Character Analysis Of Arthur Gould's 'Merchant Of Venice'

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

Throughout the drama, “The Tragedy of Othello”, Iago successfully manipulates Cassio various times. In the writing, Shakespeare creates Iago’s plan to demote Cassio from being Othello’s lieutenant, the role Iago dreamt of, by tricking Cassio to get drunk so that he will raise chaos and result in Cassio being demoted. This worked out for Iago when Cassio accepts Iago’s encouraging words and began to drink heavily, this would result in Cassio ultimately fighting and stabbing Montano in a drunken rage. Iago now would complete his manipulation of Cassio when he tells Othello about Cassio’s incident, however, this time he would make it sound like Cassio was determined to kill Montano; not just drunkenly brawl him “There comes a fellow

Lastly Shylock is shown as a victim when his daughter Jessica lies and betrays her father, when she waits for her father to leave for dinner with some Christians. She has a message delivered to her by one of her father’s workers. Lancelot tells her to look out the window because her Christian lover will be there waiting to rescue her. So Jessica dresses as a male torchbearer, steals all of Shylocks jewels and money, including Shylocks former wife Leah’s wedding ring and runs away from her father to elope with Lorenzo and become a Christian. Later on when Shylock finds out he is very upset and feels betrayed because Jessica was his only daughter and she stole Leah’s ring and has traded it for a pet monkey. He goes on to say he would not have given it up for a wilderness of monkeys. That shows Shylock’s sweet sensitive side and shows he is not only victim to being harassed and spit on, but also a

Discrimination is a real and distressing problem that occurred in Shakespeare’s time and in the contemporary Canadian society. In the play The Merchant of Venice, by William Shakespeare, Shylock is victimized because of his Jewish heritage. This is evident in Shylock’s speech in Act 3 Scene 1.

In Act 1.1, Othello is being described, but we do not know it is Othello they are describing. As Iago and Roderigo discuss Othello, the man they describe has not been identified. The audience is not meant to know exactly who they are speaking about because we are meant to think we are learning about the villain. In this moment we are meant to side with Iago and Roderigo. They would like us to curse Othello’s villainous nature without even questioning who he really is. We are also meant to ignore the actual devious nature of Iago and his own corruptness. In reality, Othello is a man of superior public position. He is one of high honor and the one who the Venetian state depends on for safety. The fact that we don’t know it is Othello they are making out to be the villain makes Othello the tragic hero in this play of revenge.

Set in 16th century Venice, The Merchant of Venice is a comedic play written by William Shakespeare, following the lives of Antonio and Bassanio, two best friends. When Bassanio meets Portia, a beautiful and wealthy heiress, he borrows money from Antonio in attempt to woo her. As this plot unravels, we discover that Bassanio is not the only one after Portia, and is in fact against many other rich and titled suitors, who Portia unsparingly judges. This is when Portia is first portrayed as cruel and insensitive. However we later learn that beneath her quick wit and spitefulness, that she is also vulnerable and simply a girl in love. Shakespeare presents Portia as a powerful and complex character throughout this play who challenges the status

Othello is not just about one tragedy but several tragedies of suffering and injustice. The play ends in fatalities and heartbreak from the consequences of jealousy and racism. Othello is a well-respected military man who does not let race stand in the way of earning his reputable status and attention of beautiful Desdemona. But, when the seed of jealous is planted, Othello becomes easily manipulated into believing false accusations because of his own personal insecurities. He becomes a menace to himself through the pressures and conflicts pressed against him during his lifetime. These pressures include the stresses from Othello’s racial differences, the negative anxiety created from other characters, and his own subconscious not allowing

William Shakespeare creates a character unlike many others seen in literature. Rather than making a character with a single intent or ‘mood’ through the play, he overcomes tropes of “villain” and “hero” by making his main character one that is between those tropes. Shakespeare shapes his main character, Macbeth, as a character that is not a completely loathsome nor heroic character. He gives Macbeth human strengths and weaknesses to make him realistic and understandable to the reader.

