Shylock Essay

The genre of William Shakespeare’s most performed play has been debated for a long time: is it a comedy or a tragedy? The play has elements of both genres, but one is clearly prevalent. While the story hits upon the tragic element of despair, The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare, is a comedy because lovers are separated, characters are in disguise, and the story has a happy ending. From the very beginning of The Merchant of Venice, we see the comedic element of lovers being separated time

Shakespeare to this day is still a worldwide phenomenon and is being taught all around the United States or in fact all around the world. My earliest encounter with Shakespeare can come to when I was a Freshman in high school with “Romeo and Juliet.” After reading Shakespeare in high school I knew I wanted to take a class relating to the subject in college and I’m glad I was lucky enough to take ENGL 1634: Introduction to Shakespeare with Professor Joann Harvill during my Sophomore year. I have

same dehumanization in bullying creates an environment that promotes actions such as genocide. In The Merchant of Venice, the character of Shylock offers a look into how society treated Jews at the time in act I, scene 3 on lines 102-125. Similar to the above dehumanization, Shylock’s people were spat on and verbally abused on a daily basis. Consequently, Shylock chose to act in revenge by striking a harsh deal with Antonio, indicating that bullying can fuel hate in and cause violence from people other

In life, there is a common ground on which most every person can relate. At one time or another, we have all been promoters of or victims of the unremitting nature of stereotypes. According to the Webster’s dictionary, a stereotype is defined as “a simplified and standardized conception or image invested with special meaning and held in common by members of a group.” Most stereotypes take on a negative form and are based on characteristics such as age, gender, race, status, and personal beliefs

independent early entrepreneurs on trading ventures. Even though almost 600 years apart from each other, both Shakespeare’s tale and the financial crisis in the United States during 2007-2009 have a similar financial dilemma, each has its unique Shylock, Bassanio and Antonio- people who were responsible for causing the meltdown of their days. We all know from our course that leverage and liquidity risks of financial institutions are vulnerable to the crisis. The financial crisis that emerged in

There are some aspects of a person’s life which can’t be reversed. Race, gender, appearance are all interchangeable, and prejudice counteracts this life certainty. In the novel “Of Mice and Men”, John Steinbeck expresses prejudice abundantly through the characters, Crooks and Curley’s wife, by revealing how it can cause a person to feel meaningless, lonely and abandoned. Not only is the social phenomenon of prejudice exposed through race and gender but also through religion. The classic Shakespearean

Charles Macklin Charles Macklin was an actor. He was born in 1699 and died in 1797. He is best known for his revolutionary portrayal of Shylock in Shakespeare’s “The Merchant of Venice,” I thought it was cool that he was born in Ireland. I hadn’t read about anyone from that area in our books before him. He studied under a man by the name of Mr. Nichloson. This was before he stowed away to England around the year 1717. Although, he stowed away to become an actor this is not how he started out his

with witches most commonly led to execution. We can connect this unfair treatment back to Shakespeare’s play The Merchant of Venice through the Jewish character Shylock. Shylock is a moneylender in Venice that receives continuous badgering from his Christian clients whenever he makes a mistake. One example of the criticism that Shylock received was when Launcelot says, “Certainly the Jew is the very devil incarnation” (. This is one of the many ways that Shakespeare connects his theatrical

serve a unique purpose in the production. Act 3 Scene 1 takes place in Venice and focuses on the rumors of Antonio’s failed business ventures along with Shylocks ambiguous reaction to the news. “Shylock: A bankrupt, a prodigal, who dare scarce shows his head on the Rialto; a beggar, that was used to come so smug upon the mart.” (3.1 41-44). Shylock laments about how foolish Antonio is for lending out money to Bassanioddic. But what I find of particular interest, is Shylock’s word choice. Specifically

ultimately foils Shylock’s plan to take a pound of Antonio’s flesh for his debts by arguing that Shylock is legally entitled to take a pound of Antonio's flesh — but no more. She then gives Shylock permission to begin his surgery, warning him that if "..one drop of Christian blood" is shed, Shylock's "...lands and goods" will be confiscated by "...the state of Venice"(Shakespeare __). In addition, Portia reminds Shylock that one of the laws of Venice forbids anyone from directly or indirectly attempting "