Merchant Of Venice Character Analysis

The Merchant of Venice is one of Shakespeare’s most widely known and controversial comedies. Written in the late 1590s, its’ controversy stems from the modern mindset between tolerance and prejudice. Shylock, who was “at once a fabulous monster, the Jew incarnate, and also a troubling human uneasily joined with the monster in an uncanny blend”, is now looked at as a victim in light of the prejudice bestowed upon him now being recognized. Shylock’s character is so stereotypically Jewish that he becomes known as villainous instead of a victim. (1, Pg. 1) At this point of time, Jews were treated harshly and were ostracized by Christians. Shylock, because of his religion, is frequently looked down upon, spit at, and called derogatory terms.

Individuals that suffer from borderline personality disorder often undergo dramatic personality changes when faced with an event where they feel they are being deserted by loved ones. To be exact, “The perception of impending separation or rejection, or the loss of external structure, can lead to profound changes in self-image, cognition, and behavior” (American Psychiatric Association 663). This can be seen in Act 3, Scene 3 of Othello. The text states,

The audience, as well as Bassanio, view Portia as a beautiful, immaculate, aristocratic and “fair” lady. However after Act 5, Portia is nothing, but prejudicial and bigoted, as she is the cause of Shylock’s demise and claims that she used “my [her] body” to punish Bassanio for abusing her gift of love: the ring. This is ironic, because Portia infringes her relationship with Bassanio by inferring she has committed an affair, even though she herself accuses him of abusing her love and power by losing the ring. This implies that relationships in Elizabethan society were corrupt and fake, which allowed many women in particular to commit religious crimes against their husbands.

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

In the play, Othello, The Moor of Venice, there are several characters that can be blamed for the tragedy. Othello, Iago, and Roderigo are to blame for deaths. Iago was being dishonest to every character. He was the mastermind behind the tragedy. A lot of blame could be placed on Othello because he fell for Iago’s lies, which led to him killing his wife, Desdemona. Iago blindsided Roderigo because he was in love with Desdemona.

Othello is the eponymous hero of ‘Othello’, so naturally he is Shakespeare’s strongest voice throughout the play. There are many labels thrust upon him: general, husband, outsider, Moor; each label bringing stereotypes that Othello subverts and perpetuates in differing speeches throughout the play. Othello’s development from husband to cuckold to widower is set alongside his fall from mental stability and grace in the eyes of God. The role of man was all encompassing in Jacobean England, a man was meant to be responsible for everything in the public eye, and not only does Othello’s race set him apart from the stereotypical Jacobean general, but his mental deterioration continues to make him a stark contrast from what a man was meant to be in Jacobean England.

Characterizing Shylock in William Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice The ‘Merchant of Venice’ was written at a time when there was great prejudice towards the Jewish race. They were known for their intelligence, hard work and business acumen, which later led them to be mistreated and resented. They were made to wear distinctive clothing in order to be identified, and citizens of Venice could treat Jews in any way they wished. The Christian church also taught that Jews should be despised for their rejection of Jesus and that money lending was morally wrong.

The Merchant of Venice offers another unique perspective on crossdressing as it existed on the English Renaissance stage. Howard suggests that Portia’s crossdressing is “more disruptive than Viola’s” (Howard, p. 433) because Portia herself was an unruly woman to begin with. Portia has become the master of her own destiny with the passing of her father, for she is referred to as the Lord of Belmont now that no man exists to fill such a role. What remains of the patriarchal authority, particularly the casket trial by which Portia’s future husband must be chosen, is even subverted by Portia’s ability to guide her suitors to a proper or incorrect choice. Her seemingly innate guile and resourcefulness set the stage for her entry into the male arena and the inversion created by her crossdressing (Newman, pp. 26-28).

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In Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice, Shakespeare transgresses by writing the Jewish character of Shylock as a sympathetic, round character in a time period full of anti-semitism and prejudice. This transgression attempts to coerce the reader and Shakespeare’s audience, most likely subconsciously, to begin to question the strict stereotypes that their own society place on minorities.

What defines a person, or how might a person define themself?  Is it the things they believe in, the things they say, or the actions they perform? There are several aspects that determine how Shakespeare’s readers, even the characters in the play, define his well-crafted character Othello. Someone who once stood as an honorable and noble authority figure, was then transformed into a murderer in just a matter of days, leaving a lifetime promise of love crumbling as a result of a few days of speculation. In the Shakespearean tragedy, Othello creates his own downfall by letting his weaknesses get the better of him, by blindly following Iago’s illusions and manipulations, enabling the extreme spite and jealousy that led to his ultimate demise.

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.

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.

The presentation of a character may affect the amount of sympathy the character gains from the audience. Shakespeare presents the character of Shylock as a flesh eating, greedy and obsessive character in his play ‘merchant of Venice’; by doing this Shakespeare manipulates the response Shylock gets from the audience in Act 4 Scene 1.

Portia in The Merchant Of Venice, has been considered as one of the most perfectly developed female protagonist. The heiress of Belmont represents the nexus of the play, as the quest for her hand creates a motive for Bassanio to borrow money which initiated the bond plot and the ring plot. Furthermore she manipulates the trial and resolves the bond episode and the ring episode. Portia is introduced in the play as being a wealthy heiress whom many suitors try to court. Her significance and characteristic in the play can be seen in her genuine love, her graciousness and her witty yet playful traits. She further represents the comparison between Belmont and Venice, herself and shylock and most importantly, love and self interest, one of the key themes in the play. Critics liked to compare Portia with Shylock and the comparison brings out the salient traits of her character. One of them stated that while Portia stand for everything ‘bright, generous, and noble’ while Shylock represents ‘wickedness and evil’.