revolutionary play that depicted the main character as a great villain and Jew‚ The Jew of Malta‚ by Christopher Marlow. Shakespeare’s inclusion of a Jewish character in his play was not usual‚ and until today it is discussed whether he was trying to show an anti-Semitic opinion
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