Portia

Portia says to him during the trial: “Therefore prepare thee to cut off the flesh. Shed thou no blood, nor cut thou less nor more But just a pound of flesh. If thou takest more Or less than a just pound, be it but so much As makes it light or heavy in the…

Antonio, Act III, Scene III, Lines 328-330) Shylock, seeing his chance to exact revenge on Antonio (and indirectly on the Christian establishment) for poor treatment of Jews, takes Antonio to court for his pound of flesh. Antonio is only saved when Portia (disguised as a man, a common theme in many of Shakespeare 's comedies) argues that Shylock is not entitled to a single drop of blood. This makes the agreement impossible to fulfill, and Shylock is left to grovel for mercy. He is not…

different time period, compared to how it was described in Payback. The merchant of Venice is Antonio whom is close friends with Bassanio. In the piece of literature Bassanio quickly depleted his funds in pursuit of a wealthy women, Portia. To continue to court, and impress, Portia Bassanio reached out to his companion, Antonio, to borrow money. At the time, Antonio had all of his assets tied up into an investment which led him to do business with Shylock. Shylock was hesitant to do business…

“[Mercy] blesseth him that gives and him that takes” is an opening line in Lillian Hellman’s The Children’s Hour. This play is about two women, Karen Wright and Martha Dobie, who own and operate an all-girls boarding school. Mary Tilford, one of the girl’s in the school, is a manipulative bully who starts a rumor that the two headmistresses are lovers. Soon, the rumor spreads and the women’s lives begin to fall apart. The quote is also a line in William Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice. This…

‘Jew’ — made Shylock a magnet for of anti-Semitism. However, the complex character of Shylock occasionally shows signs of humanity, which suggests that Shylock is a victim but – particularly from the perspective of the other main characters, such as Portia or Antonio - also a villain. We see two controversial sides of Shylock; one is the ruthless Jew who is enthralled by the idea of killing a Christian merchant to ‘feed fat the ancient grudge’ and ‘whets [his] knife so earnestly’. However, we…

navigate their world inside their homes. It is, after all, in her home that Portia learns of the marriage test that her father stipulated in his will (1.2.25). Shortly after, she speaks of the difficulty in learning her own path, saying “I can easier teach twenty what were good to be done, than be one of the twenty to follow mine own teaching” (1.2.15-17). However, it will be through that same set of marriage tests that Portia learns to deftly wield words, preparing her for court at the end of…

a villain. While in the courthouse, Portia, as Balthazar, begins to make Shylock’s case, demanding that by law he is able to take the bond if he wants, making Shylock excited when hearing this. Urging on Portia to speak faster in his favor, Shylock shows his hatred for Antonio by stating, “Proceed to judgment. By my soul I swear / There is no power in the tongue of man / To alter me. I stay here on my bond” (4.1.249-251). At this moment, he is urging on Portia to continue with her judgment, as…

Explain what themes might be revealed based on what you learn about Portia. Link you take on the possible themes to your understanding of social context of the play. The idea on ‘Prejudice’ can be revealed based on what I have learnt about Portia, where she has preconceived opinion about all dark people that they aren’t worth it and do not posses the qualities to win her hand in marriage, which is not based…

In William Shakespeare 's "The Merchant of Venice," religion plays a big part in early 1600s venetian society. The antagonist, Shylock, is an extremely religious man who lets his vengeance get the better of him. Throughout the play Shylock was constantly being treated badly because of his religion. Shylock is viewed as the villain in the play because he is a Jew but is actually the victim because of negative actions done onto him by others. When negotiating a deal with Antonio, Shylock…

This quote is shylock talking to tubal about Jessica leaving “I would my daughter were dead at my foot, and/ the jewels in her ears: would she were hearsed at my foot, /and the ducats in her coffin!.(III.i.79-81). Shylock is mad that his daughter left him with his money and would want her to be dead in front of him to get his money and have all her ducats from her coffin. This shows that Shylock is a villain since he would go to the extent to wanting her dead for his…