In Scene 1, Portia converses with the Prince of Morocco very politely and even invites him to dinner before he chose the casket, which seems like she is in favour of having the Prince of Morocco as her suitor. However, in Scene 7, after he chooses the wrong casket and leaves, Portia says “A gentle riddance”, which shows us that she is very happy that the Prince of Morocco is not going to be her husband.
Through these scenes, I learn about Portia’s gracious character and her tact in using her appearance to deceive her suitors. This is because she does not want to hurt the feelings of the suitors, but at the same time, she is witty enough to dupe them, without them knowing that she is doing so. This reveals the theme of Appearance vs. Reality,
This image of Lucretia is not that of some mythological or religious origin, say, of a venus, for example, part of whose appeal is the depiction of nudity without social repercussion. With respect to the time which bore this painting, it is not unlikely that this inclination to experiment with the female nude was in part sublimated by means of this historical subject matter, however, so say that Lucretia’s nudity is illustrated only on account of what would amount to the privilege of moral impunity is perhaps too simple an explanation. It seems much more reasonable to posit that Lucretia’s own nudity, especially in conjunction with her opulent, indeed, what is surely very expensive clothing (other depictions of Lucretia typically omit the inclusion of clothes altogether), is employed by Cleve to highlight Lucretia’s shame—amid her wealth and regal lifestyle, her clothes have been cleaved open, and she had been irrevocable hurt and humiliated. Whether intended by the artist, this awkward parting of Lucretia’s garments over her left shoulder and down through her abdomen adds greatly to the desolation and pity associated with her historical figure. Ultimately, this compositional decision serves to augment the paintings emotional
stubborn she is in staying in them: “For days, she went silent with rage” (10). This reveals just how far Estrella will venture to seethe in her emotions— and so much so, in fact, that her mother “believed her a victim of the evil eye” (11). To be in one emotion, and to not explain it to others, speaks volumes about Estrella— she is persistent about how she feels and will stay this way for days. In other words, this use of selective detail portrays how Estrella is quick to swell with passion about how she feels— by “becoming very angry,” merely because she saw Perfecto’s tools and assumed it was a secret being kept from her, her character is portrayed as someone who easily feels upset, or moody, by things that she may not even know for certain. To reword, through selection of detail, Viramontes is able to develop Estrella’s character because she describes particular instances where Estrella’s fragile temper is aroused by unfamiliar, or unfair, concepts or objects. This use of selective detail furthers her character because it conveys how Estrella is stubbornly consumed by her emotions even when she does not have the full story.
From the expansion days of Ancient Rome to the fall of the Roman Empire, women have always succumbed to living subjacent to the status of their omnipotent and dominant male figures. After leaving her childhood home and the rule of her father, a young Roman girl would then be coerced into the dominion of her husband, often taking a plethora of roles, ranging from lover, caretaker, and best friend. It is often lightheartedly stated that, “Behind every great man is an even greater woman,” and William Shakespeare exemplifies this concept beautifully in Julius Caesar, in which he effectively used the spouses of the two main characters to add more depth, drama, and literary elements to the play, bringing it to life. Although the only two
Draped in flowing teal cloth, Portia is a visual anomaly in comparison to the rest of the cast, who standardly is dressed in a strict uniform of white collared shirts, black kilts, and red sashes to accent. The stark contrast of just colour itself ostracizes Portia from the rest of the characters; a notable costuming choice, as she represents an entirely different dimension to the life of Brutus. In Julius Caesar. By William Shakespeare. Dir. Ron Jenkins. Shakespeare Company, Ground Zero Theatre, and Hit and Myth Productions, at Vertigo Theatre, Calgary. 06 October 2017. Performance, designer Victoria Krawchuk creates an archetype of Portia’s role in the show through costuming. Portia’s more traditional Roman look, an elegant dress and bare feet, resonate the image of a mythological goddess; symbols of both femininity and strength. Encompassing these characteristics perfectly, Portia acknowledges them herself in 2.1, 292-302, (Shakespeare, William. “Julius Caesar.” The Norton Shakespeare: Essential Plays, The Sonnets, edited by Stephen Greenblatt, Norton, 2016, pp. 1115-1180,) in which she states,
The suitors lasciviously desired Portia for her beauty and wealth. If they could win her as a wife, their reputations and futures would be set. The first suitor to try his luck at the riddle of the caskets was the Prince of Morocco. He chose the gold casket which had an inscription that read: "Who chooseth me shall gain what many men desire" (II.vii.5). This shows that Morocco was a greedy man who desired Portia for materialistic reasons, just like many other men who would desire the gold too. The second suitor to attempt the riddle was the Prince of Arragon, who chose the silver casket. Like Morrocco, Arragon was quite superficial. "I will assume desert. Give me a key for this / And instantly unlock my fortunes here" (II.ix.52). He saw Portia as merely a free ride to financial security. He didn't want her because he loved or cared for her. He only wanted her for her money and power. Women were a prize which men displayed and flaunted. A woman had no true value as a person.
