Jasdeep Bains
Mrs. Valdez
ENG2D1-05
Wednesday May 28, 2008
Appearance Vs Reality in Merchant Of Venice
This theme of Appearance Vs. Reality is used throughout the play to mislead and confuse so things may not always be what they seem. Shakespeare uses deception to enhance the unfolding drama and involve his audience more fully in the play – the audience are party to deceptions which the characters themselves are unaware of.
Prejudice was common and the word “Jew” applied to hardhearted unscrupulous moneylenders. An Elizabethan audience would have been happy to see a Jew, Spaniard or a Moor deceived and Shakespeare clearly tried to give his audience what it wanted. In contrast, many, particularly ladies, would have admired the strong and
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This is a racist comment; she wants all people of his race to choose the wrong casket. In the original group of suitors mentioned at the start of the play was, amongst others, a German whom Portia stereotyped. “When he is worst he is little better than a beast”. In Shakespeare’s time the suitors would have been recognized as national stereotypes. Although not clearly specified in the play, we are under the impression that Portia again is pleasant to the suitors’ faces but mocks them behind their backs – a cruel and deliberate deception. Finally Portia deceives the Prince of Arragon too. In his presence she describes him as a “noble prince” but again this is only a deception as in his absence she comments on all the men who have visited as being “deliberate fools”.
Bassanio deceives Portia into thinking he is rich. This is quite an important deception as it is linked directly to the main deception of the loan from Shylock. Bassanio needs money so he can borrow a ship and sail to Portia to ask if she will marry him. He also needs money to buy expensive gifts, again to deceive Portia. Bassanio brings “Gifts of rich value” and, although he is in debt, arrives as Portia’s suitor as if a rich man.
After successfully saving Antonio from Shylock, Portia (still disguised) requests Bassanio’s ring that she has given him as a token of loyalty, “And for your love I’ll take this
The issue of race is one filled with controversy and passion, even today in the twenty-first centaury. In today’s day and age it is more shuttle and underground then it was in its most recent ‘hay-day’. In our time today we see it as more of a shameful, offensive and intolerant thing, but it was the norm in the early 15th and 16th century. Today those people that are outwardly racist are seen as outcasts. In this essay I will tempt to show how even though it was the norm in Victorian England, Shakespeare already had another mind set, and was trying in this creative way that the mind set of the people was not correct even for that time. How and why did Shakespeare purposely portray Othello the Moor as a tragic hero, like Hamlet or King
this story, Shakespeare uses certain structures to reveal that by using deceit one may actually be
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
Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice exemplifies a principle that is as unfortunately true in our time as it was in his - he who has money also has love, sex, and above all, power. In this case, the use of 'he' is deliberate; 'she,' in the Elizabethan era, rarely had either financial independence or much control over the course of her life. Portia, the deceitful heroine of the play, is a major exception. To put it bluntly, Portia is enormously rich. This unique position allows her to meddle in the affairs of the unsuspecting and somewhat dim male characters, and eventually gives her unprecedented power of self-determination. However, the play is more than a tale of feminine
One must always be weary of the truth because it is quite often manipulated to serve the needs of any person who requires that the truth be on their side. Quite often, the only way to discern the truth from the fiction is by way of a deceptive act, because an act of deception always exposes both its self and the truth to be two quite different things. Nowhere is this more true than in William Shakespeare's, Hamlet. One of the major themes in the play is in fact, deception. This central theme is expressed throughout the play in three major forms: the fear of being deceived, the act of deception, and the ultimate result of the deceptive act. The first facet of the deceptive
In the Shakespearian play: The Taming of the Shrew, deception is one of the major concepts. A tangled web is created in the play through deception of character behavior and the change between clothing and class. Most of the deception in the play have particular motives behind them and create dramatic irony. Shakespeare has used dramatic irony to create a comedic play.
Throughout history there has been a general understanding that appearances can be deceiving. A person may go through life without anyone understanding the true reality of their character. William Shakespeare, one of the greatest writers of all time, understood the relationship between appearance and reality and often gave characters two sides to their personality.
