¶ … Merchant of Venice
In William Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice, the playwright uses certain symbolic items to illustrate points about human characteristics. Shakespeare's plays are usually full of symbols which feature in to the major themes of the piece. In The Merchant of Venice, much of the plot consists of the desire for wealth and riches and the things that people are willing to do to acquire more. To mirror this them, the most important symbols of the play are those that have to deal with wealthy and riches, such as Portia's ring, Shylock's gold, and the pound of flesh that is to be taken in lieu of money. The Oxford English Dictionary defines casket as both a coffin and a small case or chest, used for jewels and other valuables. The caskets in The Merchant of Venice are jeweled boxes with treasure, although since they represent the failure of two or Portia's suitors, they also represent a kind of death. The casket scene in which Portia's suitors are asked to choose one of three boxes in order to determine if they are worthy of her hand are also indicative of the power of money in this play, but also serves to show that many things are actually much more valuable than money.
All the men of The Merchant of Venice, are concerned with wealth and material gain. The story begins when money is lent to a young man who wishes to travel to pursue the woman he loves. Having no money himself and no credit, he relies on the value of his friend to borrow money from the usurer...
Shylock Character the Merchant Venice Portia and Queen Elizabeth: Through the trenches of the microcosm of play, no character serves as much semblance to Elizabeth Tudor as Portia. I agree so, and forthwith draw more comparisons between her and a contemporaneous learned Renaissance woman going by her terrific rhetorical skills, markedly in the trial scene. By all measure, Elizabeth Tudor was a learned woman, possibly of the highest caliber in all of
The parallels between these situations and Frye's basic assessment of the plot of New Comedies are not, perhaps, immediately apparent, but they have the same effect by the end of the play, where "the audience witnesses the birth of a renewed sense of social integration" (Frye 94). The parent/child relationships have been largely done away with in favor of te romantic ties that seem to be favored by the play.
Also, the role of the Duke would not be as prominent if the city of Venice would not have been selected for the majority of the activity of the play. The city in itself ensures a certain aura that traditional cultural life as well as the fame of a modern, yet traditional in many instances cities, that provides the story a special twist, embedded in culture, yet modern in
Shylock is also perceived and portrayed as an enemy of the Christian faith and as the nemesis of the play's protagonist, Antonio. He therefore serves a distinct literary purpose by contrasting the depth of friendship exhibited by Antonio's group. Because he is not viewed as a friend, he cannot truly betray any of them. Thus, when Shylock does not back down from his bond with Antonio he is merely
Bassanio chooses lead, when asked to select from the three caskets that Portia offers to test her suitors. She is happy that he wins, and the lead is supposed to be the correct choice, for the person who chooses lead is supposed to be a man who has hazarded all he has, to win Portia. But in truth, Bassanio has hazarded nothing and desires Portia's gold. It is Antonio
Merchant of Venice: Queen Elizabeth vs. Portia There are a number of similarities that exist between Queen Elizabeth of England and William Shakespeare's character Portia in his play The Merchant of Venice. Both women had a good amount of money and power; although Portia was not royalty, she was still a wealthy heiress in the city of Belmont. Because of the money and power associated with these women, they each had
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