Without money, Bassanio believes himself an unfit suitor for Portia, unable to match any of her other, richer suitors in sexual appeal. It is doubly significant that though he speaks of love and sexual
Portia is describing to Brutus that by excluding her from his secret, that she has been reduced to his concubine. Brutus responds to Portia's statement by stating, "You are my true and honorable wife, /As dear to me as are the ruddy drops/That visit my sad heart,"(II, I, 311-313). Brutus shows that despite, his depressed state, he still loves and cares for his wife showing the mutual relationship Brutus and Portia share that is based on love.
Not only can women pretend to be men, therefore exhibit the commonly associated prestige; they can also exceed men’s capabilities. In the contraband letter, Bellario describes Balthasar (Portia in disguise) as a young man, but urges everyone in the court to "let his lack of years be no impediment" (IV i161) even though wisdom and keen sense are often associated with established adults. At first, Portia seems to support Shylock when she contemplates the case, so he remarks, "How much more elder art though than thy looks!" (IV i250). Portia’s looks are deceptive, but she is actually hiding her sex, not her age. Shylock is unknowingly amazed by a female’s intellect and continues to praise Portia repeatedly when he refers to her as a "noble", "wise and upright", "most rightful", and "most learned" judge (IV i245-303). After Portia shifts her argument to favor Antonio, Gratiano praises her in similar ways. Her intelligence astounds the court. In the final scene, Antonio, Bassanio, and Gratiano "are all amazed" (V i266) when Portia reveals the secret identities she and Nerissa took on. She proves that women can demonstrate more keen intellect than
A person of great power has a large amount of control and influence over the vast majority of the population that they lead. Often times, their leadership position was gained through manipulation of the people as they try to sell themselves to them. This manipulation also affects any competition for that leadership position because a common technique to sway someone’s opinion is to make the competition look bad which then makes the people look down on the competition, causing the opposing side’s chances of success to plummet. William Shakespeare’s play Julius Caesar demonstrates this as a tale of manipulation leads to the downfall of the weaker link. Cassius, Mark Antony and Julius Caesar have perfected the art of manipulation as they are
No secrets nor actions could compromise the true climactic love of Brutus and Portia in Shakespeare's The Tragedy of Julius Caesar. In 44 BC women were worth no more than the possessions of that the men previously owned prior to marriage. Though, there were a number of men who treated their companions as an equal to himself. Brutus remained one of the Romans who honored and respected that concept. Thus meaning, the love of the two was a strong bond which holds love and horror in the relationship equivalently.
The social norm during the time period was for fathers to marry their daughters off to respectable men who could be trusted with a family's wealth after it was passed down. In the case of Portia in William Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice, her father is still determined to choose who she will marry, even from beyond the grave. By setting up the casket contest, Portia’s father is ensuring the commodity, Portia’s hand in marriage and undying love, will go to who he would have approved of to court his daughter. By obtaining the commodity in question, the suitors would also obtain the vast amount of wealth held by Portia’s family. One suitor in particular, the Prince of Morocco, best exemplifies this when he is deciding what casket to choose; “Let’s see once more this saying
Many of the deaths that have happened are because men are hard headed and think they have to have power, and they get mad and jealous when another guy has more power than them . The main death in Julius Caesar is Caesar’s death although there are many more. Portia the wife of Brutus kills herself, and along with that suicide are two more that consist of Cassius and Brutus, all because they didn’t get the power they wanted.
Slide 1: Casca is introduced at the very beginning of the story Julius Caesar.As he and the other conspiators talking about killing Caesar and how he is bad you see his cowardly side.He talks good about Caesar and defends him when he is around him,but in secret he talks bad about him.So he flips from saying good things to saying bad things and that makes him fake,weak,and cowardly.
In Shakespeare's novel, Julius Caesar, Portia is indefinitely a tragic hero. Portia understands that she is just “a woman; but withal a woman well reputed, Cato’s daughter.” (2.1 .317-118) In result, Portia believes that because she was the daughter of an honorable Roman and a wife to noble Brutus, she is superior to the average woman. She shows to be the perpetrator when she demands that Brutus treat her with more respect and tell her what is troubling him. To prove to Brutus that she is serious, she gives “[her]self a voluntary wound in the thigh” without showing any signs of pain, saying if she can “bear that with patience” she can handle her “husbands secrets.”(2.1 .323-325) However, she feels that Brutus needs to confide in her because of her marital duties. Portia has a valid desire to be able to empathize with her husband and feels as if she is being isolated from Brutus’ life, unable to support him in his endeavors. This isolation from Brutus in combination with Antony and Octavius’ rise to power, causing her to make her greatest error in judgement, kin
Portia is the heroine of The Merchant of the Venice. The first mention of Portia was through Bassanio talking to Antigo: “In Belmont is a lady richly left, and she is fair and-fairer of words” (Act 1, scene 1). Even the opinions of other people around her showed that she is indeed a kind-hearted person. Another instant is when Bassanio mentioned Antigo debt, Portia shows deep concerns even through it wasn’t her fault. “before a friend of this description shall lose a hair through Bassanio fault” (). She wants to be helpful to the people she loves therefore thinking of an answer to this horror situation. This not only shows the characterizes of sharp witted, but also the nurturing heart she processes.