How far is Shylock a character for whom we can feel sympathy? How would a contemporary audience’s response to him differ from that of an audience in Shakespeare’s time? Shylock isn’t a character for whom we can feel much sympathy for because he always seems to be thinking about himself and his money rather than other people around him. Through most of the play he seems selfish‚ and it seems in some parts of the play as though he doesn’t care about his daughter. He also has a very strict religion
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To what extent do you feel sympathy for Lady Macbeth? Refer to at least two scenes from the play in your answer. In the play “The Tragedy of Macbeth” written by William Shakespeare‚ we see a very complex character which is Lady Macbeth. Lady Macbeth’s character throughout the play changes as she experiences the misfortunes that are brought to Macbeth and herself. This essay will explore how we as an audience feel sympathy for Lady Macbeth throughout the play‚ and how this feeling changes as we watch
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most discriminated against is Shylock. He is hated for being a Jew and a money-lender‚ but Shakespeare has not made Shylock a character easy to sympathise with. He appears to be mean and cruel and it seems as though he loves money above all things. However during the play there are moments when Shakespeare gives Shylock speeches which show his humanity. In these moments‚ although at the time it was written there was little tolerance of Jews‚ the audience is made to feel sorry for him. Shakespeare has
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the storyline. In Shakespeare’s play The Merchant of Venice‚ Shylock is presented as the most developed character. Shakespeare purposely creates both an antagonist and protagonist in Shylock‚ by creating a change in view for the reader throughout the play. He can be viewed as a hated Jew that is often referred to as a villain‚ a devil‚ and a money obsessed freak‚ but a sudden change of personality tends to always occur. We first see Shylock as a person who chooses everything over money‚ but later we
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Throughout the play of Pygmalion‚ Higgins is portrayed to the audience in many ways. He is a well educated and intelligent man that‚ however‚ possesses horrendous manners and is socially inept. An example of this is shown when his own mother‚ Mrs Higgins‚ doesn’t want him in her house when she has company and also when she says that she doesn’t want to attend church the same time as him as he is rude. ‘You offend all my friends: they stop coming whenever they meet you.’ – Mrs Higgins. ‘He cant
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the storyline. In Shakespeare’s play The Merchant of Venice‚ Shylock is presented as the most developed character. Shakespeare purposely creates both an antagonist and protagonist in Shylock‚ by creating a change in view for the reader throughout the play. He can be viewed as a hated Jew that is often referred to as a villain‚ a devil‚ and a money obsessed freak‚ but a sudden change of personality tends to always occur. We first see Shylock as a person who chooses everything over money‚ but later we
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Do you sympathise for Shylock? - Give reasons for your answer Should Shylock be shown pity or did he deserve how he was treated? Ever since Shylock was shown as a character by William Shakespeare in the Merchant of Venice there have been many interpretations about him all throughout history. Some of these opinions are of the time are biased. Even different groups of people throughout the centuries have a different point of view about this man. In the 19th century (Elizabethan times) Shylock
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Macbeth‚ Hamlet‚ and Romeo. In another one of Shakespeare’s plays‚ “Merchant of Venice”‚ the antagonist‚ Shylock‚ is often labeled as a complex character as well. He works as a Jewish moneylender in the predominantly Christian‚ Italy. During this time period‚ Shylock and his fellow Jews are treated as second-class citizens. In one of Shakespeare’s most powerful and memorable soliloquies‚ Shylock addresses Salerio and Solanio on what its like living openly as a Jew and all the injustice he has endured
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Shylock is one of Shakespeare’s most intriguing creations who has been identified as a character who can fluctuate to extremes. Shylocks elaborate and complex nature has never been completely understood within the plays and movies‚ causing stage director and cinematic producers to alter his character continuously. During early Elizabethan times Shylock would have been played by a comedian who wore a grotesque false nose and red wig; cleverly these props were used to insinuate to the audience that
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Love (Jessica and Shylock) 1) What forms the foundation of the relationship between the two characters your group has been assigned? (Think about the ties they have with one another‚ how are they drawn to one another etc.) There is familial love between Jessica and Shylock but Jessica is unfilial. The quote ‘To be ashamed to be my father’s child’ (2.3.16) shows that Jessica detests her father to the extent of being ashamed to be related to him. However‚ Solanio heard Shylock shout in the streets
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