Reflection of Life in the 1500's in The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare

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William Shakespeare is best known for writing tragedies, comedies, and romances, such as Romeo and Juliet and Hamlet. Shakespeare usually wrote all his plays on his personal life experiences. In the year 1585 Shakespeare began to take control of his own life and get his work out to the world. One of his most famous books Merchant of Venice portrayed the way people lived in the 1500’s and how people were treated. Jessica, Shylock’s only daughter, is a perfect example of how people were treated when they revolted against their own family. Although Jessica is not a main character she is important for showing how mistreated she was by her own father and how she took matters into her own hands.
The Merchant of Venice has many various characters for example the suitor, the fair lady, and of course the villain, who happens to be a Jew who has lived in a Christian society named Shylock. What is odd about this is that there were no Jews living in this time period. This makes the audience question whether Shakespeare was actually encountered with a Jew, because it wasn’t common in the 1500...

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