Merchant Of Venice Character Analysis

In Shakespeare’s era, women were often portrayed as submissive and dependent in books rather than independent and brave. However men, were portrayed as the opposite. Shakespeare was one of the few authors who challenged this stereotype. For example in his play, The Merchant of Venice, although Portia was displayed as an obedient lady who followed her fathers will, she followed her own opinions and ideas. Her independence was shown when she said “they shall think we are accomplished with that we lack” (3.4, 62-63). This quote shows that Portia realises her husbands will be in shock after realising that she and Nerissa have dressed up as men to act like lawyers. Despite this Portia still carries on with her plan, behind her husband’s backs. In Shakespeare’s era, Portia’s actions would be considered as unruly for a women.

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

In the play “Julius Caesar” by William Shakespeare, women play an important role. The women are important factors in foreshadowing and in the development of many of the characters. To look at the role of women in the play we must look deeper in to the roles of the only two women in the play; Calpurnia, wife of Caesar, and Portia, wife of Brutus. Both of these women are key in foreshadowing the murder of Caesar. After Caesar’s murder we do not hear much of either of them.

The only work that they could do was moneylender or something to similar. It is shown the idea of Shakespeare; he is a democrat, which means he is democratic in a traditional liberal sense of the world. In another way, he is all main equal and many of his plays show the women as the heroine and they are smarter than men, or just smart. In fact, with her idea, she solves the problem; she creates solutions in a way that is not normal exhibited from the society. However, it is possible to notice in this play that Portia has to disguise like a man, so it is notable the role of the women in this period. Shakespeare moved forward, he made a huge impact. He promoted a very democratic idea of the polis of sexist. A woman save the day of the Merchant, she was

Without money, Bassanio believes himself an unfit suitor for Portia, unable to match any of her other, richer suitors in sexual appeal. It is doubly significant that though he speaks of love and sexual

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.

Shakespeare initially introduces Portia in a way that her wealth and socioeconomic status are immediately evident. Not only is Portia rich and stunningly beautiful, but she rounds out the image of a

The feminist critical perspective examines the roles that women play in literary works and their true significance to the text. Their roles are usually decided on by the society or time period in which the story is set. In "The Merchant of Venice," females were suppressed by the societal ideals of Shakespeare's Elizabethan era, which is portrayed through the characters of Portia and Jessica, who could not establish their own powerful identities because they were women. Portia and Jessica are the main female characters in the play. If they had been given a chance to show their skills, they undoubtedly would've been extremely strong women. However, they had to mask their abilities in order to appeal to their male counterparts. Their

Behind the numerous men in power within Shakespeare’s play Julius Caesar lie their deceptive wives. These influential figures wanted to obtain the secrets and knowledge of their husbands, yet knew their position put them in a potentially dangerous position. Of these women, Calphurnia and Portia ranked high. Being the wives of men with great power, they attempted to influence their husbands to stay out of danger. Of these two, Portia was very assertive when talking to her husband, Brutus .

The novel The Merchant of Venice is an interesting play about how people dealt with money. Money has a very important role in this book because it helps the story develop and progress. They use money in different ways in the story; they are used in commerce, debt and in a will. Money is a very important asset in life, but every character has their own view on money, which then dictates their actions throughout the story.

Through these scenes, I learn about Portia’s gracious character and her tact in using her appearance to deceive her suitors. This is because she does not want to hurt the feelings of the suitors, but at the same time, she is witty enough to dupe them, without them knowing that she is doing so. This reveals the theme of Appearance vs. Reality,

Throughout the play Shakespeare builds up Portia's character from what appears like a subservient lady, who is constrained into a marriage, to a free lady who is viewed as an equal by her husband. The arranged marriage demonstrates that Portia was given no opportunity by her dominant dead father, which may be the reason Portia appears to make hateful remarks about all the suitors that come to attempt to win her hand in marriage. Toward the start of the play Portia has no control over her financial well-being or an unarranged marriage, she is almost, a prize to be won – here the lady is trapped in a male-dominant society, “I may neither choose who I would nor refuse who I

The Merchant of Venice is a play set in a very male and Christian dominated society where other religions and women rights weren’t very well accepted by the community. However Portia, a rich woman who had previously been controlled by men, triumphs as she manipulates tricks and saves the lives of the men.

In William Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice, there is a motif of women being equated with gold, money, and jewelry. Portia resides in a trapped patriarchal society where her life revolves around the men who play her like a puppet. Ironically, men from both the living and the dead control her. From the beginning, Portia is bounded by the lottery set forth in her dead father’s will which gives potential suitors a chance to choose between three caskets: gold, silver, and lead. This act by her father is an objectification of Portia. Portia is made out to be a prize waiting to be correctly chosen. Her suitor, Bassanio, who chooses the right casket is a materialistic men. Bassanio objectifies Portia starting from the moment he first mentions her to Antonio. He talks about Portia’s wealth status before saying her name. To Bassanio, Portia is like a golden goose; she is the money source provider. He compliments Portia on her physical beauty, her fair skin, and her golden locks. However, not only does Bassanio objectify Portia but Portia seems to objectify herself as well. Portia tells Bassanio that she is in one of the caskets he will choose. It seems that rather than Portia actually objectifying her own self, she has a mindset that she is an object because of the patriarchal society she lives in. However, right before Bassanio chooses, Portia slightly hints at Bassanio the correct casket by singing a song; she cheats. This notion of cheating can be seen as the very first step

Shylock, a character in Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice has been abhorred upon by Christians and it reflects on his actions and his personality in a negative way. This victimization causes Shylock to appear as a self-obsessed fool, when really he is a heartbroken Jewish father. We can assume that since he was young, he had always been treated cruelly because of his religion and time period which in the future causes him to be all alone and gather this great lust for revenge. People understand that Jews are treated atrociously in the 1500’s like Shylock because many of the characters express it or admit it. For example, Shylock and Antonio are creating a bond in which Antonio asks Shylock to loan him some money knowing that the way he treats Shylock is wrong. The bond specifies that if the money is not payed back, then Shylock has the authority to take a pound of Antonio’s flesh. This happens in the city plaza of Venice. Shylock states all the wrongs that Antonio approached on him, including when Antonio calls him a “dog”(1.3.121). Unfortunately, Antonio retorts, “I am as like to call thee so again,/ to spet on thee again, to spurn thee, too.” (1.3.140-141). Antonio doesn’t even blink before he says that he would verbally and physically bully Shylock over and over again, as long as he stayed a Jew. If someone puts themselves in Shylock shoes, how would he feel? He definitely wouldn’t feel happy or content with what