Preview

Was Shakespeare Trying To Exalt Humanity

Satisfactory Essays
Open Document
Open Document
182 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Was Shakespeare Trying To Exalt Humanity
I believe that Shakespeare intended for Shylock’s speech to “exalt humanity” in a way. The speech is undeniably sarcastic and cynical, but it was also mainly intended to exalt humanity. When Shakespeare was writing Shylock’s speech, his intentions were to show how being prejudice can hurt someone (by showing the emotion of Shylock through his words written), and to show the audience that everyone should be treated equally no matter their religion, gender, race, etc… There are many reasons to argue that Shakespeare was trying to exalt humanity, but others might believe differently and say that the speech was simply just pessimistic and sarcastic. The main reasons that I have chosen to argue about are: for one, Shakespeare probably wants
Continue Reading
View Writing Issues

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Merchant of Venice and My Last Duchess
    • 474 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Merchant of Venice and My Last Duchess

    In the Merchant of Venice, Shakespeare illustrates his feelings towards Jews in 17th century England through the use of a commonly known stereotype during the time, the racial tension between Jews and Christians. Shylock is the focal point of the play, and acts as the traditional stereotype of the Jew in Elizabethan times. The merchant of venice is often seen as an anti-semitic work due to the stereotypical portrayal of the jewish character shylock. Some would argue that the most inevitable interpretation of shylock as a miserly wretch who care for nothing but his money is shakespeare expressing now – unfashionable anti-jewish views. However , one must remember that this view was seen as entirley normal and acceptable at the time, and most of the jews of elizabethan england had stoicly accepted such treatment.…

    • 474 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    How Does Shakespeare Affect The World
    • 1492 Words
    • 6 Pages

    How Does Shakespeare Affect The World

    “We know what we are, but not know what we may be.” The man with a vocabulary with over twenty-nine thousand words, William Shakespeare is one who left a lasting impact on the world and even affects the world today. Shakespeare is a writer who has affected the world most. He started from a very young age; he was successful early on, and affected many of the themes of present day literature.…

    • 1492 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Hamlet's Uncivilized and Wild Thinking
    • 556 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Hamlet's Uncivilized and Wild Thinking

    Hamlet, written by William Shakespeare is one of the most conventional pieces of writing of all time. It’s taught in classrooms all over the United States and is known well for its forms of “uncivilized free and wild” thinking.…

    • 556 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Shakespeare and Masculine Hegemony
    • 1826 Words
    • 8 Pages

    Shakespeare and Masculine Hegemony

    The sociological notion that the hierarchy of society is habitually patriarchal, an idea formally named “masculine hegemony”1, is influenced by literature beginning as early as the Medieval times and remains unchallenged until the appearance of the works of William Shakespeare in the heat of the English Renaissance. Masculine hegemony as a concept arises from the prison writings of Marxist scholar Antonio Gramsci meanwhile he was imprisoned within a fascist jail in the 1920s.2 Creating a sexist doctrine that rules over early societies it filters itself into the pages of some of the most renowned historical pieces of literature. The Iliad by Homer, the Oresteia Trilogy by Aeschylus, the Old Testament, and Decameron by Boccaccio can all be studied from a feminist viewpoint in criticism of their show of masculine hegemony. Eternally famous playwright and innovator of our English language William Shakespeare is the first author to break the chains of this dangerous cultural concept with his powerful, diverse female characters.…

    • 1826 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Shakespeare Allusion
    • 506 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Shakespeare Allusion

    In “How to Read Literature like a Professor” he uses many literary terms like symbolism and allusion but the one literary device I’ll be focusing on in this essay will be how he used allusion throughout it.…

    • 506 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    How Did Shakespeare Contribute To Society
    • 1478 Words
    • 6 Pages

    How Did Shakespeare Contribute To Society

    “He breathed upon dead bodies and brought them into life. Nor sequent centuries could hit Orbit and sum of Shakespeare’s wit” (“no sweat Shakespeare”). This quote above was said by Ralph Waldo Emerson, a famous essayist inspired by Shakespeare’s works. William Shakespeare was a renowned author, poet, actor, and playwright. He has contributed to many components of life today such as; founding modern English language, contributing to literature, contributing to modern theater, and contributing many of his works to modern English.…

    • 1478 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Shakespeare in Relation to Today
    • 1175 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Shakespeare in Relation to Today

    The Shakespearean tragedy Macbeth, though written over 400 years ago, still has relevance to today’s modern society. These are connected through the issues in the text such as the idea of revenge and the theme of appearance vs reality, the conventions of tragedy seen through Macbeth, context, language techniques, dramatic techniques and characterisation.…

    • 1175 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    The Merchant of Venice by Shakespeare and Your Shoes by Roberts: The Use of Contrast within a Character or between Characters
    • 1878 Words
    • 8 Pages

    The Merchant of Venice by Shakespeare and Your Shoes by Roberts: The Use of Contrast within a Character or between Characters

    Shakespeare’s main character, Shylock, is central to constant discrimination simply because he is a Jew. This is demonstrated in Act 1, Scene 3 when Antonio borrows money from Shylock. This scene is the first time the audience is introduced to Shylock and he quickly speaks of how he has been mistreated by Antonio because of his religion “You call me misbeliever, cut-throat dog, And spit upon my Jewish gabardine”. Shakespeare then reinforces this when Salarino is attempting to convince Shylock not to take a pound of Antonio’s flesh by questioning what good it would do. Shylock explains that “if nothing else it will feed my revenge” and how “He hath disgraced me…and what’s his reason? I am a Jew.” (3,1).…

