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Analyses merchants of Venice
Analyses merchants of Venice
Critical analysis of the merchant of venice
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1. In the text, Shakespeare places a scene in Belmont against one in Venice. As mentioned earlier Shakespeare constantly juxtaposes throughout The Merchant of Venice. Juxtaposition is a literary technique that creates comparisons between two dissimilar objects. One reason that Shakespeare constantly juxtaposes is for the reason that Shakespeare’s end goal is to evoke interest and surprise the readers throughout the story with dramatic changes. In the beginning of act one scenes one and two, Antonio and Portia, two different characters are introduced. An incident involving Antonio in Venice and Portia in Belmont further illustrates the comparison between the two. For example Antonio states, “In sooth, I know not why I am so sad” (I.I.1). In contrast, Portia states, “By my troth, Nerissa, my little body is aweary of this great world” (I.II.1). This illustrates how these two characters connect to each other in a way. Both Nerissa and Antonio are going through a few troubles, and one has a reason for it and the other does not. An …show more content…
Shylock speech patterns is nearly as typical as any Shakespearean play and Shylock tends to use a certain part of speech throughout the play. Throughout The Merchant of Venice Shylock speech patterns are poetic for the reason that Shylock tends to speak numerous metaphors and similes. Shylock also tends to use several different tones when speaking of a certain people. A certain figure of speech that Shylock tends to use is biblical allusion. An allusion is a brief an indirect to a person, place, object, or idea of historical, cultural, literary or political significance. For example, Shylock uses biblical allusion when Shylock uses a story of Jacob from Genesis 30: 25-43 (I.III.72-86). Shylock uses this to defend the reason for charging interest. Shylock tends to use allusion several times throughout the story as logic for reasoning. In the end, Shylock tends to speak in a poetic tone and use biblical allusion throughout the
Throughout the play, Shylock was often reduced to something other than Human. In many cases, even the simple title of "Jew" was stripped away, and Shylock was not a man, but an animal. For example, Gratiano curses Shylock with "O, be thou damned, inexecrable dog!" (IV, i, 128) whose "currish spirit govern'd a wolf" (IV, i, 133-134) and whose "desires are wolvish, bloody, starved, and ravenous" (IV, i, 137-138). Or when Shylock is neither a man nor an animal, he becomes "a stony adversary, inhuman wretch" (IV, i, 4-5). When the Christians applied these labels to Shylock, they effectively stripped him of his humanity, of his religious identity; he was reduced to something other than human.
Committing deceptive deeds not only hurt others, but also the ones who deceive. The Merchant of Venice, by William Shakespeare, is a romantic-comedy play about a Christian merchant named Antonio who agrees to a bond that a Jewish moneylender named Shylock, his enemy, creates to help his best friend Bassanio see Portia, an heiress whom he is in love with. Shylock warns Antonio that if he forfeits the bond, by not repaying him three thousand ducats, he must allow him to remove a pound of his flesh. Throughout the play, deceptive behaviour causes the moral values of individuals to decline. First, this is seen through wealth as it pertains to the desire to have what is valuable. Second, moral values decline when people deceive the family members that they encounter. Finally, deceiving others through love leads to a decline of moral values. In the play, The Merchant of Venice, deception, as seen through wealth, family encounters, and love, causes the moral
This shows that Shylock puts his money before his religion. He says he hates Antonio because he is a Christian (and so an immediate enemy of the devout Jew) but more than that he hates him because he lends out money for no fee and so takes business away from Shylock. He also puts his money before his daughter, Jessica. When she runs away with Lorenzo she takes some of her father’s money and we hear from Solanio and Salerio that Shylock runs out into the street shouting; “My daughter! O my ducats!” He repeats the two phrases until they become confused, and it is clear that the money is more important to him than Jessica. Shakespeare emphasises the confusion in Shylock’s mind between his ‘daughter’ and his ‘ducats’ by using alliteration. The only time when money...
with how Shylock treats him since he calls Shylock “a kind of devil” and also
...killful writer rising a case that can be a subject for many interpretations and not necessarily revealing a specific view of its writer, however it aims to convey a certain moral to the readers. Therefore, the character of shylock, being stereotyped or not, with its controversy is a tool manipulated to convey a moral message: when people live in a society that is open to cultural diversity and that values the contributions of all society members - regardless of cultural and ethnic backgrounds, race, life styles, and belief – they will be one step closer to living in a civil society.
We frequently see the intent of greed and selfishness covered up by the words and face of virtue. Such exploit is displayed by the exceptionally stingy Shylock, an unpopular Jew who makes his living through the practice of usury. When confronted about his unsympathetic trade, he resorts to citing scripture, thus comparing his selfish trade with the actions of holy men (I, iii, 73-87). Antonio, a well respected and honorable merchant, sees right through the falsehood of the justification and asks Shylock, "Was this inserted to make interest good? Or is your gold and silver ewes and rams?" (I, iii, 91-92). The response from Shylock to the question reveals a glimpse of his true meaning. "I cannot tell; I make it breed as fast" (I, iii, 93-94) is a rather boastful reply of his wealth than a righteous rationalization. To which Antonio can only turn to his friend and say "The devil can site Scripture for his purpose. An evil soul producing holy witness is like a villain with a smiling cheek" (I, iii, 95-97).
