William Shakespeare 's The Merchant Of Venice

Throughout the education system, there seems to be an unofficial consensus that pieces of literature that are deemed “controversial” should not be taught in school. The Merchant of Venice falls into this category due to the Anti-Semitism which exists within the play making it “controversial” therefore, banned. On the contrary, this play should not be considered controversial and it should not be banned due to the learning experiences and knowledge that can be gained by reading this play. The contrastive style of literature will provide students and teachers alike who read this play the chance to expand their horizons when it comes to their English skills. With this in mind, The Merchant of Venice written by William

Shakespeare’s play ‘The Merchant of Venice’ starts off in Venice with Shylock as a simple money lender. His intentions seem reasonable to begin with, he sounds a nice man then he does a soliloquy saying how much hatred he has for Antonio, the Christian who treated him disrespectfully. Shylock conflicts his emotions again and speaks to Antonio in a joking manner which in his mind turns out to be the truth.

Looking into Shakespeare’s work, the class and I got to view “The Merchant of Venice”. I

Happiness. It is not measurable, profitable, nor tradable. Yet, above all else in the world, it is what people seek. They want to have happiness, and want to know they have a lot of it. But happiness, like air or water, is a hard thing to grasp in one’s hand. It is intangible. So how does one know if they have it? Is it just a feeling? And if someone does not feel happy, how can they go about achieving that feeling? Happiness is a mental or emotional state of well-being defined by positive or pleasant emotions, managing from contentment to intense joy. In the play, The Merchant of Venice, there are lots of characters who have found their own root of happiness. One of the who found his happiness is Bassanio. The

Love triangles are complicated and messy scenarios that are caused by the indecision of the person in the middle or the inability of the others to move on. The same is seen in The Merchant of Venice, in which Antonio and Portia fight for Bassanio. Throughout the play we see many bonds or connections between both Antonio and Bassanio as well as Portia and Bassanio. To many, the main plot may seem to be the conflict between Antonio and Shylock, when in reality it’s the love that Antonio and Portia have for Bassanio that leads to everything. The main plot is moved forward by the bonds the two have with Bassanio and the rivalry they have with each other. Nearly everything that happens in the play has to do with their fight for

William Shakespeare was a poet, playwright, and actor, and is often regarded as one of the best writers to have ever lived. He is considered to be the English national poet. He wrote 37 plays and 154 sonnets during the late 16th and early 17th century. During this time period, England had an absolute patriarchal society, where males dominated all aspects of life. Women had very few rights and were treated very poorly. However, Shakespeare liked to write plays that challenged traditional thinking and norms. In this paper, I will explore the gender norms/expectations for women during Shakespeare’s time and how he conformed or didn’t conform to these norms in two different plays, Romeo and Juliet and the Merchant of Venice.

Shakespeare 's view of women was different and radical for his time. He believed they were the equals of men, often demonstrating it through his works. He held the rather unpopular opinion that women had the right to choose their own husbands or have the chance of pursuing a career. The Merchant of Venice’s Jessica and Portia are some of his best portraying

William Shakespare’s The Tempest introduces a dynamic and colorful protagonist, Prospero. Throughout the play, he establishes himself as a multi dimensional character. Prospero’s interaction with other characters in the play is vital in uncovering the many different sides of his personality. Prospero displays a different part of his personality when he interacts with Caliban, Ariel, and Ferdinand, all of whom are ploys in his master plan to regain his crown. Prospero assimilates his personality to reflect those who he is interacting with in order to manipulate them into helping him fulfill his own agenda of reclaiming Milan from his brother. Prospero’s authoritative nature can be seen as a parallel to the behavior of New World colonists,

The Tempest brings out the discussion of rule, in this play the theme of rule is prominent, especially in the beginning of the play where the conversation between Prospero and Miranda (his daughter) lead the actions of Prospero, this paper will be analysing the hierarchy of the characters, the definition of justice for Prospero and who’s the king of Milan. Prospero has magical powers which is seen later in the play, the play starts off by the telling the story of the current king and his crew on a boat in a storm that Prospero made, the story continues more on when the audience finds out that Prospero was actually exiled by Antonio who is the brother of Prospero. In The Tempest the rising motive of Prospero is he believes he is the

