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The Merchant of Venice Summary
William Shakespeare

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The Merchant of Venice Summary

Act I:

In Venice. Antonio is describing his mysterious state of melancholyto his companions Solanio and SaIerio when Bassanio approaches him for a loan. Bassanio is already in debt to the merchant, but he asks for an additional sum so that he can woo the wealthy and beautiful Portia in Belmont. Because most of his money is invested in three merchant vessels that have not returned from abroad, Antonio is unable to comply with his friend's request. Nevertheless, he authorizes Bassanio to borrow money using his name. Bassanio turns to Shylock, who hates Antonio because he is a Christian and because he lends money without interest. Shylock agrees to lend Antonio 3,000 ducats for three months: if the loan is not repaid in time, he will demand a pound of the merchant's flesh. Bassanio objects, but Antonio signs the bond, confident that his ships will return before the term expires. Meanwhile in... View more of the The Merchant of Venice Summary

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The Merchant of Venice Study Guide

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Encyclopedia Articles (2)

The Merchant of Venice - William Shakespeare - 1596

9,741 words, approx. 33 pages

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... Read more

The Merchant of Venice

4,637 words, approx. 16 pages

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... Read more

William Shakespeare Biography (5)

William Shakespeare

35,385 words, approx. 118 pages

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,... Read more

William Shakespeare

3,100 words, approx. 11 pages

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 ... Read more

William Shakespeare

2,568 words, approx. 9 pages

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... Read more

William Shakespeare

30,474 words, approx. 102 pages

"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 ... Read more

William Shakespeare

10,254 words, approx. 35 pages

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 ... Read more

Essays & Analysis (122)

Critical Essay by Kay Stockholder

9,992 words, approx. 34 pages

In the following essay, originally written in 1991, Stockholder reads The Merchant of Venice as the dream of Portia's dead father in order to unravel the play's psychological and social ... Read more

Critical Essay by Zvi Jagendorf

8,204 words, approx. 28 pages

In the following essay, Jagendorf examines the depiction of male friendship and heterosexual love in The Merchant of Venice, arguing that Shakespeare's play features a strong contrast between t... Read more

How to Read The Merchant of Venice Without Being Heterosexist

6,592 words, approx. 22 pages

Alan Sinfield, The University of Sussex It has been recognized for a long time that The Merchant of Venice is experienced as insulting by Jewish people, who constitute a minority in Western Europe ... Read more

Critical Essay by Jay L. Halio

3,473 words, approx. 12 pages

In the following essay, Halio examines The Merchant of Venice as a play concerned with "mercy in the context of justice." Much has been written about Shakespeare's legal prowess&#... Read more

Critical Essay by Daniel J. Kornstein

9,128 words, approx. 31 pages

In the following essay, Kornstein evaluates The Merchant of Venice as a legal parable that weighs the conflict between rigid and equitable interpretations of law. The Merchant of Venice is surely the ... Read more

Critical Essay by Stephen A. Cohen

7,285 words, approx. 25 pages

In the following essay, Cohen probes the ideological threat to the dominant social order represented by Shylock's legal suit in The Merchant of Venice. The interdisciplinary study of literature... Read more

Critical Essay by Austin C. Dobbins and Roy W. Battenhouse

5,762 words, approx. 20 pages

In the following essay, Dobbins and Battenhouse evaluate the morality of Jessica's actions in The Merchant of Venice, seeing her dissimulation as theologically justified. Capping a century of r... Read more

Critical Essay by Marc Berley

14,770 words, approx. 50 pages

In the following excerpt, Berley focuses on the dramatic context of Lorenzo's speech about music and harmony in Act V, scene i of The Merchant of Venice. Shakespeare put into dramatic conflict ... Read more

Now by My Hood, a Gentle and No Jew: Jessica,
The Merchant of Venice, and the Discourse
of Early Modern English Identity

8,150 words, approx. 28 pages

Mary Janell Metzger, Western Washington University Jessica, the other Jew in The Merchant of Venice, is doubly distinguished.1 Unlike her father, Shylock, she is said to be "gentle": at... Read more

Critical Essay by Paul A. Cantor

7,724 words, approx. 26 pages

In the following essay, Cantor identifies devotion to religious principles as the quality that links Shylock and Antonio in The Merchant of Venice, asserting harmony is only achieved by the defeat of ... Read more

Critical Essay by Marty Roth

5,987 words, approx. 20 pages

In the following essay, Roth remarks on the parallels between Aeschylus's Eumenides and Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice, with special reference to their depictions of the conflict b... Read more

Critical Essay by Joan Hutton Landis

7,566 words, approx. 26 pages

In the following essay, Hutton studies the homosexual bawdy in The Merchant of Venice. The very Janus of poets; he wears almost everywhere two faces; and you have scarce begun to admire one, ere you d... Read more

