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Analysis of merchants of venice
Christianity in merchant Venice
Anti-semitism in Merchant of Venice
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Imperfect Faith in The Merchant of Venice
Though William Shakespeare accurately portrays both Christianity and Judaism in his play The Merchant of Venice, the characters in the play do not represent their religions well. A reader unfamiliar with these religions could easily misinterpret flaws in a character's nature as the teachings of his religion. After a preliminary glance at the play, one would assume that Shakespeare wrote unjustly of the two religions depicted therein. However, Shakespeare had to write the play to please his audience, so he added a twist. By making characters not wholly perfect in their faith, in compliance with reality, Shakespeare was able to add the insults and bigotry and anti-Semitic feelings that would please the crowd, were true to society, and yet did not change the teachings of the religions themselves.
Shakespeare does not change the principles of the two religions in this play. Even the characters in his play who do not always follow the teachings of their religions speak of these beliefs. In the courtroom scene, the Duke says to Shylock, "We all expect a gentle answer, Jew." (IV, i, 35). He means he expects Shylock to show the mercy of a gentile, more specifically a Christian, who would show mercy to Antonio and waive the bond. In the very same scene, when the table turns and Antonio controls the fate of Shylock, Antonio releases the Jew. As for Judaism being portrayed correctly, throughout the play Shylock makes countless references to his religion. When Antonio and Shylock argue the exact teachings of the Bible concerning loans and collecting interest, Shylock refers the story of Jacob and Laban. Shylock also refers to the "holy Sabbath" in the courtroo...
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...ains." (II, vi, 34).
William Shakespeare's work The Merchant of Venice shows the intellectual power behind his writings. Shakespeare interwove many plots perfectly to please the audience, offer a deeper look at the conflict concerning Shylock, and still respect the religions he used. His characters, the players of this story, contained the flaws which served as the basis for the play. It was not Christianity or Judaism which caused the conflict. In fact, if every character in The Merchant of Venice had been true to his religion, there would be no conflict to write of at all. It is because of works like these that Shakespeare is considered one of the greatest writers of all time.
Work Cited
Shakespeare, William. The Merchant of Venice. 1967. Ed. W. Moelwyn Merchant. The New Penguin Shakespeare. London: Penguin Books, 1996.
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland is a story about a little girl who comes into contact with unpredictable, illogical, basically mad world of Wonderland by following the White Rabbit into a huge rabbit – hole. Everything she experiences there challenges her perception and questions common sense. This extraordinary world is inhabited with peculiar, mystical and anthropomorphic creatures that constantly assault Alice which makes her to question her fundamental beliefs and suffer an identity crisis. Nevertheless, as she woke up from “such a curious dream” she could not help but think “as well she might, what a wonderful dream it had been ”.
Alice still abides by the typical Victorian ideals she was taught and becomes a surrogate adult in Wonderland. At home, however, she is still considered just a child and behaves as such. This confusion in the role Alice will play within the social hierarchy i...
...t England from a Catholic family. Growing up Shakespeare would have seen the persecution of Catholics under the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. “The persecution of English Catholics was as cruel as it was necessary in the government's eyes.”(Sommerville) With this often violent persecution occurring Shakespeare would have wanted to maintain a neutral position in this matter. As a member of the Catholic Church and living in an Anglican state Shakespeare would have had a vested interest in religious tolerance. “...it seems that Shakespeare does not really choose between pagan, Protestant and Catholic meanings, but rather merges these conceptions in a quasi-ecumenical vision of the world at large.”(Chiari 9) Shakespeare’s plays generally remain very open towards religion. He doesn’t focus on the practices or beliefs of a single religion. but instead generalizes religion.
...rents do not want to see their children suffer through anything but if children choose to disobey, they would probably understand life lessons better. It might be the cruelest but perhaps the most effective way for children to learn, such in the case of Alice where her body parts were out of porportions in the story. The famous Japanese Proverb, “fall down seven times, get up eight”(Moncur, 1994-2007) is true for many children. Children strive to experience things. Often when they fail, they will get back on their feet and figure another way to succeed. Alice confronted many kinds of struggles while she was in wonderland but she managed to navigate way through and she lastly got back to reality. Every child experiences disobedience behavior and every parent and caregivers experiences dealing with children's disobedience behavior. The cycle is most likely to repeat.
The Merchant of Venice, by William Shakespeare, is an intriguing play that is constantly being debated over and argued about. Why is this particular play the source of so much controversy? It cannot be decided if it is considered a comedy or a tragedy… although it is obviously a comedy. Perhaps it is the mere fact that this play is written by the genius, and legend, Shakespeare, that no one can comprehend the possibility of this play being humorous although it is evident that it is quite comedic. Another possibility of it being perceived as a tragedy is the unfortunate ending for Shylock, but most would find it rather amusing to see the villain receive what he deserves in the end. The Merchant of Venice, by William Shakespeare, is a comedy
...n though she struggled to cope with Wonderland at the beginning due to the lack of appropriate methods, the experiential learning with the sizes taught her to solve the problems at hand rationally, logically and with evidence. Armed with this powerful tool, Alice then sets out to resolve her identity crisis by learning about Wonderland independently. She may not have intentionally chosen which topics (i.e. Time) to pursue but the conclusion she reaches is the same in her interactions: Wonderland is governed by irrationality and her rational self cannot come to terms with it. One may argue ‘how is a seven and a half year old capable of such thinking?’ One must note that Wonderland is a dream and because Alice is dreaming, she is capable of it.
