The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare is a play that follows the merchant Antonio – who is regularly lending money to his friend Bassanio. This causes much trouble for Antonio as Shylock, a man who despises Antonio and the owner of the loan, requires a pound of his flesh. Portia, Bassanio’s future wife, saves Antonio by an elaborate scheme where she poses as a judge and tricks Shylock out of half of his fortune.
The Merchant of Venice - William Shakespeare - 1596
Introduction
The Merchant of Venice, by Elizabethan playwright William Shakespeare, ranks among the most popular and frequently performed of the Bar...
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The Merchant of Venice
by William Shakespeare
Alifelong resident of England, William Shakespeare may have visited Venice, Italy, on tour with his acting company. Certainly many of his well-to-do co...
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The English playwright, poet, and actor William Shakespeare (1564-1616) is generally acknowledged to be the greatest of English writers and one of the most extraordinary creators in human history.The ...
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Considered by critics, scholars, and the theater-going public the most important dramatist in the history of English literature, William Shakespeare occupies a unique position in the pantheon of great...
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"He was not of an age, but for all time." So wrote Ben Jonson in his dedicatory verses to the memory of William Shakespeare in 1623, and so we continue to affirm today. No other writer, in English or ...
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William Shakespeare's reputation is based primarily on his plays. With the partial exception of the Sonnets (1609), quarried since the early nineteenth century for autobiographical secrets allegedly ...
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Biography Essay"He was not of an age, but for all time." So wrote Ben Jonson in his dedicatory verses to the memory of William Shakespeare in 1623, and so we continue to affirm today. No other writer,...
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In England, during the lifetime of William Shakespeare, oppression was occurring against people of different races, ethnicities, and even genders. The religious conflicts stemmed from the differing t...
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In many plays there are two types of characters, good and evil. Then there are those few who could be on either side of the fence. The character could have both good and evil aspects, creating a compl...
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In many respects, the `Merchant of Venice' is a traditional love story. The plot outlines Bassanio's quest to marry the fair Portia, and the difficulties that arise along the way. But in the text, S...
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Prejudice is defined by the dictionary as an adverse judgment or opinion formed beforehand or without knowledge or an examination of the facts. Many of us are deliberately prejudiced, but don't notic...
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In William Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice, the Jewish moneylender Shylock emerges as the play's most memorable character because of his vindictive determination to oppose the benevolent will of ...
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I have never have never been a Christian, and before this assignment was given to me, never touched a Bible before. However, reading the gospel John has helped in my understanding of The Merchant of V...
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Appearance and Reality
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The Merchant of Venice depends heavily on deception to thicken the plot and create the general atmosphere and mood of suspense shrouding the ...
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I agree to an extent. In the "Merchant of Venice", Shylock is portrayed as both a victim and a villain. Christians looked down on him, and he suffered humiliation and prejudice because of his job as a...
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The Merchant of Venice is a romantic comedy which was written between 1596 and 1597. It opens on the streets of Venice and throughout the comedy, the setting shifts between Venice and Belmont.
Bas...
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The Merchant of Venice is a comedy written by William Shakespeare. This well known story portrays many different themes. It could be argued that the main theme of this story is appearance versus real...
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Shylock
Shylock is definitely the most complicated character in the play "The Merchant of Venice." He is a Jewish moneylender. Which is a double disadvantage for him, as there were ...
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We can rationally analyse if Portia is the most important and the most intelligent character in the play. There are several incidents that she displays intelligence and importance. The wittiness she d...
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Portia is very upset about the casket test that her father stated in his will. suitors have come from all over the world to take a chance and have a go at their luck at the test of choosing between ...
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Bassanio is one of the most important characters of the play. He is Antonio's best friend, and later marries Portia after winning the casket test.
One of the most positive aspects about him is th...
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Antonio is a rich Venetian merchant. He is the merchant of the title. Like all men he has strengths and weaknesses, good and bad aspects. It is known that he is a merchant because Salanio and Saleri...
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ACT III SCENE III
In the play "The Merchant of Venice" a strong rivalry is revealed between Antonio and Shylock. Antonio's portrayed as the good man, a loyal and honest Christian compared to Shyloc...
