The Merchant of Venice: A Tragicomedy Patricia Green INTRODUCTION Shakespeare in the High School Classroom The Merchant of Venice‚ by William Shakespeare‚ does not fit the conventional definitions of a tragedy or a comedy. It is categorized as a comedy‚ although one of the two distinct plotlines is a tragedy. This play is multi-faceted and is really a combination of two plays in one; therefore it lends itself well as a source for teaching different lessons in the high school classroom. This curriculum
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The Merchant of Venice" by WIlliam Shakespeare. "The Merchant of Venice" is a play about revenge‚ justice‚ deseption and friendship. The story is about‚ Shylock a wealth Jew‚ lending one of his enemies‚ Antonoi‚ three thousand ducats. Although Antonio is a rich merchant all his resources are in his ships‚ trading too distant countries‚ but because he wants to help out his friend‚Bassanio‚ he has no choice but to ask Shylock for a loan ‚ not to know it could lead to his death. In this play there
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Merchant of Venice I agree with the statement saying that the main issues of The Merchant of Venice are credited to the development of Shylock and Portia. Throughout the story‚ the characters of Shylock and Portia are the ones who raise many significant matters to do with Venetian society and even our society today. Shylock’s experiences in the story bring up topics of racism and revenge‚ while through the character of Portia‚ issues such as justice‚ mercy and the role of women in a patriarchal
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The Merchant of Venice illustrates a clear discrepancy between the moral values of its Christian characters and those of Shylock; at last revealing favor for the mercy‚ generosity‚ love‚ and self-sacrifice of the Christians. Irrespective of the religious hypocrisy displayed by the Christians of the play‚ they ultimately prove the victors‚ while those who disregard the virtues of Christian doctrine suffer highly disagreeable consequences. Shylock‚ a miserly Jew and heartless usurer characterized
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The Merchant of Venice The play The Merchant of Venice is a comedy about a man named Bassanio who wants to travel to Belmont to try and win the love of a rich‚ beautiful and intelligent heiress‚ names Portia. Bassanio has his friend Antonio borrow money from a Jewish money lender for him so that he could travel to Belmont. The Merchant of Venice has many different themes‚ including the two themes; revenge & love and friendship. The first theme in the play The Merchant of Venice is revenge
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From ancient times‚ through to the Renaissance‚ friendship between two men was regarded as the highest form of social relationship‚ even surpassing that between a man and a woman in matrimony. This is portrayed through “The Merchant of Venice”‚ written by William Shakespeare which was written between 1556 and 1558. This platonic natured friendship is still portrayed in modern literature‚ but due to changed opinions because of the society in which it was written it is more subtle in expressions as
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Shylock: Villain or Victim The Merchant Of Venice is the story about a merchant by the name of Antonio who borrows money from a Jewish moneylender by the name of Shylock‚ in order to fund his best friend Bassanio’s romantic ambitions. The majority of the residents of Venice during the time this story was written were Christians‚ just like Antonio. At the same time there was a considerable amount of hatred toward those who were not Christians. Antonio needed money quickly and he had no other choice
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Question 1 Essay question: The Merchant of Venice The outcome of the trial of Shylock versus Antonio doesn’t reach an apt conclusion at the end of the play. In the preceding essay I plan to demonstrate the factors that influenced my decision to object to the verdict that concludes this play. I believe Shylock’s punishment is too harsh in this unjust court of law. It is of most relevance to highlight the fact that Antonio was entirely aware of the penalty that would arise from the bond forfeiting
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The play I have studied is Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare. The character I believe deserves the title heroine is Portia. Portia‚ as I will explain is quite an atypical hero figure. She is rich and beautiful‚ so we assume wrongly at first that she will be spoilt and inconsequential to the action of the play. This could not be further from the truth. Portia is not to be underestimated. Without Portia‚ there would be no titular merchant at the end of this Romantic Comedy. Portia may be
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Jews and Christians in Renaissance Venice as Portrayed by Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice Benjamin Ravid‚ Robert Finlay‚ and Walter Cohen all have their own way of explaining the Jews in Venice in their articles. There is no argument that Shakespeare’s play The Merchant of Venice contradicts and is over exaggerated when it is compared to each one of their articles‚ although there are many situations and events that occur in the play that relate to the historical reality of the relationship
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