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In the Merchant of Venice, Shakespeare illustrates his feelings towards Jews in 17th century England through the use of a commonly known stereotype during the time, the racial tension between Jews and Christians. Shylock is the focal point of the play, and acts as the traditional stereotype of the Jew in Elizabethan times. The merchant of venice is often seen as an anti-semitic work due to the stereotypical portrayal of the jewish character shylock. Some would argue that the most inevitable interpretation of shylock as a miserly wretch who care for nothing but his money is shakespeare expressing now – unfashionable anti-jewish views. However , one must remember that this view was seen as entirley normal and acceptable at the time, and most of the jews of elizabethan england had stoicly accepted such treatment.…
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By tracing back the early roles of Shylock done in the Elizabethan stage, we are able to appreciate the complexity of Shakespear’s character, Shylock, and how he has the greatest impact than any other character.…
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2. Does Shakespeare intend the audience to view Bassanio as a spendthrift and a “gold digger”?…
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Bassanio is Portia’s most recent suitor who successfully picked the lead casket and now him and Portia have wed. Soon after they had found their love for each other Bassanio soon left for court in Venice where his best friend Antonio was going to court because he failed to pay back his loan to Jew, Shylock.…
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Bassanio, despite being busy chasing Portia, has a few moments in which his words and actions prove to push the homosocial boundary. One such moment is when he states he would “rather dwell in my necessity” (The Merchant of Venice 1.3.152) than let Antonio enter a contract with Shylock that would allow him to be physically harmed. Perhaps the biggest indicator of Bassanio’s feelings occurs later in the play when he receives the letter from Antonio informing him of the contract expiration and Antonio’s imminent demise. He immediately sets out to try and save Antonio, ignoring the fact he is married to Portia and marriage is supposed to be two people who mean everything to each other. This moment becomes even more potent when Bassanio later gives up his ring, the physical symbol of his relationship with Portia, out of gratitude to the lawyer for saving Antonio’s life. His willingness to forsake “life itself, my wife, and all the world” (The Merchant of Venice 4.1.283) is a subtle declaration of homoerotic…
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Love is a complex topic that grows and matures from the trust, loyalty, and respect a couple share for one another. In order for two individuals to successfully remain in a loving relationship, they must be worthy of each other. The worthiness of an individual is expressed as an important theme in one of Shakespeare 's famous plays, The Merchant of Venice. Bassanio is presented as a character who is the right match for an astonishingly fair lady, Portia. However, a new opinion regarding Bassanio 's worth - contradicting with other theories - is revealed. Bassanio is not worthy of Portia, as his dishonesty, his inability to keep his word, and…
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Jessica, Shylock's daughter plans to elope with Lorenzo against her father's wishes, were he to know. Jessica reveals her shame for her father...…
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The question asks us, “Explore the ways in which Jane Austen and Shakespeare present strong feelings in ‘Pride and Prejudice’ and ‘The Merchant of Venice’.…
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Othello, the Moor of Venice is a tragic play written by William Shakespeare. William Shakespeare is the greatest writer in the English language and the most well known dramatist in the world. Shakespeare wrote many well known plays and poems. Many of his plays have been considered some of the finest works in the English language, such as Hamlet, King Lear, Othello, and Macbeth (Wikipedia). His writing is so unique; he revolutionized the way of writing in English. Moreover, with a deep understanding of human nature, Shakespeare created many great characters in his plays. People are amazed by these great characters, and this made Shakespeare the greatest author of all time.…
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While the conflict between justice and mercy plays a key role in determining the outcome of The Merchant of Venice, this conflict is even more important because it provides a setting for the contrast between the rigid law and rules of the Old Testament and the concepts of mercy and forgiveness as taught by Christ in the New Testament. It is in the climactic trial scene that The Duke, hoping Shylock will excuse Antonio's penalty, asks him, "How shall thou hope for mercy rend'ring none?" He is referring to expectations of judgment in the afterlife. However, so is Shylock, when he counters, "What judgment shall I dread doing no wrong?" This exchange perfectly presents this conflict between of the Old Testament and the New, in which the former is seen to emphasize strict obedience as mankind's obligation to God while the latter stresses God's grace and mercy.…
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After reading The Merchant of Venice, we should ask ourselves if Shylock, who many people perceive as tragedy stricken and victimized, is in fact so hard done by after all. When it comes to family matters, I believe that Shylock is the ultimate cause behind his awful relationship with Jessica. In this play, Shakespeare portrays an old fashioned child-parent relationship in which the child feels inferior to the parent. Shylock and Jessica lack trustworthiness, care, love, and consideration for one another. Their horrible relationship, which is a huge attribute to the play, is not due to conflicting personalities as commonly believed, but rather to the fact that Shylock is a terrible father.…
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To have an understanding of the use of disease as a metaphor in Thomas Mann 's novella Death In Venice, it is useful to understand the concept of disease itself. According to Webster 's Dictionary, 1913 edition, disease is defined as the "lack of ease; uneasiness; trouble; vexation; disquiet." These words do embody the struggles of the great author, and main character of the novella, Gustav Aschenbach, but it is the description of disease as "an alteration in the state of the body or of some of its organs, interrupting or disturbing the performance of the vital functions, and causing or threatening pain and weakness; malady; affection; illness; sickness; disorder; -- applied figuratively to the mind, to the moral character and habits, to institutions, the state, etc" that is the foundation of the metaphor used by Mann. The disease spreading through Venice, is presumed to be cholera, and to what Aschenbach surrenders to in Venice. However, upon careful examination of the words written so eloquently, one can find that the death of Aschenbach was more that of an artist afflicted with passion and lust for beauty than of any physical ailment.…
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Bassanio on the other hand is honest and genuine in his relationship with Antonio. He outright tells Antonio why he needs the money and is upfront about everything. He also needs money to make his way to Belmont in order to try and wed the fair Portia. He has previously met the lady on an earlier voyage and seeks to return to her. He actually cars for this woman compared to Giannetto who…
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Karma is the cosmic principle according to which each person is rewarded or punished according to that person’s deed. I believe we all have karma in ourselves. That our unconscious leads us to do good, but that sometimes we choose not to listen and do wrong. I think that in world full of hate, malice, jealousy and unfairness, it is reassuring to believe in some kind of an outer force who can just be fair. A force that can reward you or put you back in place for what you’ve done. But sometimes it just doesn’t seem to exist, it doesn’t seem to work. Sometimes bad things happen to good people, sometimes we can’t explain it and sometimes they don’t deserve it. Since it is a familiar subject a lot of writers decide to incorporate karma, fate, destiny, in their stories, for example, William Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice. Its message revolves around fairness and so karma since in the end Shylock does not deserve what he gets.…
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In Shakespeare’s play the merchant of Venice the audience learns about love in many forms. Through the characters, of Portia and Bassanio, Shylock and his love for money over his daughter and Antonio and Bassanio. The audience learns through Portia that true love always triumphs. From shylock we learn that money isn’t everything it seems to be and that you should treasure your family more than money. Through the friendship of Antonio and Bassanio we learn about the love of one friend for another and how they would sacrifice anything for one another. Shakespeare uses many techniques including: tests, plot incident, passionate dialogue, characterisation and emotive language to express his idea of love and friendship to the audience.…
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