Mark
Thread:The Merchant of Venice and Portia's Love GameRE: The Merchant of Venice and Portia's Love Game Ashley Viera
I like the suggestion and notion that the caskets Portia`s potential suitors must open represents and solidifies this seemingly ongoing and ever present theme of fate. If a man choose the wrong casket his life and fate would be drastically different that what it was before and if he were to choose the right one the precise opposite would ensue. This to me is terrifying beyond belief for one single choice, one picking of a simple casket can determine the rest of your life and at the time, possibly even the state and status of your family name. For me this coincides and correlates to fate itself, which typically can and
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As you suggested in your post in the Merchant of Venice specifically fate tends to be inflicted and brought upon by the characters themselves, which to me is actually quite clever. In Merchant of Venice Antonio complains to his friends of a pain he can't explain, or rather a feeling of despondency and melancholy. This , arguably so, foreshadows Antonio`s future troubles. If Bassino wouldn't have wanted or desired to court Portia then he would not have needed the money thus Antonio wouldn't have been placed as the guarantor of the loan and Antonio would not have been involved in Bassino`s trouble to begin with. It can also be said that if Antonio himself had never berated and belittled Shylock (the money loaner) for his practices of loaning money at exorbitant rates of interest, Skylock would have never felt the need, rage, and urge to come after him and demand a pound of Antonio's own flesh. And if Antonio had not lost his ships or Portia hadn't had cleverly reminded Skylock that he is allowed to collect his debt in flesh but without making Antonio bleed since his contract does not mention or entitle him to any blood Antonio's fate would have been remarkably different. He either wouldn't have had to face Skylock altogether or he would have meet death firsthand, and the time if that were to occur, he would probably describe as most
As one of the most well known authors of the Elizabethan Era, Shakespeare had written numerous sonnets and plays reflecting the values of people of the time period. Shakespeare often display themes of love and death, fate and free will, and power and weaknesses throughout his works of literature. The play "The Tragedy of Julius” truly highlight the impact of fate and free will in the development of the plot, of the assassination of Caesar’s death. Some may argue that fate is actually the one responsible for the act, but they fail to recognize that it is the acts of men leading to the death. It is the free will at fault for this occurrence, that the Roman senators consciously killed Caesar and Caesar himself facing his mortality.
In the play The Tragedy of Macbeth by William Shakespeare, the character Macbeth acts on free will as opposed to fate. The definition of free will is having the ability to make a choice; including the possession of options, logical reasoning for choosing each option, as well as understanding the consequences of each decision. Macbeth obeys all the criteria, using “fate” as an excuse to act like a murder-crazy lunatic, ultimately resulting in his demise.
For he wishes to be with his dearest Portia, a wealthy woman who has money of her own.
People in this world today make their own decisions every second of the day. There are two things that can happen in life situations. Either Fate is in control, which is when something happens because the event is being controlled by some kind of a power or it can be free will, which means you made the decision to do what you did. I feel like there’s more free will than fate because more people in the world today make decisions on their own. It is really rare that someone can be controlled by some sort of a power, which causes them to make decisions. Free will is more of a realistic way of viewing life’s choices.
In The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare, women were suppressed by the societal ideals of the Elizabethan era. In this play, the female characters Jessica and Portia stray away from the expected stereotypical passive role of women in society, and show rather dominant and powerful traits that men were expected to have. Portia, the heroine of this play is bound to a lottery set up in her father's will, which gives male suitors the chance to choose between three caskets made up of gold, silver, and led in order to win her hand in marriage. Portia’s scheming throughout the whole process caused Bassanio to have a better chance in choosing the correct casket, while also allowing her to keep the promise of not disclosing the truth about the caskets to any of the potential suitors. Along with her manipulative ways, she was very comfortable in playing a masculine role. Her powerful and confident actions make her stand out from other women in The Elizabethan society. Jessica, like Portia steps out of the stereotypical weak woman role in society and takes on a dominant role. By running away from her father and converting to Christianity with her lover, Lorenzo, she disrespects and disowns her father. By starting a new life without her father's rules, she shows the strength and confidence of an ideal man of her time. The actions of both these characters earn them praise for their feminist actions. However, while both Portia and Jessica show admirable feminist actions, they both lose the opportunity to be noteworthy when they return to the act of submission that they must play to the patriarchal society.
