Directing Act 4 Scene 1 of Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice
"I hate him for he is a Christian" (Act 1 Scene 3, line 34). This
quote tells me a lot about Shylock's true character, which would help
me to direct Act 4 Scene 1 of Shakespeare's play - A Merchant of
Venice. This is the aim of my essay.
Act 4 Scene 1 is very important, both within Act 4, and within the
play as a whole. Act 4 is the act in which Antonio and Shylock's trial
takes place and Antonio's life is saved. Scene 1 shows the trial and
is the main and longest scene in the act.
The Merchant of Venice is a play with many themes. It shows religious
conflict - between Judaism (represented by Shylock) and Christianity
(the general population of the play), money and friendship in the form
of Bassanio's loan, and the thin line between justice and revenge.
The Play starts in Venice, with Bassanio trying to borrow money from
Antonio, so that he can marry Portia of Belmont. Portia meanwhile, is
putting her potential suitors to the test that her father set for them
shortly before his death. She does not want to marry any of them, and
is just starting to tell of her feelings for Bassanio when
interrupted. Antonio agrees to take a 3000 ducat loan from Shylock
(the Jewish money lender), as he has his boats for security, whereas
Bassanio has nothing. However the condition on the loan, due to
Shylock's hate for Antonio is a pound of Antonio's flesh, if the loan
is not paid back in three months. While all of this is going on,
Shylock's daughter Jessica runs away with Lorenzo, a young Christian,
and Bassanio goes to Belmont and wins Portia for his wife. Antonio is
taken to t...
... middle of paper ...
...creativity and has a lot of influence on the
play due to the lack of stage directions. Lines 70-83 of Act 4 Scene 1
are particularly open to directorial interpretation.
"I pray you think you question with the Jew.
You may as well go stand upon the beach
And bid the main flood bate his usual height;
You may as well use question with the wolf
Why he hath made the ewe bleat for the lamb;
You may as well forbid the mountain pines
To wag their high tops and to make no noise
When they are fretten with the gusts of heaven;
You may as well do anything most hard
As seek to soften that - than which what's harder? -
His Jewish heart. Therefore I do beseech you
Make no moe offers, use no farther means,
But with all brief and plain conveniency
Let me have judgement, and the Jew his will."
In act four scene ten, Christian faces the inner conflict, man v. himself, when he discovers Roxane loves Christian’s letters more than she loves him because Roxanne believes it is Christian but it’s Cyrano and had been this whole time ,“I want to be loved for myself or not at all!” (190) Christian with
Structure – The work is formatted to be a play. It has three acts, each beginning with stage directions.
direct Act 2 scenes 1 and 2 (the ones before and after the murder of
beginning of the play; it was only in Act 3 when he was accused of
plot of the play. After all, in Act Four we not only have the lovers
Shakespearean works are well known for their depth, symbolism and philosophical view upon different aspects of life. Mirroring is one of Shakespeare’s favorite tools. Mirroring is used to emphasize the contrast and show differences between the sides of the society and ways of living of the characters. The Merchant of Venice is no exception. Just like all other plays of Shakespeare it has many of antagonisms and it portrays the most important and hot conflicts that used to be popular at that time just as much as they are now. Exploring this multi dimensional play is exciting, because the more you think about it, the more hints and tints you discover. The play takes place in two main locations – Venice and Belmont. These two places portray two different lifestyles. One of the most important and essential themes of the Merchant of Venice is wealth. Shakespeare has a special view of this subject; he sees love as a form of wealth (Milton 34). Venice represents earning of money, accumulating it, protecting it, fighting for it; and at the same time Belmont demonstrates having money an all other life’s pleasures, this is why life in Belmont is so happy, slow and peaceful, and the whole location is so dreamlike. Being rich and having nothing to worry about is a dream of most people. To my mind, Belmont and Venice present two different sides of wealth.
Shakespeare, provides a brilliant example of 'seeing the other' in his play The Merchant of Venice. Through the course of the play, Antonio's actions indirectly tell of his homoerotic love for Bassanio, and also creates a sense of question of the line between loving friends or lovers. Antonio helps Bassanio win Portia's love, through provisions of money, advise, and offering his life up, ironically meeting the inscription on the lead casket that must be chosen to win her hand: “Who chooseth me, must give and hazard all he hath”(2.7.19-20). The Merchant of Venice's other is Antonio, who “loves the world only for [Bassanio]”(2.8.52).
Compare the behavior and reactions of Richard, Anne and Elizabeth in Act One Scene Two and Act Four Scene Four.
Instructions: Choose a speech or dialogue that interests you. You are going to write an essay from the director’s point of view including ‘pointers’ to the actors.
This play shows the importance of the staging, gestures, and props making the atmosphere of a play. Without the development of these things through directions from the author, the whole point of the play will be missed. The dialog in this play only complements the unspoken. Words definitely do not tell the whole story.
Drama and Tension in William Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice Introduction The merchant of Venice is about a merchant who borrows a loan to help a friend who wants to go to Belmont to Marie a woman called Portia. The person who borrows a loan is a merchant name (Antonio), and Antonio goes and gets the loan off a Jew name (Shylock). After Antonio borrows the loan, Antonio sign a bond saying that if in three month Antonio ships don’t return, shylock would have his pond of flesh.
Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice The Merchant of Venice is a play that, like many of Shakespeare's plays show characters at the edges of society. In The Merchant of Venice we see Shylock and Portia showing this by either being the minority or the least respected or in Shylock's case both. What adds to their role at the edge of society is the way they subvert their roles because this focuses, in the case of Portia, the audience on her and, in shylocks case, the other characters on him. In The Merchant of Venice
1 scene 3 in a building in a street in Venice. The building in which
In Act 3 Scene 3 (the scene following on from the one in question) the