Merchant of Venice Essay

These are two of Shakespearean antagonists of all time. They are alike in more ways than one. Shylock in Merchant of Venice is a Jewish moneylender based in Venice. He has been tormented and repressed mainly by the Christian population. One finds it easy to sympathize with him mainly because he has his own reasons to be loathing, greedy, and miserly. This ends up making the entire ‘Merchant of Venice’ bittersweet. This was when Shylock was forced to give up all that he owned and further converted it

Society tends to define people as being either victims or villains due to the actions, beliefs and decisions present in their lives. In the Merchant of Venice, this separation between those good and evil is existent in the Venetian community, especially for the character of Shylock. Although one may think that Shylock is a victim in this play, as a result of other’s wrong-doing, Shylock is rather a villain because he conspired to kill Antonio through his bond, wished to see his daughter dead for

The Merchant of Venice The Merchant of Venice was written in 1598 by William Shakespeare. The story is set in Elizabethan times, which was the sixteenth century. People back then were quite prejudiced towards any race that was not Christian. They would have hated Jews. When Shylock would come onto the stage, the audience would have just booed him back off. The Christians had their reasons for hating the Jews. The fact that they supposedly killed “Jesus” still angers many people today. Christians

The Merchant of Venice, written by Shakespeare, is a complicated play that has controversy themes. There are some analysts that argue this play is a comedy. On the other hand, other analysts will argue the opposite, and see the play as a tragedy. Both of these themes have strong arguments and can be supported with many examples throughout the play. Despite the fact that The Merchant of Venice has characteristics of a comedy, it is also considered a great tragedy because of the terrible way

The Merchant of Venice The play, ¡°The Merchant of Venice¡± by William Shakespeare has two main settings. One setting is Venice, a city where many businessmen live, a place, full of unhappy and unkind people. It a world of commercial and law. Shakespeare has portrayed Venice as the ¡°real¡± world. The other setting is Belmont, a city which houses a rich, happy society of beautiful people. Belmont is a fairy-tale world of music and love. In this play, it is evident that, good things happen in Belmont

The Vengeful Jew "All that glisters is not gold,” is a quote from The Merchant of Venice. It means don’t judge a book by its cover, but that is exactly what people do to Shylock, a jew, from the story; that’s why in Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice Shylock is a victim. Shylock was ridiculed and betrayed just because he was a jew. For example, while Antonio is making the deal with Shylock, Antonio says “The devil can cite scripture for his own purpose” (I.iii.94). Before Shylock has done anything

Portia, The Merchant of Venice Do you agree that Portia is a memorable character in the play The Merchant of Venice? In the play The Merchant of Venice, there are many female characters who face injustice alone in society. Portia as many seemingly paradoxical identities. This makes her a memorable character in the play The Merchant of Venice. She has represented being dutiful towards her father, being an innocent young woman, a ‘mortal-breathing saint’ who posses ‘god-like amity’, a hard headed

Mercy v. Justice – Old Testament v. New Testament While the conflict between justice and mercy plays a key role in determining the outcome of The Merchant of Venice, this conflict is even more important because it provides a setting for the contrast between the rigid law and rules of 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

The Merchant of Venice is a tragedy Jean Racine, a French dramatist of the 17th century France, states, “Life is a comedy to those who think, a tragedy to those who feel” (Goodreads). In the early days of its staging, the play The Merchant of Venice written by William Shakespeare is considered to be a comedy, but as the world develops there is controversy as whether to believe that the play is actually a tragedy. The play is centered on two main plots: the bond plot and the casket plot. The bond

The Merchant of Venice initially intrigued me since it is a comedy. The three Shakespeare plays I have read throughout my high school career have all been tragedies. Because of this, I wanted to analyze a work that was both comical and ended in a positive manner for the protagonists. Upon further analysis of the plot of this play, I was drawn by the quirky plotline and amusing characters which made it an interesting monologue to artisitcally depict. Not only is the plot filled with a dead father