A few times in the play cross-dressing is brung about. The women are banned from performing and instead their parts are played by young boys. The character Portia in the play stands out as an independent strong willed women. During the trial scene, Portia disguises herself as a man, along with the character Nerissa, to help Antonio and to prevent Shylock from collecting what is due, a pound of Antonio’s flesh. In the trial scene, Portia enters the courtroom as a unbiased legal authority, and is quick about explaining the loopholes in the contract between Antonio and Shylock. One such loophole is that only a pound of flesh near Antonio’s heart may be taken, but does not allow for his blood to be spilled. During the trial, Portia states, “The words expressly are “a pound of flesh. ”Take then thy bond, take thou thy pound of flesh, But in the cutting it if thou dost shed One drop of Christian blood, thy lands and goods Are by the laws of Venice confiscate Unto the state of Venice”” (Act IV Scene I, 298-303). Portia is describing the contract and explains that if Antonio’s Christian blood is spilled, then Shylock will lose his land and property. During the trial, Portia’s disguise as Balthasar is very convincing, even to her husband. Portia was able to relieve Antonio of his debt, but only by cross-dressing as a man.

William Shakespeare, widely regarded as the world’s greatest playwright, has revolutionized the world of English literature with his plays. Some of these plays are clear-cut comedies and 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.

The tragedy play of Othello by William Shakespeare was written in the early 1600’s. Othello, the protagonist, is the general governor of Venice. Othello, the black general, has a great reputation in the service of battle. Although he has great success in his service, he has a dramatic flaw which causes a downfall in his life. The play begins on the street of Venice where a conversation between Iago, a combatant who is underneath Othello’s command, and Roderigo, who is chasing Desdemona. Roderigo is dismayed when he finds out that Desdemona has eloped with Othello. Iago confesses to Roderigo that he hates Othello because Othello promoted Michal Cassio, a young, extremely brilliant guy from Florence, to the post of Lieutenant instead of him. "I follow him to serve my turn upon him" (I.1.42) Iago reveals the reason why he remained as Othello’s combatant was to facilitate his plan of vengeance. Shakespeare depicted the society of Othello and how villains such as Lago, are represented through the use of characterization and theme. He did so by illustrating Othello as a strong man who soon becomes the general of Venice and later is manipulated by Lago.

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 controlling her daughter’s love life, a character demanding a pound of another character’s flesh, and women dressing up as men in court, but the The Merchant of Venice also features a female protagonist, Portia, who seems to be one of the first Shakespearean protagonists I’ve encountered who is not afraid to take action. Although this play is a comedy, this particular monologue portrays Portia in distress, as she vocalizes her frustrations of not being able to act on her free will or follow the advice that she gives others. Despite being a comedy, this play, and the monologue itself, explores broader themes of filial piety (Portia’s adherence to her father’s rules, despite his absence and her diverging interests), self-interest, love, and the difficulty of choices. These compelling ideas within a comedy is what confirmed my choice of this monologue.

1) Supported my hypothesis as it showed that Othello was easily jealous, but it did not say that it caused Othello’s death. This hinted that Othello’s own jealousy caused his death.

Envy drives man’s heart to seek revenge in horrible fashions. In Shakespeare’s Othello, the title character bears the full brunt of the anger and frustration of his right-hand man, Iago. Iago’s passionate loathing drives the central conflict of the plot.

In The Merchant of Venice, William Shakespeare examines attractive qualities in a royal suitor through the casket test designed by Portia’s late father. Each suitor’s choice represents his perception of himself, Portia, and marriage, therefore can be anticipated by his words and actions prior to and during the test. The presence and expression of bravado among the men functions as the most indicative characteristic of the men’s choices, as a man’s portrayal of himself can tell a great deal about his views towards women and relationships. This foreshadowing is accomplished through their boastful diction, willingness to risk, and reactions to the caskets. As the three caskets each represent a different viewpoint, the three men also represent three distinct personality types, thus different expressions of confidence which the reader is able to detect through the suitor’s words and actions as they are systematically written by the author.