Antonio describes Shylock as a devil in disguise, because the devil Also tried to trick Jesus using the bible. This conveys to the the reader, that Antonio thinks that Shylock is a wicked person, guided by his own self-interest. He even goes to the extent of saying that Shylock is an evil soul, producing holy witness, just to get what he wants. The use of the simile, “A goodly apple, rotten at the heart.” Tells us that Antonio is warning Bassanio that what may seem nice and good on the outside, could be bad and evil on the inside. This is the first instance we see Antonio show a bit of resentment towards Shylock. After seeing what these two men have said about each other, it is no surprise that one of them is Jewish(Shylock) and the other a
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
Racism seems to be a big concern in Shakespeare’s tragic play, Othello. Because the hero of the play is an outsider, a Moor, we have an idea how blacks were regarded in England, in Elizabethan times. There are many references that bring about the issue of racism from the very beginning to the end. In the tragedy, where Othello is coming from is not mentioned, yet through the descriptions the reader is informed that he belongs to one of the Eastern nationalities such as African, Ottoman Turk or Arab. In this paper I am going to analyze some episodes involving a prejudicial, racist attitude and try to discuss whether Shakespeare was a racist or not. Even though the play is full of offensive definitions of black
Stereotypes for every different religion, ethnicity, culture, and gender exist among the minds of the human race. These typecasts have ruled this world for as long as there has been diversity among people. In Shakespeare’s comedic tragedy, The Merchant of Venice, one prejudice is very central to the theme. The play is dominantly set in Venice, one of the most liberal cities of the Renaissance era. In this place and time period, anti-Semitism is very much in force. The Jewish people are discriminated against and treated terribly by the Christians living in Venice. Shylock, a wealthy Jew, is mercilessly spurned many times by men like Antonio, a Venetian merchant. In contrast to this blind hatred is the longing and lust associated with
We see how she is manipulated by men through her father, who though dead, still manages to control who she marries from his will. He states in his will that from three different caskets the suitors will have to chose, in each of which will contain either a letter to the suitor or a picture of Portia. In one of the three caskets, either the lead, silver or gold casket, there will be a picture of Portia the suitor picking the casket
Portia is describing to Brutus that by excluding her from his secret, that she has been reduced to his concubine. Brutus responds to Portia's statement by stating, "You are my true and honorable wife, /As dear to me as are the ruddy drops/That visit my sad heart,"(II, I, 311-313). Brutus shows that despite, his depressed state, he still loves and cares for his wife showing the mutual relationship Brutus and Portia share that is based on love.
Deceit and lies are rampant in William Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Hamlet. It can be seen in the characters’ actions and words, as well as what they fail to say and do. It comes in various types of relationships -- between husband and wife, parent and child, siblings, and between lovers. Nearly every character in the play either deliberately spins a web of their own lies, uses another person for their trickery, or is used in another person’s deceitful plot. Each has different motives for their deceit -- to maintain power, to achieve their goals, to attain vengeance, or simply because it is necessary to function in this twisted society -- but all of them face a tragic ending no matter their initial intentions. In this play, deceit is so uncontrolled, intertwined, and multidimensional that it becomes impossible for either the characters or audience to ascertain what is true.
Portia: Portia, being one of the main characters and the romantic heroine of the play, must be presented to the audience as a graceful, beautiful and intelligent person. We all know she’s beautiful, that needs no convincing. Portia is usually a fairly self-controlled person who likes to keep problems between her and her trustworthy lady-in-waiting, Nerissa. However there are certain times when she lets slip that she is an anxious person for example when Bassanio arrives at her mansion and is about to choose a casket. She has fallen in love with him and is having great difficulty in trying to conceal that fact. Her anxiety and confusion is what makes her lose her composure. Portia’s other appealing characteristic- probably one of the most apparent- is her graciousness, her amazing way of handling a situation with tact and