Contemporary Themes of The Merchant of Venice
One of the many elements that make up a classic, is that the book,
novel or play can be read in any generation, decade, century or in any part
of the globe at any time and have relevance to the reader. The themes of
the work should be universal, so that the reader can take something and
create a parallel to an event or situation in his or her own life.
The Merchant of Venice has elements that make it a classic. The Merchant of Venice
has many contemporary themes in it. In this essay I will provide you with
examples of themes that still hold true today, many years after
Shakespeare wrote this masterpiece. The re-occurring themes of love, anti-
Semitism and inter-racial marriages are a few examples of contemporary themes that
are manifest in The Merchant of Venice that are still issues that we
discuss, worry, and care about today.
A key theme in the book is love. There are many loving
relationships in this play and not all are the type that involves the love
that a man has for a woman, or vice versa. Bassanio and Portia, Jessica and
Lorenzo and Gratiano and Nerissa are all types of love that involve a man
and a woman, which are of course relevant to today's society. When one
looks deeply into these relationships, they would see parallels to the ones
of today. For instance, the concept that all three marriages will probably
not last, is a parallel to the number of divorces that are occurring today.
More and more divorces are happening and the increase from other years is
shocking! One of the main reasons why this is happening is that more people
are getting married too fast and leaving no time to realize that there are
not meant for each other. This is the same in two - and possibly three - of
the relationships. Gratiano and Nerrissa got married after knowing each
other for only several hours and Bassiano and Portia got marri ed before
they go to know each other (, but you can't fault Portia for this, for
strict policies were ordered onto her). Jessica and Lorenzo's marriage
might split for other reasons.
Campbell, W. John. The Book of Great Books: A Guide to 100 World Classics. New York: Metro, 2000. Print.
Charter, Ann, and Samuel Charters, eds. Literature and its Writers: A Compact Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. 3rd ed. Boston: Bedford/ St. Martin's, 2003.
Marriages everywhere have their troubles, yet everyone is able to relate to other couples problems. By looking at A Delicate Balance and The Merchant of Venice we will see their perspective on how marriages have changed over time of the martial relationship. After getting an overview of these books we will then apply it to present day and see if anything really has changed. The marriages I’ll be analyzing is Bessanio and Portia from The Merchant of Venice and Tobia ad Agnes from A Delicate Balance. By examining Bessanio’s behavior towards Portia and Tobia’s toward Agnes, we can see how the role of the husband has changed from emotional support and conversations to the development of the wives having bigger roles.
Risk is the exposure to danger. Taking risks are necessary because risk reveals experience to an individual. Hazard has both malevolent and benevolent outcomes, which can affect the overall atmosphere in a play. The content of William Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice includes many scenarios of risk-taking among the relationships between characters. The Merchant of Venice consists of four different plots: the bond plot, casket plot, love plot, and ring plot; in which characters are exposed to danger. Risk serves a major responsibility as it divulges many elements of dramatic significance throughout the play. Shakespeare manifests hazard through rival arguments, lovers’ commitments, and father and child agreements.
Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. 8th Edition. New York: Longman, 2002, G1-G32.
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When most people think of justice, it commonly brings forward the words positivity, fairness, law, order, and other familiar words. However, in the Merchant of Venice, this is not the case. Justice is used negatively in a court case that reverses from putting Antonio, the convicted Christian merchant, on trial to Shylock, the Jewish money loaner asking for justice, to be put on trial. In the play, both mercy and justice are rejected because of the obvious influential bias that the character’s actions portray.
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The Merchant of Venice written by William Shakespeare takes place in Italy in the late 1500s. The play focuses on 4 main characters: Antonio, Bassanio, Shylock and Portia. Antonio is a Venetian merchant who is in love with his best friend. Bassanio is the best friend of Antonio and the husband of Portia. Shylock is a Jewish moneylender and is hated by the people of Venice due to his religion. Lastly, there is Portia, wealth woman from Belmont. She is forced, by her father’s will, to marry the suitor who chooses the correct casket. Bassanio ends up being the lucky suitor and gets to marry Portia. Soon after the marriage they receive news of Antonio's appending sentence to death. Portia being a loving wife gives Bassanio the money to pay the bound. She decided to disguise herself as a doctor names Balthasar and replaces Bellario, so he can defend Antonio. Balthasar’s (Portia) duty is to look over the cause for the Duke and see if the still stands. She wants to save Antonio from death because he is the best friend of her beloved husband. In court, Portia demonstrates her intelligence and bravery in ways the Italian society consider worthy.
Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice is a simple story line with three distinct plot lines incorporated into each other intricately. These three plot lines are the bond plot, the casket plot, and the ring plot, each equally vital to the meaning and conclusion of the play. In this essay, I will discuss the roles of the characters in the plot, the symbols, images, and rhetorical figures central to each plot, and finally how the events of the three plots are intertwined.
Women of the late 16th century were subjected to patriarchal ways and not granted the same rights and privileges as males. Yet, Shakespeare gives women in The Merchant of Venice significant roles in controlling the fates of all of the other characters. Portia and Nerissa cleverly disguise themselves as an esteemed lawyer and clerk, respectively, and interpret the law in such a way that Antonio and Bassanio are saved from Shylock’s bond, while Shylock is forced into a position of utter humiliation. The William’s Center for the Arts takes The Merchant of Venice and amplifies the play’s feminist qualities, not only through context of the play and performance, but also through gender-blind casting.
Defeating the enemy, light-heartedness, and a happy ending for the lovers are all elements in a comedic play. William Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice shows that love conquers all and that you can always defeat the enemy. Even if a pound of flesh is the difference between life and death, or if one wrong person chooses the casket that decides your fate. For example, The Merchant of Venice, Antonio, not only survives the fate of having a pound of his flesh taken from his body on account of his friend that could not repay the bond to a man who is seen as the devil, but gets thrice his money back and the villain is taken down. Not to mention that Antonio’s best friend, Bassanio, not only repays the bond and gets out of his debt to help his friend, but also marries himself a rich wife. In contrast, Portia, who was bound by her dead father to marry a man whom she could never love, cheated her fate and married the man she truly loved. What makes this play a comedy is clearly evident; the villain is defeated and destroyed, and happy endings are given to those that deserve them like the Christians.
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.