Directing Act 4 Scene 1 of Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice

in four of the scenes, Act 1 scene1, act 3 scene 1, act 3 scene 5 and

In Act 3 scene I, we see dramatic irony right from the start when the

central to the play. I am going to look at only the first act of the

The merchant of Venice is a drama and romantic play, by William Shakespeare. Regarding the test for the suitors and the final part of the book, the author is inspired by a fourteenth-century Italian novel of Giovanni Fiorentino, called “Il Giannetto”, (Bullough, 1957). The merchant of Venice is believed to have been written between 1596 and 1598. It is contained on the First Folio, in the contents of Comedies, sharing certain aspects with others plays. That one traditionally ends with the positive return to order expected from the genre, it also has some characteristics of a tragedy, in particular with regard to the punishment and the oppression that are suffered to Shylock Jew. The peculiarity is the title of this book, “The Merchant of Venice”, in fact, it refers to the character Antonio, and not Shylock, a moneylender, which has a pivotal role in this play. One possible reason is that by calling “The Merchant of Venice”, Shakespeare wanted to focus the attention of the readers, on the

In ‘The Merchant of Venice’ Shylock is very strong minded and is singled out of the play because he is a mean Jew that charges interest. Shylock is very stubborn and determined to keep to his bond; a pound of flesh of Antonio.

In Act 4 Scene 1, Shakespeare employs numerous dramatic techniques to create a remarkable and memorable moment in the play. The techniques include: the positioning of the scene in the context of the play as a whole; the successful characterization of the key players, including Leonato, Claudio and Hero in particular; and the use of poetic and descriptive language.

William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet is undeniably one of the most eminent tales of tragedy ever written. Act 4, Scene 3 has ingeniously demonstrated how the plot and themes, and characterization

* Act 4 Scene 1 Lines 1-104 (Shaming of Hero), Lines 105-247 (Plan by Friar Francis) and rest of the scene (Beatrice and Benedick)

"O my offence is rank, it smells to heaven; / It hath the primal eldest curse upon it, / A brother's murder" (Act III Scene III)

In conclusion, through Scenes 1-4 in Act 1 Shakespeare presents Macbeth’s flaws and weaknesses through structure, language and other characters. Macbeth is set-up to be a tragic-hero by the heightening of his character in Scene 2, and the sudden change in his personality in Scene 4 due to the witches’ manipulation. The weaknesses explored by Shakespeare intensify the

Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice is so alike to our financially afflicted world. The rules of law and commerce are subject to deceptive manipulation, fear of "the other" overwhelms respect for a common humanity, duplicity is the norm, sexuality is a vehicle for ambition, and money drives and wraps almost every action. It is a classic tale that includes important details of the financial crisis in the United States during 2007-2009. Shakespeare’s Venice, like the New York of his time - and the financial capitals of ours - is a city based on borrowing, on market speculation and greed masquerading as wealth and sophistication. Behind the curtains of the practice of lending and borrowing money in Shakespeare’s play lay the transition to capitalism: the rise of banking system; the scarcity for credit in developing industrial enterprises; and the growing dispute of default facing both aristocratic landlords and, above all, small, independent early entrepreneurs on trading ventures. Even though almost 600 years apart from each other, both Shakespeare’s tale and the financial crisis in the United States during 2007-2009 have a similar financial dilemma, each has its unique Shylock, Bassanio and Antonio- people who were responsible for causing the meltdown of their days.

right of the stage facing out to the right and the table on the left

Act III Scene V - This is a very important scene. Select and comment on

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.

I am now going to look at act 3 scene 5 in detail, I'm looking at this