Portia in The Merchant of Venice Essay

TITLE In The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare and in A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry Portia’s intelligence and the Beneatha’s strong empowerment being suppressed (or attempted to be) are examples of discrimination within their own societies. In The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare Portia disguises herself to be able to hold any power in the Venetian court, showing the discrimination against women. Since she was disguised as a man everybody within the court held her…

misfortune like a tragedy. By this definition, The Merchant of Venice is a comedy; yet, many skeptics question this claim due to their analysis of the trial. They consider Shylock’s loss in the trial to be the downfall of a poor protagonist, suggesting that Merchant is a tragedy. However, these skeptics blame it on the Christian defendants in court. Shakespeare portrays Shylock as a self-destructive character, affirming that The Merchant of Venice is a comedic play, and reinforces its…

by Harper Lee and The Merchant Of Venice by William Shakespeare are filled with prejudice and people being treated differently because of stereotypes. To Kill A Mockingbird is filled with a variety of characters, Jem, Atticus, and Scout Finch are a family in which part of the novel revolves around. Then there is Tom Robinson and Mayella Ewell, who are the two battling in court. The Merchant Of Venice also has a large assortment of characters. The play revolves around Portia, a wealthy,…

This play dates to somewhere between 1595 and 1600 (N.p., 2016), when William Shakespeare was producing some 12 plays including this play. “The Merchant of Venice” would be more properly referred to as a problem play, which means it raises far more questions than it answers. Having a total of three main plot lines; the Shylock-Antonio bond, the Portia-Bassanio romance, and the ring trick, this complicated play show us the relationships between mercy and justice, love and honesty. The play…

Originally The Merchant of Venice was placed with other comedies, but since then, critics have been speculating on whether or not it should be classified as a tragedy instead (Fendt). A comedic drama is defined as being humorous and generally having a happy ending, whereas a tragedy involves suffering of the main or several characters and contains darker elements within the story (Conner). Critics often argue over how The Merchant of Venice, by William Shakespeare, should be classified. The…

The Merchant of Venice. This play is about a Venetian Merchant, Antonio, who takes out a loan in order to help his friend court a wealthy heiress. Antonio’s contract with the moneylender states that if Antonio cannot repay the loan, he will owe the moneylender a pound of his own flesh. Unfortunately, circumstances arise that prohibit Antonio from repaying the loan. It seems that the characters in both these plays could use some mercy. Lillian Hellman uses the quotes from The Merchant of Venice…

Dramatic Significance Exposed by Risk in The Merchant of Venice Risk is the exposure to danger. Taking risks are necessary because risk reveals experience to an individual. Hazard has both malevolent and benevolent outcomes, which can affect the overall atmosphere in a play. The content of William Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice includes many scenarios of risk-taking among the relationships between characters. The Merchant of Venice consists of four different plots: the bond plot, casket…

The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare has caused a wave of debates for centuries after the play’s debut in 1605, and this wave increases to this day. One of the most debated topics of the Merchant of Venice between readers is the argument whether Shylock, a Jewish usurer, is a victim or a villain in the play. Labeled as the “devil” (1.3.107) and an “inhuman wretch” (4.1.4) by many Christians, Shylock’s wickedness identifies him as the major foe in the play. As the root of most trouble,…

Both plays can be seen, to have very distinct configurations, the merchant of Venice is seen as a comedy love play, whereas Romeo and Juliet is seen as a tragic play. Shakespeare explores the feelings of love through various ways such as love at first and presenting love as being never ceasing. When both plays were performed, the Shakespearean audience would think that courtly is better than romantic due to the fact that it is seen that women have more power and in order for the man to win the…

The main female characters of Christopher Marlow’s The Jew of Malta and William Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice serve the same purpose in their respective plays. Despite their power differences, Abigail and Portia fulfill the same function of humiliating the Jewish main character. These women also perform comparable actions which feed into the execution of their implicit main purpose. These actions and consequences include the following: going in disguise to protect financial statuses when…