How Shylock is Presented in The Merchant of Venice
Shakespeare’s play The Merchant of Venice, one of his romantic
comedies, was written in 1596. It deals with a dispute between
Shylock, a wealthy Jewish moneylender, and Antonio, a Venetian
citizen. The play begins in Venice, where Antonia’s friend, Bassanio,
needs a loan of 3,000 ducats so that he can court a wealthy heiress
named Portia. Not being able to raise the funds himself, Bassanio
asks Antonio for a loan. Unfortunately Antonio’s wealth is invested
in merchant ships that are presently at sea. Despite his wealth being
tied up at sea, Antonio agrees to ask for a short term loan of the
money from Shylock, a Jewish usurer. Shylock has a deep seated hate
of Antonio because of the insulting treatment that Antonio has shown
Shylock in the past. Although he is reluctant at first, Shylock
agrees to lend the money on the basis that if the 3,000 ducats are not
repaid within three months, Shylock will take a pound of Antonio’s
flesh. Despite the harsh terms, Antonio agrees to the contract,
confident that his ships, and his wealth, will return before the date
of repayment.
Just before the wedding of Bassanio and Portia, Shylock discovers to
his horror that Jessica, his only daughter, has eloped with a
Christian, taking a great deal of his wealth with her. Jessica’s
husband is Lorenzo, a friend of Bassanio and Antonio; Lorenzo shares
their antipathy to Shylock. While his friends are happy in their new
marriages, Antonio is worried because he learns that two of his ships
have been lost at sea. With the repayment date looming, Shylock is
asking for his pound of flesh. Portia...
... middle of paper ...
...oughts and feelings that we can discover from the play, and that we
can understand when we have discovered them. We cannot think of
Bassanio in this way. Yet in admiring Shakespeare's achievement in the
creation of Shylock, we must beware of danger. Often when we know a
person well and understand why he acts as he does we become
sympathetic towards him. In the merchant of Venice we are further
encouraged to sympathise with shylock also by the fact that other
leading characters such as Bassanio do not compel our sympathies.
Sympathy can give rise to affection and affection often temps to
withhold moral judgement or at least be gentle in our censure.
Shylock's conduct merits condemnation. We can only refrain from
condemning it because we know he has suffered from being a Jew and
this surely is another form of prejudice?
Jim’s responsibility in Tanzania is to invest for financial, social and environmental value for each client. By giving KiraFlour the loan, Jim would be creating financial value for the company’s stakeholders, while creating social and environmental problems...
Sovereign debt theories first must assume the premise that there is no third party enforcers and that lenders must be able to enforce claims on their own. In addition these theories use reputation arising through repeated interaction to generate equilibria. It is only then that lending agreements are made and self-enforcing. Bulow and Rogoff (1989b) show that no lending will occur if the only threat is to cut off future lending. This is because merely the threat to withdraw credit is not a severe enough penalty to prevent the Crown from repudiating his debt. Lenders would then anticipate this, and consequently, they do not lend.
In this case, the buyer had to pay back the money he borrowed earlier. Most ordinary people bought... ... middle of paper ... ... earch Complete. Web.
Palgo Holdings Pty Ltd carried on a business of making small secured loans. Each borrower would sign a two-part document. The first part of the document, titled “Secured Loan Agreement”, recorded the amount of the loan and the date on which the principal and interest was due. The second part of the document, titled “Bill of Sale/Goods Mortgage”, was made as a deed between the borrower as mortgagor and the lender as mortgagee. It also recorded that the terms of the bill of sale were set out in the schedule of terms attached.
In Susan Pharr's "The Common Elements of Oppression", she defines "the other" as the outcast of society, the ones who stand up for what they believe in, no matter how `against the grain' it may be, the ones who try the hardest to earn acceptance, yet never receive it. In Shakespeare's "Merchant of Venice", Shylock, the `villain' is portrayed as the other simply because of his faith, because he is Jewish in a predominantly Christian society.
say, “If I can catch once upon the hip I will feed fat the ancient
receive bank financing for this new entity of HKD 2.3bn as a Delay Draw Term Loan (“DDTL”) plus HKD
In Act 1 Scene 3, we are first introduced to Shylock, we see him as
receives. So it would not be fair to say that he was totally evil as
sought after and one group has it and is willing to lend or give it to the other, not a
Portia then goes onto speak about why Shylock could show mercy and for what reason but with0out pressuring him into this act. He declines the offer. He states that he "Shylock: . . . I crave the law
which tells us that Shylock is being referred to as a dog, not like a
Bassanio has one of the major roles in all three of the main plot lines of the play, but his role in each is different. In the bond plot, Bassanio is dependent on Antonio; he needs money to pay off his debts, and Antonio has the means to get that money. However, in asking Antonio for this loan, instead of becoming more indebted to him, Bassanio hopes to end his dependence on Antonio by marrying Portia, whose wealth could pay off ...
William Shakespeare shows how two tradesmen can have completely different lives when others view them differently in the play The Merchant of Venice. In the play, Bassanio, Antonio’s friend, needs money to pursue his love. They seek a loan from Shylock, a Jewish moneylender in Antonio’s name. The contract is for three times the value of the bond in three months or else Shylock cuts off a pound of flesh from Antonio. While all this is happening, there are love plots going on. One of which is for Shylock’s daughter to elope with Lorenzo, a Christian. Later on, Antonio’s source of money, his ship, is reported sunken in the English Channel, dooming him to the loss of one pound of his flesh. There is a trial on the bond, and when it seems sure that Antonio will die, Portia, disguised as a doctor of laws legally gets Antonio out of the situation and Shylock recieves harsh penalties. Antonio and Shylock, two similar businessmen of Venice, are viewed differently and are treated oppositely to heighten the drama of the play and mold a more interesting plot.
Shylock lends Antonio a sum of money, that Antonio intends to pay back when his merchant ships arrive in Venice, one month before the debt would be forfeited. When Bassarnio arranges the sum of money, Shylock befriends them, only to stand aside and utter to him self, "I hate him for he is a Christian... If I catch him once upon the hip, I will feed my ancient grudge I bear him," Act 1, Scene 3. Shortly after saying, "But ships are but boards, sailors but men... the perils of waters, winds, and rocks...Three thousand ducats; I think I may take his bond." Shylock is setting his trap here. Shylocks terms of the debt are a pound of Antonios flesh from closets his heart if it be forfeited.