Ismail Merchant

In the first two acts of the play, Merchant of Venice, Shylock, a Jewish money lender, is a villain in which we should be aware of. The first example we see this is in 1: 3 when Shylock reveals his hatred for Antonio for his religion, Christianity. However most of all Shylock despise Antonio for lending money without any interest. This shows that Shylock hates Antonio for no legitimate reasons. Being a Christian is not something that is to be hated upon. Lending money without gaining profit is a…

The Merchant of Venice by the great writer William Shakespeare of the nineteenth century portrays the male, Christian dominated society and where women’s rights and other religions are highly rejected by the community. Also this lies on revenge, greediness of individuals’ in the society where they would take the life of a human in order to pursue one’s thought. However, the character of Portia is emphasized as a rich, beautiful, who has been previously controlled by men, triumph as she…

The Merchant of Venice: Comedy or Tragedy? Many would agree that William Shakespeare is one of the world’s greatest playwrights. He is known for his ability to entertain audiences and capture their affections through his beloved characters. Many of his plays contain themes that are everlasting and able to move audiences through several generations. One play in particular, though, leaves many critics asking questions about how to classify the drama. Shakespeare’s play, The Merchant of Venice, is…

comedy, romance nor tragedy. Due to the nature of the play, it cannot be classified by any one genre. 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…

The idea of friendship that is represented in Chaim Potok's The Chosen mirrors many issues that friends of different backgrounds face today. Danny Saunders And Reuven Malter faced many hardships in the course of the novel. They faced rules and prejudices that many of us were not familiar with before the novel. They had disagreements and touching personal moments that friends experience with each other even today. Their friendship had its high points and its low points, but their friendship was…

questions in his plays. In Romeo and Juliet and The Merchant of Venice, Shakespeare answers many universal questions, such as the nature of friendship through Antonio and Bassanio and the financial sacrifices they make for each other, faith and what people believe through Shylock and his social restrictions because of his religion, and how to deal with the death of loved ones through Lady Montague’s death following her son’s suicide. In The Merchant of Venice, Shakespeare addresses his…

and is formed through experiences, was one of the most significant philosophies of the Enlightenment period. With that idea in mind, many have wondered how much an individual’s upbringing actually affects their identity. William Shakespeare’s, The Merchant of Venice, showcases exactly how an individual’s cultural background characterizes their life. The different hierarchical ranked cultures where the materialistic Christians and the money-depending Jews come from, create opposing views on the…

The view of justice that William Shakespeare presents in Macbeth differs from the one he presents in The Merchant of Venice. In Macbeth Shakespeare unfolds justice through Macduff in using his hands to revenge Macbeth’s killing his wife and children, leaving him without his beloveds. While in The Merchant of Venice, Shylock, seeks justice from the Duke of Venice in requests that he enforces Shylock’s contract with Antonio. Shylock, in contrast to Macduff, seeks justice through the superior power…

Shakespeare saw and realized this in each of the plays he wrote. In The Merchant of Venice he showed that you can’t trample all over social hierarchies because many of them have been held steadfast for years and cannot easily be brought down by the action of one individual. This is why we ended up seeing Shylock wrecked man,…

Within society, both past and present, we can discern a myriad of façades which present a deceptive outer appearance. William Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice, Willy Russell’s Educating Rita and D.H. Lawrence’s Lady Chatterley’s Lover are works of literature which diversely consider a vast array of characters and situations which demonstrate such façades within society. These façades may be actively used by a character or be surrounding an abstract concept or institution, such as wealth or…