INTRO “My deeds upon my head! I crave the law‚ The penalty and forfeit of my bond.” Good evening Ladies and Gentleman. I expect some of you will have recognised the quote I just presented as Shylock in Act 4 Scene 1 of The Merchant of Venice. This‚ I’m sure you’ll agree‚ is one of the most powerful plays ever written. I am Liam Marshall and in my twenty years of experience acting with the Royal Shakespearean Company I have become acutely aware of the worth of William’s work. I am very honoured
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Bassanio’s character is more fully drawn than Antonio’s‚ but it does not possess the powerful individuality that Shakespeare gives to his portraits of Portia and Shylock. First off‚ when one begins considering Bassanio‚ one should dismiss all the critics who condemn him for his financial habits. Bassanio’s request to Antonio for more money is perfectly natural for him. He is young; he is in love; and he is‚ by nature‚ impulsive and romantic. Young men in love have often gone into debt; thus Bassanio
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appearance is sad. His dignity and generosity have earned him many admirers. A philosophical man‚ he is tired of frivolous activities and tends to be reflective. His early cruelty towards Shylock is partly evened out by the mercy he later shows the man. He has every desired virtue of nobility. | | Shylock A Jewish moneylender in Venice. He is shown as being oppressed by his private torments. The times have him constantly humiliated and scorned. He hates all Christians‚ and the feeling is
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for its dramatic scenes‚ and is best known for Shylock and the famous "Hath not a Jew eyes?" speech. Also notable is Portia’s speech about "the quality of mercy". The title character is the merchant Antonio‚ not the Jewish moneylender Shylock‚ who is the play’s most prominent and most famous character. This is made explicit by the title page of the first quarto: The most excellent History of the Merchant of Venice. With the extreme cruelty of Shylock the Jew towards the Merchant.... Characters
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Antonio’s counterpart‚ Shylock‚ is the most noteworthy figure in Shakespeare’s comedy‚ The Merchant of Venice. No consensus has been reached on whether Shylock is a tyrannical villain or a tragic victim. Shylock‚ in my opinion‚ is a bloodthirsty villain. In the following paragraphs‚ it will be shown that Shylock is a villain in every sense of the word. Namely‚ he is vengeful‚ very materialistic and shrewd. Firstly‚ Shylock is extremely vengeful. When Salerio asks Shylock what good would Antonio’s
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In Shakespeare ’s The Merchant of Venice‚ Shylock is a Jew who struggles to adjust to a Christian society that belittles him. Antonio is a devout Christian. Shylock’s relationship with Antonio reveals that he is biased against Christians‚ and in this way both Shylock and Antonio exhibit similarities in how each perceive "the other." Both Shylock and Antonio are racially biased and they both put down each other. Shylock claims to be victimized by Christians; however‚ he exploits Christians in business
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In the play The Merchant of Venice Shylock‚ a rich Jewish moneylender in Venice agrees to loan Bassanio three thousand ducats on Antonio’s guarantee. Shylock is made to be the villain in the Merchant of Venice because of some of the things he does. But even though he may not have been the only one in the wrong‚ he is still guilty of the deadly sins of‚ avarice‚ envy‚ and wrath. Shylock is guilty of avarice for these reasons; for one Shylock loans money to Antonio at the cost of a pound
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behavior that the reader is likely to find socially and morally unacceptable. Yet one might argue that Bigger merely responded to the conditions in which he lived and which shaped him. If one advocates such a response‚ Bigger might be viewed as a sympathetic character. My position‚ with respect to this dilemma‚ is that Bigger has a way to control his actions and the actions he chose come with major consequences. Although Bigger had to conceal his slave mentality‚ Bigger should have rebelled against
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positive resolution and a tone and style that is more light-hearted than Shakespeare’s tragedies. The play’s initial reception was met with appeal as the presentation of Shylock was met with critical acclaim; he was a Jewish Usurer in a time period where Jews were racially abused. To a Jacobean audience‚ such a fate for Shylock would have been seen as the norm‚ especially considering that Elizabethan society than was described as being “Judeophobic”. Potentially‚ Shakespeare may’ve been using comedy
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Similarly‚ Shylock in Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice indulges in seeing Antonio sucked dry of money. Both Iago and Shylock are compelled to see their enemies suffer through means that once deprived them‚ such as Iago being deprived of his rank and Shylock being deprived of money and respect. Although Iago and Shylock both expose their enemies’ weaknesses in order to destroy them‚ Iago’s tactics are more effective because Shylock becomes incapacitated by his Jewish heritage. Iago and Shylock both
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