Macbeth was a play written by Shakespeare in 1606. This play was written in the Elizabethan era which means it was not written in modern english but more of a classical version. The play’s summary is of a man, Macbeth, at first a trustworthy and kind man turning into a ruthless and sinful demon caused by greed and obsession for power. The question of is Macbeth driven by the fate set into the play by the three witches or by his own free will has been fought over for years and still is today. Evidence found in the play leads one to believe Macbeth’s fall was due to the choices he made with free will such as; he was influenced by others, he second guessed himself, and he tried contradicting the three witches’ predictions in hope of reformat.
Placing a scene in Belmont against one in Venice shows a plethora of contrasts between the locations. For example, Venice is a city of hustle and bustle, while Belmont is more placid. Another difference between the cities is the main issue of importance. In Venice, money is clearly the concern, while Belmont revolves around love. Also, the language of Belmont between the two ladies is amicable, while it occasionally dissolves to disputatious between the men in Venice.
Fate is usually described as what happens during one’s lifetime. Many people conceive that their fate is already planned out before they are born. From the time that books have been written, authors have written about people finding fates through some prophecy. Although many people might consider it futile, the person attempts to change it. However, many of these characters then realized knowing their fate is usually worse than not knowing it. In particular, Macbeth and Lord Voldemort (from Harry Potter). Each of them tries to change their own fate, but it ends in their demise. Although they thought they would benefit from hearing their future, both would have been much better off not knowing.
Choices made by Hamlet, which ultimately lead to his death, are all guided by his own free will. In mourning his father's death, Hamlet chooses to do so for what others consider to be an excessive amount of time. “But to persever/ In obstinate condolement is a course/ Of impious stubbornness”(I.ii.99-100), according to Claudius. During this period of mourning, Hamlet meets his father’s spirit and promises to avenge his father’s death. However, upon reflection, he questions the validity of the ghost’s message. At this point he carefully goes about choosing a plan of action that will inevitably show that “the king is to blame” (V.ii.340) In following his plan, Hamlet freely chooses to kill Polonius, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, Ophelia, Laertes, Claudius and himself.
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.
Free will is defined as the power of acting without the constraint of necessity or fate. It is the ability to act at one’s own discretion. What this means is that there is no set destiny; only a person’s own decisions can impact the outcome of their life. In William Shakespeare’s Macbeth, free will plays a very substantial and powerful role. In 11th century Scotland, three witches give a prophecy to Macbeth, a general in King Duncan’s army, that he will one day become King himself. They also give a prophecy to Macbeth’s best friend, Banquo, telling him that his descendants will be Kings. Macbeth and his wife, Lady Macbeth, hatch a plan to commit regicide in order to speed up the process. After their father is found dead, the King’s sons flee to England and Ireland and unknowingly casting the blame upon them. Macbeth is crowned King, and the prophecy has been fulfilled. Macbeth’s reign as King is one of violence and destruction, and he is overcome with guilt. He kills a lord named Macduff’s family because he finds out he has gone to England to help one of the sons. Macduff comes back to Scotland and slays Macbeth, and King Duncan’s eldest son becomes King. Some might argue that Macbeth was a victim of fate and circumstance, but it was of his own free will that he decided to murder King Duncan, and go on a reign of terror as King. Shakespeare’s Macbeth establishes that one’s free will can impact their decision-making abilities, ambition and paranoia. Free will is a concept that not everyone accepts, but something that Macbeth takes head on.
The three witches told Macbeth his fate. The events in Macbeth’s life occur because of the choice he made but also the witches prophesy and making him believe that he was all powerful. Throughout the play we can notice a downfall for Macbeth which is known as a turning for him as a character and a king. Due to the witches prophecy of witches telling him he was going to be king but also, free-will and him wanting more and killing people to gain the throne which causes the events of time to crumble. As we began to unfold Macbeth we begin to realize that Macbeth suffers throughout the play because of the decisions he has made. For that reason Macbeth fate was predetermine however, he chose to deal with them differently which changed Macbeth’s
at the end of the 16th century was overtaken by England which was at a
[“He who commits injustice is ever made more wretched than he who suffers from it”]
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.