1. In the content, Shakespeare puts a scene in Belmont against one in Venice. As specified prior Shakespeare continually compares all through The Merchant of Venice. A juxtaposition is an abstract method that makes examinations between two disparate articles. One reason that Shakespeare continually compares is for the reason that Shakespeare 's deciding objective is to inspire intrigue and astound the perusers all through the story with sensational changes. To start with of act one scenes one and two, Antonio and Portia, two distinct characters are presented. An incident including Antonio in Venice and Portia in Belmont further outlines the correlation between the two. For example Antonio states, “In sooth, I know not why I am so sad”

It is hard to read The Merchant of Venice without finding at least one character to sympathize with. The unforgettable villain Shylock as well as Portia, Shakespeare’s first and one of his most famous heroines are arguably some of this plays most beloved characters. But, is Shylock really the villain? Or is he a victim of circumstance? Shylock’s insistence for a pound of flesh has made him one of literatures most memorable villains, but many might be inclined to say he is a compelling and sympathetic figure, rather then a villainous figure. By applying multiculturalism to this play, one might be able to deduce that through the exploitation of Jewish stereotypes common during the time this play was written, as well as language and character development, Shakespeare creates a character for which we not only feel scorn and derision, but also pity and compassion.

Over four hundred years after The Merchant of Venice was first written, the debate rages on about Shakespeare s intentions regarding the character of Shylock, whether the play is anti-Semitic or a criticism of the Christian anti-Semitism of Shakespeare s time, and even whether the play should be taught in schools.

In the novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley and the play The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare, love is a central mechanism to both the plot and character development. Explicitly, the action of how love is pursued is what delineates stereotypes for particular characters. Two of the most definite examples can be found with the Monster and Antonio. When viewing the goals of these two characters in their storylines, it is clear that both of them become tied to the idea of affection from a companion or friend. For Antonio, it is clear that he has strong affinity for Bassanio but nonetheless, he still puts Bassanio’s desires above his. As such, Antonio puts own life at risk to to facilitate Bassanio’s pursuit of Portia. Additionally, after Antonio has escaped Shylock 's knife, he takes half of Shylock 's money which is supposed to be his and gives it to Jessica and Lorenzo so as to sustain their happiness. It is apparent that Antonio’s own yearnings for compassion are overcome by his self sacrifice for others. In contrast, the Monster is selfish regarding companionship, despite his initial predilection towards humans. In addition, the monster will come to kill Victor’s wife over the destruction of his nearly complete female confidant. The disparity over how each character reacts to their situation reveals the undertones of their characters and the selfishness and selflessness are what truly identifies the characters. Love is the driving and defining force for both Antonio

William Shakespeare has written many plays with tragic endings, happy endings, and everything in between. One of his plays, Merchant of Venice, is considered a comedy for its resolve of marriage, fortune, and wellbeing of its main characters. Except for one. This character, Shylock, is the sole force pushing the play as a conflicted characters, and he is depicted as the villain of the play. The events that take place in the story leave Antonio with a happy ending, but a much more grim, destructive and crushing forfeiture for Shylock, which when boiled down and considered leaves a much darker happily ever after than thought for this play, which is why this play is best understood as a tragedy because the heart of the story is not the tale of the static Antonio, but rather the rise and fall of Shylock, the perceived villain, and money lender of Venice.

Women in the 16th century, the Shakespearen Era, didn’t have too many expectations placed upon them. Because they were considered the weaker sex, housewives and mothers was the extent of what was expected of them. The only education they had access to were private tutors inside their homes. They also were not allowed to become lawyers, doctors, or the like. Only maids, cooks or other “around the house” jobs. This is a summary of the average Patriarchal society. In the play, Merchant of Venice written by Shakespeare, the women defy these stereotypes of a Patriachal society in multiple scenerios.