Merchant Taylors' School

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…

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…

This passage is imagery because it vividly describes the scene. Throughout the passage, Salarino paints the picture of the fear that would occur if his well-being depended on a ship in a detailed manner. For example, the last four lines of the passage describe a ship being destroyed by rocks and spilling the cargo into the ocean. Using words such as “dangerous rocks” and “roaring waters”, Salarino employs terms that create visual images and sounds within audience’s imagination. By effectively…

held back from doing what men do. In society today women have the same rights as men but are still treated differently. For example, it is still a firm belief that men make more money than women even though they are working the same jobs. In The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare, even though the protagonist is a man and it contains mostly male characters, the women in the play such as Portia, Nerissa, and Jessica show how they hold the higher power in the play. Through their…

Throughout history Jews have been outcasted from the rest of society even though they are equal in all aspects of life besides religion. During the time period that Shakespeare wrote The Merchant of Venice, Jews were not welcomed into cities dominated by Christianity. In the play, the main protagonist Shylock is outcasted from the people of Venice for being Jewish. For being outcasted, Shylock hates the Christians and has no friends among the Venetians. To make a living, Shylock must compete…

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…