    • 1878 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    William Shakespeare and Western Literary Tradition
    • 877 Words
    • 4 Pages

    William Shakespeare and Western Literary Tradition

    When Shakespeare was a kid going to grammar school, a school open to boys only by the way! they learned Latin, Greek and rhetoric, persuasion through logical argument. Students read Latin and Greek writers to learn about the history of ancient Greece and "the glory that was Rome” and this material was translated by them into English or French after many hours of work. I 'm glad the school curriculum of the 21 st century has evolved and we no longer spend our days doing boring stuff like that! Their old-fashioned, subjects that have little relevance in the modern world of the internet and space travel. The question is: shouldn 't we allow our education system to further evolve and file Shakespeare in the same drawer where we 've stuck Homer, Plato and Ovid? Given the society of North America in the 21 st century, Shakespeare 's relevance is declining with each new technical advance. The purpose of this essay is to prove isn 't it time to address this question head on, even at the risk of causing legions of English teachers to collapse in horror?…

    • 877 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Evil's Sake: An Analysis Of The Nature Of Evil In William Shakespeare
    • 1904 Words
    • 8 Pages

    Evil's Sake: An Analysis Of The Nature Of Evil In William Shakespeare

    Evil For Evil's Sake: An Analysis of the Nature of Evil In William Shakespeare's Hamlet…

    • 1904 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Merchant of Venice: Dehumanization of Shylock
    • 1530 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Merchant of Venice: Dehumanization of Shylock

    Discrimination and hatred across religions can be often become a normal part of everyday life, and can be difficult to eradicate and extinguish. In William Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice, the idea of the “normality” of everyday prejudices comes across in interactions and the portrayal of Shylock, a Jewish moneylender in Venice. Through Shylock’s character, Shakespeare provides a commentary on how his society has viewed Judaism in a dehumanizing way for many generations, but also expresses how difficult and not in a playwright’s place to change these societal prejudices.…

    • 1530 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Merchant of Venice: Stereotypes, Shakespeare, and You
    • 870 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Merchant of Venice: Stereotypes, Shakespeare, and You

    Now, although Shakespeare does put quite a bit of negative content into his writing, he also antagonizes it by challenging those stereotypes. For example, when Shylock found out that Jessica had stolen his ring and heard news that she may have had sold it, he…

    • 870 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    How Does Shakespeare Show Selfishness Selfish
    • 535 Words
    • 3 Pages

    How Does Shakespeare Show Selfishness Selfish

    The prevalence of disease, though not stressed directly, is an issue of importance when addressing William Shakespeare’s play, “Measure for Measure.” At the surface the reader is made aware that there is an abundance of sexually transmitted diseases. The commonality of such maladies is a direct result of the widespread practice of the Earth’s oldest profession, prostitution. Brothels such as the one run by Mistress Overdone were plentiful in the days of Shakespeare and this is illustrated in the play. The period, unlike today, offered no preventative measures from sexually transmitted diseases other than abstinence and monogamy. Neither of these, however, seem to be the common practice, thus disease runs rampant through the population, particularly Syphilis, or as it is called in the play, French Velvet. While the presence of physically detrimental diseases is not to be…

    • 535 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Humanity Depicted In Shakespeare's Othello
    • 832 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Humanity Depicted In Shakespeare's Othello

    Humanity has only survived this long to the successful relationships it has made over time but, those very relationships were only able to survive from the trust and truth instilled in them proving that the very means of survival depends on that. However, a lack or absence of either trust or truth will cause those very relationships to crumble in a matter of moments, bestowing upon them, ample emotional and physical pain which is unfathomable compared to any other pain that could be inflicted. In addition, trusting the wrong person blindly will result in immense misery. Throughout “Othello” by Shakespeare, the dire consequences of not having valuable relationships due to placing copious amounts of trust into the wrong person and an insufficient…

    • 832 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    The Influence Of Human Nature In Shakespeare's Romeo And Juliet
    • 1117 Words
    • 5 Pages

    The Influence Of Human Nature In Shakespeare's Romeo And Juliet

    Reactance. The psychological phenomenon that results from the perception of the restriction of free will. Human beings typically utilize their freedom responsibly and consider the balance between risk and reward. However, in the occasion where a force actively attempts to deter the completion of an action, the curiosity and reactance of humans will create a desire to do it simply for the satisfaction of feeling “free”. Four hundred years ago, William Shakespeare wrote Romeo and Juliet, a romantic tragedy that centers around this aspect of human nature. Within the play, Shakespeare portrays the contrast between the aggressive and sometimes violent nature of youthful emotions and the elaborately calculated actions of adults and what role the tendencies of human nature play in their relation. Over the centuries, Shakespeare’s brilliant masterpiece has captured the hearts and imaginations of millions, inspiring them to evaluate the influence human nature has on their personal lives. In the article “Not So Happily Ever After,” an unknown author assertively articulates his/her belief that human beings, without failure, will consistently act to satisfy personal desires, regardless of warnings and consequences, as it is “purely human…

    • 1117 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More

Related Topics