Critical Essay by D. J. Palmer

8,463 words, approx. 29 pages

In this overview of the play, Palmer examines the "overt sententiousness " of the play and argues that the action of the play frequently contradicts the morals apparently being emphasize... Read more

Lars Engle

9,110 words, approx. 31 pages

In the following essay, Engle contends that the relationships in the play transcend emotional boundaries and are all to some degree economic or legal in nature. Engle goes on to argue that a discussio... Read more

Critical Essay by Karen Newman

8,598 words, approx. 29 pages

In the following essay, Newman argues that the "structure of exchange " permeates both economic and romantic transactions in the play; she then explores the means by which power and pres... Read more

Critical Essay by Raymond B. Waddington

7,743 words, approx. 26 pages

In the following essay, Waddington analyzes the Christian approach to the play, maintaining that while the Christian characters are frequently accused of not practicing the beliefs they profess, when ... Read more

Critical Essay by Michael Ferber

14,309 words, approx. 48 pages

In the following essay, Ferber surveys the play from an ideological standpoint and examines how several varying ideological discourses inform the play's issues and themes. An early version of t... Read more

Marianne Novy

7,448 words, approx. 25 pages

In the following essay, Novy argues that the play criticizes the self-denial Antonio demonstrates throughout the play in favor of Portia's self-assertion and her acceptance of sexuality. Many c... Read more

Critical Essay by Coppella Kahn

4,129 words, approx. 14 pages

In the following essay, Kahn focuses on the ring plot and how it strengthens the main courtship plot of the play. Additionally, Kahn maintains that the ring plot demonstrates both the bonds between me... Read more

Critical Essay by Michael Shapiro

8,994 words, approx. 30 pages

In the following essay, Shapiro explores the varying purposes and effects of the three instances of cross gender disguise (Portia, Nerissa, and Jessica) in The Merchant of Venice. Although Shakespeare... Read more

Leo Kirschbaum

6,880 words, approx. 23 pages

In the following essay, Kirschbaum analyzes what the words "Christian" and "Jew" meant to an Elizabethan audience and argues that Shylock is not meant to be Shakespeare�... Read more

Critical Essay by D. M. Cohen

6,372 words, approx. 22 pages

In the following essay, Cohen contends that The Merchant of Venice is an anti-Semitic work not simply due to the characterization of Shylock but in the way it equates "Jewishness" with w... Read more

Critical Essay by James Shapiro

13,803 words, approx. 47 pages

In the following essay, Shapiro discusses the Elizabethan fascination with the Jewish practice of circumcision and argues that Shylock's desire to cut a pound of Antonio's "fair f... Read more

Critical Essay by John Lyon

6,084 words, approx. 21 pages

In the essay below, Lyon describes The Merchant of Venice as a “controversial play.” He demonstrates that literary critics have been widely divided concerning Shakespeare's views ... Read more

Critical Essay by Matthew A. Fike

2,748 words, approx. 10 pages

In the essay below, Fike analyzes disappointment as a central theme in The Merchant of Venice, concluding that the disappointment found in love, friendship, and aspirations in the play mirrors Shakesp... Read more

Critical Essay by Thomas Moisan

16,832 words, approx. 57 pages

In the essay below, Moisan argues that while The Merchant of Venice appears to celebrate the Elizabethan values of Christian ethics and good business, the play instead subtly exposes a contradiction b... Read more

Critical Essay by Marion D. Perret

3,516 words, approx. 12 pages

In the essay below, Perret asserts that modern directors of The Merchant of Venice are wrong in worrying about Shakespeare's anti-Semitism, and claims that the playwright might in fact have bee... Read more

Critical Essay by Kim F. Hall

9,829 words, approx. 33 pages

In the essay below, Hall focuses on lines in Act Three of The Merchant of Venice which describe Launcelot's impregnation of a black woman. Hall argues that this brief passage underscores a majo... Read more

Critical Essay by John Picker

7,768 words, approx. 26 pages

In the essay below, Picker describes Elizabethan England's creation of and discrimination against the “other,” or outsider, in order to preserve its own sense of a closed society.... Read more

Critical Essay by Avraham Oz

19,528 words, approx. 66 pages

In the excerpt below, Oz remarks that the outsider status that Renaissance European cities imposed upon non-European inhabitants (and on Jews in particular) was an attempt to exert power over various ... Read more

Critical Essay by Mary Janell Metzger

8,199 words, approx. 28 pages

In the essay below, Metzger examines Elizabethan England's anxieties about racial and religious differences as symbolized by Shylock's daughter, Jessica, in The Merchant of Venice. Metzg... Read more

Critical Essay by B. J. Sokol

9,266 words, approx. 31 pages

In the essay below, Sokol discusses the legally sanctioned forms of racial prejudice in Elizabethan England—against Jews and people of color, for example—but argues that through characte... Read more

