Venice Biennale

The bullfights find another form of significance in their paralleling of events in the characters’ lives. For instance, the first time they see the bulls as they are being unloaded into the corrals the first bull gores and kills a steer. This could be seen as parallel to the ensuing fight Mike and Cohn have. Mike himself compares Cohn to a steer—a castrated bull calf that grows into an ox—which fits on more than one level. Cohn is already an outsider to the group simply by being Jewish, as the…

The Culprit Behind Shylock’s Demise The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare has one character that has a large contribution to the play, that character is Jessica. Jessica is the most important character in regard to Shylock’s folly. This is because she is the primary initiate of his anger towards Antonio. She runs away with Lorenzo and takes a large sum of her father’s goods. She also converts to Christianity because Lorenzo is a Christian. This all happens with the help of Antonio’s…

Merchant of Venice Annotation Analysis: ACT IV External Conflict: External Conflict is marked by a characteristic involvement of an action wherein a character finds himself in a struggle without outside forces. Textual Evidence: “Hates any man the thing he would kill it?” (IV.I.67). Explanation: Shylock gained the desire to want to steal a pound of flesh from Antonio. As stated by the definition an external conflict, an external conflict is a struggle from the outside forces. An episode…

Firstly, Shylock is treated in an inhumane way. Antonio is at Shylock’s house, trying to get a loan from him. Then, Shylock angrily replies with: “Fair sir, you spat on Wednesday last, you spurn’d me such a day, another time you call’d me dog: and for these courtesies I’ll lend you thus much monies” (1.3.121-124). Clearly, Shylock shows he is not happy with Antonio as his previous experiences with him were not pleasant. He was spat on, insulted, and treated like a dog. If one was previously…

At the surface, The Merchant of Venice and Joe Turner’s Come and Gone may seem like to completely unrelated works. The Merchant of Venice was written in the late 16th century and explores the role of antisemitism while Joe Turner’s Come and Gone was written in 1987 and portrays the life of characters living during the great migration. However, William Shakespeare and August Wilson both intentionally incorporate contrasting characters within their work. The contrasting characters have a…

The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare is a play with a young merchant, Antonio who would do anything for his friend Bassanio. Bassanio is in need of money to woo Lady Portia. Bassanio does not want to directly take money from Antonio; instead he goes to Shylock for loan and uses Antonio’s name as credit to borrow the loan. Shylock and Antonio have a feud; they hate each other since they work in the same business and have different religions. Also, Antonio has on numerous occasions…

Throughout the play, “The Merchant of Venice,” Shakespeare utilizes the theme of duplicity, and the misperception of people. “The Merchant of Venice” is a play about a Merchant, named Antonio who has a friend named Bassanio. He needs to borrow money to marry a wealthy beautiful maiden named Portia. To get this money Antonio has to get a loan from a jew named Shylock. Throughout the play, characters that used duplicity, affected the outcome of the plot by changing it in a way to work in their…

Imagine that you have a Jewish friend who is persecuted and hated because of his or her race. And he or she is looking for a place to hide, but no one is willing to provide shelter. Then he comes up to you and tells you that you are the last hope. Would you help the Jew despite knowing that you may end up in prison or at a Nazi concentration camp? Well, Corrie ten Boom, a non-Jewish Dutch woman, risked her life and suffered to save the lives of many Jews by taking them into her home to protect…

The settings of each of Shakespeare’s plays play a huge role in the plot and the play as a whole. For example, in Othello, the play starts off in Venice but takes place in Cyprus for a majority of the play. The people of Venice were mostly white, so Othello was definitely an outcast. If it weren’t for his position in the military and his service in the war, he more than likely would have been criticized by the Venetian people. When the setting shifts to Cyprus, known for its love, the love…

Appearance and Reality in Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice There are many things in the world which appear to be something but are complete opposites in reality. In the same manner, Shakespeare has used appearance and reality in his play as a major theme. Various characters in the play are shown as giving examples of appearance and reality. Moreover, they betray as well as are betrayed many times because of their inability to differentiate between reality and appearance. The characters in the…