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In most of Shakespeare's plays women are given little intelligence or power. Portia, however, doesn't seem to be subject to this image. Portia plays a main part in "the merchant of Venice." She is p...
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The merchant of Venice is no doubt a play about property, with property being defined by anything you can lose. This came to be an important theme, property and the consequences of greed. Shylock's ...
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Antonio is the merchant of Venice of the play's title. His role in the play is far from the biggest but is a very significant one. The play begins with his role `In sooth I know not why I am so sad', ...
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To know if Portia is a Renaissance woman, we must first define the term Renaissance. As the term "Renaissance" suggests, the renaissance was a time of rebirth or revival. It happened during the 14th t...
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The Merchant of Venice brings together different characters of different religions. Shakespeare uses the character in this play to reflect sixteenth century views on
Christianity and Judaism. The ch...
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In the play `The Merchant Of Venice' by William Shakespeare, the character Shylock has two sides to his personality. These two sides, victim and villain of the piece, present themselves frequently ...
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First performed in 1605, Shakespeare's play The Merchant of Venice deals with what are today some very controversial issues. The character that seems to be the source of most of the controversy is tha...
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No, I disagree with the above statement to a large extent.
The above statement suggests two assumptions. Firstly, that Shylock is an unattractive character in the play. I agree with this assumption, ...
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As an audience we see Shylock in two different ways, as a villain and as a victim. Whereas in the play most of the other characters just see him as a villain the whole time. In this essay I am going t...
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In Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice, Portia is a woman who has seemingly good intentions and tries to play by the rules. However, she looks for ways to bend the rules and make them go in her favo...
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In the Merchant of venice there is racism used a lot. Sometimes it gets so bad that names are not used just mentions of religions. This was said by Old Gobbo and Solanio.
"which is the way t...
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In William Shakespeare's timeless play, The Merchant of Venice, Shylock, a Jewish moneylender, prosecutes Antonio for he fails to repay his debt. Shylock attempts to use the law for his own personal ...
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The Merchant of Venice portrays many tests for its characters in which they encounter various themes from the book. The way each person reacts to his individual test determines the characters persona...
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William Shakespeare is the greatest playwright in the era of Renaissance of England. He was born in Stratford-on-Avon in 1564. Shakespeare spent his childhood in a rather affluent bourgeoisie. The boy...
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The 2004 film, The Merchant of Venice, directed by Michael Radford, is an excellent tool for students studying Shakespeare's play of the same name. The film's story taking place in Shakespeare's inten...
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Antonio's counterpart, Shylock, is the most noteworthy figure in Shakespeare's comedy, The Merchant of Venice. No consensus has been reached on whether Shylock is a tyrannical villain or a tragic vict...
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What makes a villain? How do you define villainy? Villains may have a desire to kill, to steal, or to cause suffering. To define a villain is not done by just evaluating their actions but by looking a...
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Shylock: Victim of The Merchant of Venice
Shylock from The Merchant of Venice is a Jewish money lender who lives in Venice. Shylock has lent three thousand ducats to Bassanio which he is to pay back ...
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In "The Merchant of Venice" Shakespeare used Portia and Jessica as his stereotypical characters through which he successfully conveyed greatness and challenged the perception of 17th century society. ...
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In the Merchant of Venice Shylock seeks justice to punish Antonio for not repaying the loan. Shylock refuses to accept anything other then the pound of flesh. Shylock says that the contract Antonio si...
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Conflict in `the Merchant of Venice'
In Shakespeare's `a Merchant of Venice', conflict is a major theme that can be seen throughout the play in the main plot and every subplot. It is evident on a pe...
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`The Merchant of Venice' written by William Shakespeare is two stories; the flesh blond tale and the love caskets tale. An important character that portrays these two stories is Shylock, an arrogant J...
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William Shakespeare represents different social groups by penning different religions in `The Merchant of Venice.' Shylock is a Jew and hates Christians, `O father Abram, what these Christians are, wh...
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Merchant of Venice Book Notes is a free study guide on Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare. Browse the summary below:
Author Biography / Context of the Work
One-Page Plot Summa...
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The Merchant of Venice - William Shakespeare - 1596
The Merchant of Venice
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare
Merchant of Venice