Critical Essay by Susan McLean

6,198 words, approx. 21 pages

In the essay below, McLean identifies allegorical elements in The Merchant of Venice, arguing that the parable of the rebellious but repentant Prodigal Son is reenacted numerous times between differen... Read more

Critical Essay by Judith Rosenheim

23,233 words, approx. 78 pages

In the essay below, Rosenheim argues that the themes of power, fatherhood, and blindness are developed through allegory in The Merchant of Venice. These themes are principally presented through the pa... Read more

Critical Essay by Cary B. Graham

3,492 words, approx. 12 pages

In the following essay, Graham maintains that shifting standards of moral, economic, and social value in The Merchant of Venice provide a fundamental insight into the variety of interpretations and re... Read more

Critical Review by Lois Potter

1,840 words, approx. 7 pages

In the following excerpted review of the 1998 Globe season, featuring Richard Olivier's production of The Merchant of Venice, Potter comments on the overall carnivalesque quality of the product... Read more

Critical Review by Matt Wolf

810 words, approx. 3 pages

In the following review of Trevor Nunn's 1999 production of The Merchant of Venice, Wolf surveys the effective performances of the major players and notes the centrality of anti-Semitism and it... Read more

Critical Essay by Seymour Kleinberg

7,028 words, approx. 24 pages

In the following essay, Kleinberg claims that The Merchant of Venice dramatizes “the triumph of heterosexual marriage” over homoeroticism, the latter represented by Antonio and his love ... Read more

Critical Essay by Lawrence Normand

8,395 words, approx. 28 pages

In the following essay, Normand contends that the tensions and conflicts of The Merchant of Venice are depicted through references to the body and its association with language. When Morocco challenge... Read more

Critical Essay by Susan Oldrieve

8,153 words, approx. 28 pages

In the following essay, Oldrieve reads both Shylock and Portia as social outcasts alienated from the Christian and patriarchal world of Venice/Belmont in The Merchant of Venice. I. Introduction In The... Read more

Critical Essay by Richard Abrams

4,610 words, approx. 16 pages

In the following essay, Abrams explores the theme of sadness in The Merchant of Venice, noting that disappointment is Shylock's most telling characteristic. My topic is sadness in The Merchant ... Read more

Critical Essay by Samuel Ajzenstat

6,804 words, approx. 23 pages

In the following essay, Ajzenstat evaluates The Merchant of Venice as a romantic comedy featuring a number of significant oppositions, the most fundamental being that between “the conditional a... Read more

Critical Essay by Alan Rosen

5,106 words, approx. 18 pages

In the following essay, Rosen remarks on the rhetorical strategies of The Merchant of Venice's racial outsiders, emphasizing Shylock's recursive and literal mode of speaking and the Prin... Read more

Critical Essay by Marc Berley

8,257 words, approx. 28 pages

In the following essay, Berley examines Lorenzo's statements concerning music and harmony alongside Jessica's dark response to “sweet music,” finding in this contradiction ... Read more

Critical Essay by Richard H. Weisberg

4,022 words, approx. 14 pages

In the following essay, Weisberg appraises the legalistic elements of The Merchant of Venice, and finds “non-ironic” interpretations of the play's opposition between Christian mer... Read more

Critical Essay by Michael Zuckert

14,112 words, approx. 48 pages

In the following essay, Zuckert views The Merchant of Venice as a highly unified work that depicts Antonio and Portia as rivals for the love of Bassanio, a competition in which Portia is victorious. P... Read more

Critical Essay by Tony Tanner

8,554 words, approx. 29 pages

In the following essay, Tanner analyzes the three crucial locations in The Merchant of Venice—Antonio's Rialto Venice, Shylock's Venetian ghetto, and harmonious Belmont—and... Read more

Critical Essay by Robert Alter

4,748 words, approx. 16 pages

In the following essay, Alter focuses on Shylock as the central figure of The Merchant of Venice, contending that the source of the play's enduring popularity can be found in the variety of the... Read more

Critical Essay by Cynthia Lewis

16,987 words, approx. 57 pages

In the following excerpt, Lewis regards The Merchant of Venice as an ironic tragicomedy, concentrating on Antonio as the focus of the drama's ambiguities, contradictions, and equivocations, whi... Read more

Critical Essay by Martin D. Yaffe

7,077 words, approx. 24 pages

In the following excerpt, Yaffe argues against the conventional view that the depiction of Shylock in The Merchant of Venice is anti-Jewish. The figure of Shylock is like some secondary figure in a Re... Read more

Critical Essay by Charles Edelman

4,784 words, approx. 16 pages

In the following essay, Edelman reconstructs Elizabethan perceptions and expectations of Jewish theatrical characters, offering evidence that Shakespeare's Shylock was more likely a tragic figu... Read more

Critical Review by Davi Napoleon

773 words, approx. 3 pages

In the following review of Barbara Gaines's 1998 production of The Merchant of Venice, Napoleon concentrates exclusively on design elements that contributed to the project's evocation of... