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 England during her lifetime. The associations between Portia and Elizabeth transcends the similarity in their use of rhetoric, to the extravagant use of logic and dialectic statements to efface Shylock's claim to the bond, statements only learned individuals at the time could muster.
It wasn't uncommon to find learned women in the Renaissance period. Alas, the Countess of Richmond, the Lady Margaret, who also is Elizabeth's great-grandmother was sufficiently learned. Same as her step-sister Mary, and Lady Jane Grey. Of particular reference is Lady Jane Grey who challenged Mary Tudor's claim to the throne for twelve days, only to succumb to a demise on the scaffold. She was averred by notable Cambridge scholars to take an elevated position in the highest cadre of learned women in England at the time (Neale 54).
Commerce as a language was employed throughout the play to circumscribe Portia, she defined herself with the language as did others of her. This trait while amply decipherable, has been disputed by critics who are of the opinion that either Shylock or Antonio are more deserving of the unique depiction. So much that a review of existing literature shows reticence amongst critics in applying the depiction to Portia. In a striking example, Szatek describes Portia as a "sovereign," a "vigorous tradeswoman," and a "successful merchant," yet fails short of describing Portia as the merchant of the play's title (335-348). Geary in his explicating article portends that Portia "ultimately proves herself the most adept businessman of them all" (68). Ultimately, the play does provide what might be an answer to the ironic question by Portia-"Which is the merchant here… " (4.1.172) (Pelt, 2009).
It is Portia's pivotal actions that prove even more so than her commercial language of herself and which others use to describe her, keeping to the apothegm that action speak louder than words. Portia keeps the upbeat flow of the play. Portia navigates the double plot: as she secures her marriage to her favorite; intervenes in the trial to save the life of Antonio (and to preserve her marriage); punishes Shylock; and restores Antonio's ships. Of her most engaging qualities are her skills in trading and negotiating which outshone those of Antonio, Shylock and even Bassanio. Grippingly, Szatek cites the Oxford English Dictionary definition of "merchandise," which is an earlier synonym of "commerce," as the trading of numerous goods and services (326) (Pelt, 2009). This best describes Portia's mastery of exchanging goods and services that include; a life of leisure in Belmont for Bassanio, and a proficient legal mind to save the life of her husband's friend - in exchange for loyalty, companionship, and stability; all commodities that hold value to her.
I affirm that another similarity between Portia and Elizabeth Tudor, is etched in the financial prudence that they both explicated. Elizabeth Tudor is famous for counting the coins in her realm in an inspiring attempt to change the fortunes of her country which was at the time deep in debt. Neale asserts that Elizabeth made a series of cuts in the regular expenditure of her court, to the tune of 135,000 pounds per year; creating a surplus which helped liquidate her debts (296). Much of Elizabeth's admirable reputation stems from her frugality and stanch financial acuity (101). In agreement, Wallace MacCaffrey maintains that one of the principal pillars of Elizabeth's form of government was the unrelenting control of the state's finances (382). The premise that wielding power have an unswerving relationship with stiff control of money flow is one that Elizabeth upheld, and was clearly understood by Portia. Szatek holds an opposing view, contending that Shakespeare, through Portia and Belmont, sought to accentuate that "sovereigns ought not to manipulate commerce to correspond to their own economic and political ends, such as Elizabeth I's crafty authorization of piracy and of the slave trade…" (349) (Pelt, 2009).
King James, the successor to Elizabeth,...
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
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
Merchant of Venice is an anti-Semitic play. Rather, what I see in the play is Shakespeare cleverly mocking stereotyped views of both Jews and Christians. Shylock, the Jew, is cruel and inhumane in his demand of a pound of flesh from Antonio for his unpaid debt. On the other hand, the Jew, who is definitely not a nice guy, and who was the subject of laughter in early scenes,
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