In the Merchant of Venice, some examples of gambling include: the merchant, Antonio, loans money from Shylock at the price of not returning the money, a
Shakespeare on Religious Dehumanization: Bringing Awareness, Not Change Discrimination and hatred across religions can be often become a normal part of everyday life, and can be difficult to eradicate and extinguish. In William Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice, the idea of the “normality” of everyday prejudices comes across in interactions and the
Analysis of Lines 29 to 127(Act1 Scene 3) from ‘The Merchant Of Venice’ The Enmity between Christians and Jews. The Enmity between Christians and Jews is first revealed in this passage by Shylock’s tetchy, sarcastic reply to Bassanio. Bassanio politely invites Shlock to dinner and Shylock replies sarcastically saying, “Yes, to smell
Antonio’s acceptance of beliefs that are condemned by his religion conveys the novel’s theme of truth being subjective. Before learning of Florence’s death, Antonio is eager to share the legend of the golden carp with his friend, “Florence needed at least one god, and I was sure he would believe in the golden
Othello for the Venetian Senate exists only in incomplete his form in the rough profile of a mercenary. Othello vaguely knows his position, his spiritual disorder in Venice, it is heard from some of his comments and a little ironic - not only on stage but also by Othello it is felt, that his relationship with a republic is only commercially careful
Othello Down Shakespeare 's Othello comprises of the subjects betrayal, affection and dishonesty. At the focal point of this play is the lamentable ruin of Othello because of his so-called friend Iago. In this paper I will be examining the explanations behind and against Othello being in charge of his defeat
For the time Othello was set in, 16th century Elizabethan society held strong socioeconomic roles that governed social statuses. In Shakespeare’s Othello, class positions become a theme that emphasizes power as a major role in relationships. In the case of Othello, a general of the Venetian army, and Iago, one
Humor can change the mood of any story. For example, try to guess the movie with this description: A widowed father’s only son is taken away from him, so he and mentally challenged women try to find him. This movie is Finding Nemo. When audiences think about Finding Nemo, they
Jiwon Shin Professor Daniel Richter CLAS 320 8 December 2015 The Merchant of Venice: Comedy or Tragedy? Intro: 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.
Shakespeare engages a modern audience through the character Shylock. Shylock in The Merchant of Venice is the antagonist of the play and is subject to sequences of misfortune, much to the delight of the Elizabethan audience. However, in a modern context we show slight feelings of sympathy towards him as a result of today’s ideologies. Upon meeting Shylock we see that his religious standing puts him in an isolated position against the Venetian society. A line is recited
Morality and Immorality in Othello William Shakespeare’s tragic drama Othello presents to the audience a picture of many different shades of morality and immorality. It is the purpose of this essay to elaborate in detail on this thesis.
How far do you agree with this statement? Does Shylock deserve his punishment? Shylock is punished by the Venetian court for seeking to end Antonio’s life. He is charged under a Venetian law (of Shakespeare’s creation) and he is forced to give up his wealth and to beg the Duke to spare him his life. Viewed like this it seems simple enough; Shylock broke a Venetian law and, as a consequence, is punished. However, Shylock’s case is far from simple. Antonio’s demand that Shylock should renounce his Judaism and become a Christian and his insistence that Shylock should will his money to the Christian
Although Antonio and Shylock command most of the play’s dialogues pertaining to law and justice, Bassanio does comment on law in two separate occasions. The first occurs when he is choosing between one of Portia’s chests. He recognizes the dangers of façades and asks, “In law, what plea so tainted and corrupt / But, being seasoned with a gracious voice, / Obscures the show of evil?” (3.2.75-77). This line is significant because it deals with law before the courtroom scene takes place and provides some foreshadowing to how the cases are presented. Shylock and Portia, especially, employ different rhetorical devices in order to sway the ruling in their favor. In a second reading, Bassanio’s observation forces the reader to ask who is “seasoned with a gracious voice” and who is morally right? During the courtroom scene Bassanio plays a less important role, yet he recognizes how the law operates. Even though he has no say with the ruling he pleads with Portia, “And… / Wrest once the law to your authority. / To do a great right, do a little wrong, / And curb this cruel devil of his will” (4.1.211-214). Bassanio has a huge desire to help his friend Antonio and knows, that at this point, only the law can help him. Thus, it makes sense that he asks Portia to establish a favorable ruling. Bassanio’s words seem to suggest that he has a less black-and-white outlook towards law: he
What’s in a Word Paper The Merchant of Venus, is a play written by William Shakespeare and is a majority of the time remembered for its scene with Shylock and Antonio. As intricate as the play wove itself, the word that seemed to occur a majority of the time “bonds”, had multiple meanings occurring throughout the play. Oxford English Dictionary (OED) tells us that Bonds can mean the bondage of a marriage, the ways of which a thing is bound or tied down, agreement or engagement binding to him of which who makes it, and a deed, by which binds himself, his heirs, executors, or assigns to pay a certain sum of money. In this play, we see a strong connection between bonds and goods reoccurring from start to finish. The term “bond”, is
William Shakespeare’s comedy The Merchant of Venice tells the story of Antonio, a merchant, who borrows money from Shylock a Jewish moneylender to help his friend, Bassanio, marry a woman. The play highlights the tension between Jews and Christians in society through the interactions between Shylock and the Christians. In contrast, the play also highlights the positive aspects of both religions. The main point of The Merchant of Venice is to critique society’s treatment of religion.