There are several reasons why I have chosen the book “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” as the topic for my term paper. The main reason is that I have been fascinated by Alice’s adventures as a series on TV since I was about six years old. I was curious about the overworked rabbit, racked by brain about how Alice would only be able to reach the golden key on the table and I got even more nervous when I saw the Queen than the Knaves of Hearts did. What I did not understand then was that Alice has fallen asleep in the beginning and all she is experiencing is “only” a dream. However, my illusion has been destroyed when I first read the book at the age of about 12 and I must admit it was then when I lost some of my fascination for Alice.
During Elizabethan times, intolerance of the Jews was a fact of the 16th century era, which later developed anti-semitic ideas. Several Jews were prohibited from possessing as much freedom as a Christian does. Along with this, the Jews were commonly labeled as greedy and legalistic by the Christian community. The Merchant of Venice, by William Shakespeare, involves Shylock, a Jewish moneylender who schemes to obtain revenge by demanding a pound of Antonio’s flesh for Antonio’s failure to fulfill a loan. Throughout the play, Shylock acts as a greedy and inhumane devil with a sense of malevolence. However, with Al Pacino’s portrayal of Shylock, Michael Radford’s movie production of The Merchant of Venice displays a perspective of Shylock’s deceiving appearance, which denotes the actor’s pessimistic interpretation and strengths of portraying the character. Ultimately,
Anti-Semitism in "The Merchant of Venice" Throughout the play, "The Merchant of Venice" William Shakespeare portrays anti-Semitism through many of his characters. Audiences today may interpret the play to be offensive, where as people of Shakespeare’s time would have accepted the play as part of everyday life. The majority of London’s population at the time was anti-Semitic because there were very few Jews living there.
Although the novel is notorious for its satire and parodies, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland main theme is the transition between childhood and adulthood. Moreover, Alice’s adventures illustrate the perplexing struggle between child and adult mentalities as she explores the curious world of development know as Wonderland. From the beginning in the hallway of doors, Alice stands at an awkward disposition. The hallway contains dozens of doors that are all locked. Alice’s pre-adolescent stage parallels with her position in the hallway. Alice’s position in the hallway represents that she is at a stage stuck between being a child and a young woman. She posses a small golden key to ...
One of the main purposes for writing Alice in Wonderland was not only to show the difficulties of communication between children and adults. In this story, almost every adult Alice talked to did not understand her. At times she messed up what they were saying completely as well, which many times stick true to real life circumstances. This book shows that kids and adults are on completely separate pages on an everlasting story. Carroll points out that sometimes children, like Alice, have a hard time dealing with the transition from childhood to adulthood, 'growing up.' Alice in Wonderland is just a complicated way of showing this fact. Lewis Carroll's ways with words is confusing, entertaining, serious, and highly unique all at the same time. And it's safe to say that it would be difficult to replicate such and imaginative technique ever again (Long 72).
‘The Merchant of Venice’ is a play set in Italy in the late 16th Century, written by William Shakespeare. One of the main characters in the play is a cunning Jewish moneylender named Shylock. Shylock is part of a race that was discriminated against, despised and hated for their religion.
Shakespeare, William, and Leah S. Marcus. The Merchant of Venice: Authoritative Text, Sources and Contexts, Criticism, Rewritings and Appropriations. New York: W.W. Norton, 2006. Print.
Anti-Semitism and the desecration of the Jewish population have been in existence for nearly five thousand years. In the Elizabethan era, a question of anti-Semitism invariably arises. In William Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice, we find that one of the characters is the embodiment and expression of anti-Semitic attitude that is pervasive in Elizabethan society. "Anti-Semitism was an intricate part in Shakespeare's years. Jews were considered vile and scorned upon. Shakespeare presents Judaism as an 'unchangeable trait'" (Bloom 37). Shakespeare's age based their anti-Semitism on religious grounds because the Elizabethans inherited the fiction, fabricated by the early Church, that the Jews murdered Christ and were therefore in league with the devil and were actively working to subvert spread of Christianity. The religious grounds of this anti-Semitism means that if a Jew converted to Christianity, as Shylock is forced to do in The Merchant of Venice, then all will be forgiven as the repentant Jew is embraced by the arms of the all merciful Christian God of love. In fact, some Christian believed--as do some fundamentalist sects today--that the coming of the Kingdom of God was aided by converting the Jews to Christianity. Anti-Semitism in Shakespeare's time is portrayed in his masterpiece The Merchant of Venice.
Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice contains many themes and elements that are considered timeless or universal. Samuel Taylor Coleridge defines a timeless or universal element as a “representation of men in all ages and all times.” A universal element is relevant to the life of every human being – it is universal. The first major theme that plays an important role in the play is the Christians’ prejudice against the Jews. A second important theme is the attitude toward money. Perhaps the most important theme of the play is the love between people. This love can occur between the same sex, or the opposite sex, platonic or romantic. In Merchant of Venice, the three timeless elements are prejudice, money, and love.