The play “Merchant of Venice” by William Shakespeare, takes place in 16th century Venice and talks about the brief encounter between a merchant called Antonio and a Jewish moneylender, by the name of Shylock. The play is filled with different kinds of ethical, national and gender encounters, but the biggest problem is the religious issue between Christians and Jews. The Jewish people were classified as outcasts from Christian beliefs and also treated inhumane. Anti-Semitism is a reoccurring issue that appears throughout the Shakespeare’s “Merchant of Venice” play.
The problem starts when Bassanio, Antonio’s friend that needed money to impress Portia who was known as the heiress of her dead father’s money. Bassanio asked Antonio to ask for a loan from a Jewish moneylender named Shylock, because he was certain that Shylock would rather lend the money to Antonio than him. He promised Antonio that he will repay all the money he takes from Shylock in time, which was three months, as soon as his ships sail in from Europe. Shylock agreed to this loan but the condition was that if Antonio isn’t able to pay the money in time he will have to cut Antonio’s flesh that is worth as much as 3000 ducats. After the three months passed Bassanio wasn’t able to give the money back to Antonio and he had to appear in front of the court of …show more content…
The major issue during this time was encounter between the Christians and Jews. This difference proved to be a great stepping stone for Antonio to prove that he was innocent and not to be sentenced to the death penalty. Another example that this play proves was the effect of friendship and bond between friends has on society. If we don’t have people next to us that we can trust and rely on we are going to have a hard time going through life. If it wasn’t for Antonio, Bassanio would never get the money he needed to invest in his business
The problem starts when Bassanio, Antonio’s friend that needed money to impress Portia who was known as the heiress of her dead father’s money. Bassanio asked Antonio to ask for a loan from a Jewish moneylender named Shylock, because he was certain that Shylock would rather lend the money to Antonio than him. He promised Antonio that he will repay all the money he takes from Shylock in time, which was three months, as soon as his ships sail in from Europe. Shylock agreed to this loan but the condition was that if Antonio isn’t able to pay the money in time he will have to cut Antonio’s flesh that is worth as much as 3000 ducats. After the three months passed Bassanio wasn’t able to give the money back to Antonio and he had to appear in front of the court of …show more content…
The major issue during this time was encounter between the Christians and Jews. This difference proved to be a great stepping stone for Antonio to prove that he was innocent and not to be sentenced to the death penalty. Another example that this play proves was the effect of friendship and bond between friends has on society. If we don’t have people next to us that we can trust and rely on we are going to have a hard time going through life. If it wasn’t for Antonio, Bassanio would never get the money he needed to invest in his business