Analysis Of The Movie ' The Merchant Of Venice '

Antonio’s money is all tied up with a number of trade ships and tells Bassanio that he will be the loans guarantor. Shylock, a Jewish moneylender, offers to lend Bassanio three thousand ducats with no interest. Shylock creates a contract stating that should the loan go unpaid, Shylock will be entitled to a pound of Antonio’s own flesh. Antonios ships are lost and the debt cannot be paid. A trial is called to collect the debt and Shylock ignores all pleas to Antonio’s life. Shylock responds by reasoning that he has no reason. He blames his hatred of Antonio on “affection, Mistress of passion,” who is known to affect men and their moods in unexplainable ways (4.1.49–50). When the Duke of Venice is called in as the judge, he seeks a legal advisor. Portia being disguised as a young law clerk, examines the contract and, declares that Shylock is entitled to the merchant’s flesh, but that he must do so without causing Antonio to bleed. Making Shylocks distain towards Antonio even more apparent. This turn in the trial causes Shylock to accept Bassanio’s money and turns into a trial against Shylock for conspiring against the life of a Venetian citizen, stripping Shylock of everything he holds

Topic Sentence: Mercy plays a major role in this play it shows us the importance of human life and friendship.

These assumptions are clearly present in Shakespeare's work. In Merchant, financial language and romantic language are inextricably linked, suggesting that money is a source of both power and sexual desirability, particularly for males. The opening scene depicts Bassanio asking Antonio for money so that he may woo the beautiful and wealthy Portia. Bassanio is penniless and, it seems, made weak, unattractive, and perhaps less masculine by his poverty.

While The Merchant of Venice points out overlooked moments of dehumanization and problems of religious discrimination, the play also provides a process of re-humanization for Shylock to the audience. After Jessica has run away from Shylock with her Christian suitor Lorenzo, Salarino and Solanio, two of Antonio’s friends, begin to mock and insult Shylock as usual. Unlike Shylock’s previous sarcastic reactions to the

All communities run successfully with qualities of fairness and equality. The well-being of the citizens depends on the support and guidance they receive from those with power and influence in their society. When the people become corrupt and start having intentions that do not contribute back to the community, the society will fall apart and be unable to maintain balance and stability. In William Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice and Arthur Miller’s The Crucible the reader sees examples of injustice inflicted on the victims within the plays through the people with power within the community. The Christians in The Merchant of Venice mock Shylock the Jew

The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare takes place in 16th century Venice, a social, artistic and political, hub of Europe. The protagonist Antonio, a wealthy merchant, takes out a loan so that his dear friend Bassanio can travel to Belmont in hopes of winning the heart of Portia, the daughter of an affluent nobleman. As it is against Christian law to loan money with interest, Antonio seeks out Shylock, a Jewish money lender who has had quarrels with Antonio in the past. One of the most important aspects of the play is how Shakespeare presents gender roles, and the opposition of societal norms to critique the standards of the time related to men, women and the relationship between the two.

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 him to retain his wealth, and refused to show even mercy so as he could get his revenge on Antonio. It is through such destructive intentions Shylock possessed, having a negative impact on other characters in the play, which designates him as a

‘I look at it every day and every day it gives me pleasure. Their art is what they leave behind. And art matters because it changes the way we see ourselves in the world. It shows the next generation who we were. It’s important and long lasting.’

In contrast, The Merchant of Venice generates another embodiment of justice through Shylock’s desire in search of a fair treatment from Antonio. Antonio is in need of money for Bassanio; yet, Shylock is willing to “lend” him “thus much money,” but first Shylock tells Antonio how unjust he has been to him, “…you spet on me on Wendesday last; You spurned me such a day; another You called

tied up at sea, Antonio agrees to ask for a short term loan of the

To understand the motivation behind Shylock’s obsession with money, the beginning of the play has to be referenced. In Shylock’s negotiations with Bassanio and Antonio, Shylock recalls, “Signior Antonio, many a time and oft in the Rialto you have rated me about my moneys and my usances… You call me misbeliever, cutthroat dog and spet upon my Jewish gabardine… You called me dog; and for these courtesies I’ll lend you thus much moneys?” (1.3.104-126). From this passage, Shylock’s motivations are presented clearly. He loathes Antonio for how poorly he has treated him in the past, insulting both his character and his religion. Therefore, the motivating factor in lending money to Bassanio is so Shylock has the ability to hold some form of power over Antonio. Therein lies the key to Shylock’s obsession with wealth. In the referenced Venetian culture, Jewish people were persecuted for their religion and were branded unsavory by the predominantly Christian community. Shylock, being ridiculed and domineered his whole life by his Christian counterparts, saw an opportunity to finally even the odds and jumped at it. Shylock clings onto his wealth because it is the only thing that gives him power in Venetian

When people supposed to be good do terrible things it is easy to assume that the person at fault is the people around them. However, if a good person does a terrible thing, they probably were not good in the first place, and their actions are rooted in deep seeded personality flaws. Such of these incidents can be seen in the title character of Shakespeare’s Othello: the Moor of Venice. The protagonist Othello’s obsession with his own reputation leads to the harsh treatment to his subordinates and ultimately leads to his suicide.

In Shakespeare’s play the merchant of Venice the audience learns about love in many forms. Through the characters, of Portia and Bassanio, Shylock and his love for money over his daughter and Antonio and Bassanio. The audience learns through Portia that true love always triumphs. From shylock we learn that money isn’t everything it seems to be and that you should treasure your family more than money. Through the friendship of Antonio and Bassanio we learn about the love of one friend for another and how they would sacrifice anything for one another. Shakespeare uses many techniques including: tests, plot incident, passionate dialogue, characterisation and emotive language to express his idea of love and friendship to the

By tracing back the early roles of Shylock done in the Elizabethan stage, we are able to appreciate the complexity of Shakespear’s character, Shylock, and how he has the greatest impact than any other character.

William Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice is a perplexing story of dark humor, race, religion, identity, love, and justice. Generally, most people understand The Merchant of Venice as a comedy about a bitter and outcasted Jewish moneylender named Shylock who seeks revenge against a Christian merchant who has failed to pay his loan back. However, there are many different perspectives on whether The Merchant of Venice is a comedy or a tragedy depending on one’s views on the difference between race and religion. If one views the story as a comedy, it is a dark comedy full of many problems, especially the controversial subject matter of anti-Semitic attitudes of its Christian characters. If one views it as a tragedy, it is a tragedy that concludes with majority of its characters in a “happy ending”—that is if one agrees that Jessica’s decision of love over betraying her father and giving up her Jewish identity is indeed a happy ending.