Drama and Tension in William Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice Introduction The merchant of Venice is about a merchant who borrows a loan to help a friend who wants to go to Belmont to Marie a woman called Portia. The person who borrows a loan is a merchant name (Antonio), and Antonio goes and gets the loan off a Jew name (Shylock). After Antonio borrows the loan, Antonio sign a bond saying that if in three month Antonio ships don’t return, shylock would have his pond of flesh.
This is where Shakespeare evokes our sympathy, by making us realise how Shylock has suffered because of the prejudices of the Christians around him. He explains his motives for revenge in a rational way, showing how his actions are no different from the Christians'. Look carefully at the language he uses, as well as the insulting and mocking language used by the other two. At the end of the scene, Shylock mourns the loss of his daughter, although our feelings towards him are a bit mixed, for he seems to care more about the money. He does give evidence, however, of his love for his wife, which again, creates sympathy.
In many of Shakespeare’s plays, Shakespeare uses multiple settings to contrast opposing ideas that are central to the meaning of the work. In The Merchant of Venice, Shakespeare uses the settings of Venice and Belmont to represent opposing ideas. The city of Venice is an international marketplace. Venice is diverse and full of people from many countries who practice their own religions. Venice is marked by its cultural melting pot and friction, along with its focus on business and greed. In contrast, Belmont is a city in which people flee to in order to get away from the realities of commerce. The city of Belmont is marked by harmony and peace. Many of the characters in the story leave the avaricious city of Venice in order to reside in the
Later,when Jessica leaves Shylock,Salanio mocks Shylock saying “I, for my part knew the tailor that made the wings she withdrawal” to further anger him(Ⅲ.i.27-28).Even in his saddest hour,Shytlock is further mocked.In conclusion,though Shylock is vengefull and full of hate,it is because a string of events that led him to this way and the mocking from the
Shylock has the reader's sympathy. Still, their desire for revenge ruins them in the end. Works Cited Shakespeare, William. The. The Merchant of Venice. 1967.
Shylock is a wealthy Jew who invests money into shipments and trades. When Shylock’s enemy, Antonio, requests a loan of 3000 ducats, “Shylock adopts this Christian model of "kind" lending in his bond with Antonio as a means for lawful revenge.” Shylock’s agreement is that if the ducats are not returned, Antonio must repay his loan in human flesh. This is a way for Shylock to either make money or kill a Christian, either will satisfy him. Lee describes Shylock’s feelings towards Christians, “Indeed, although Shylock will neither "eat," "drink," nor "pray" with the Christians, he is willing to "buy" and "sell" with them.” This is where Shakespeare first introduces the devil inside Shylock. Had Antonio been a Jew, there would not have been a payment of flesh. Shylock’s hatred propels the story from start to finish. His hatred causes him to lose his daughter, drives Portia to use her money and wit to save Antonio, and why he ends up losing
During the discussion of the bond, Shylock says to Antonio “ I would be friends with you and have your love” and “this kindness will I show”. He pretends to be Antonio’s friend, but he has an ulterior motive, which is to take a pound of Antonio’s flesh from whatever part of his body he pleases. The underlying meaning is to kill him, and thus, although Shylock seems good-hearted, he is in truth, harbouring deceit. Shylock is manipulative and crafty as he tries to put up a show to deceive Antonio. He sounds generous about offering the three thousand ducats without “usance for my moneys”, thus winning Antonio’s trust. This was done to divert Antonio’s attention from his actual intentions. However, Shylock proposes a flesh bond as a “merry sport”, in substitution for not charging interest. The bond, although an unusual forfeit, is a serious matter, because Antonio may be killed from accepting its terms and conditions. Shylock is a brilliant strategist, and even the perceptive businessman, Antonio, has fallen for it. Shylock is a vindictive and unforgiving man, whose hatred for Christians has driven him to want to kill Antonio. We know that Shylock has suffered emotionally and physically because of how Antonio has kicked, spat and rated him many a times. Thus he deserves some of our pity, as taking revenge on your enemy is only natural.
The first theme is that religious intolerance and prejudice play destructive roles in the book. Even to this day, there is racism and prejudice in schools about race and religion. Antonio, as a true Christian, has often condemned moneylenders. He knows that since the early twelfth century, Christians are forbidden by the Church to lend money for profit. Shylock, as a Jew, does not consider his money-lending and overwhelming interest to be a sin in any manner. In fact, he considers his earnings through money lending as the gift of God. He appeals to and quotes the Scriptures in defense of his profession. Shylock and the other Jewish moneylenders are essential to the prosperity of the merchant community, but they are also outcasts as human beings and as Jews. Shylock often shows his dislike to the Christians; “I hate him for he is a Christian”, (Act I, Sc. III, L. 38). The Christians ridicule and hate the Jewish moneylende...
Shylock also seems to show little or no love towards his daughter, Jessica. He may have been hurt by his daughter running away with a large amount of his wealth and with a Christian lover (Lorenzo); this is a point where Shylock can be viewed as a victim in the story. This still does n...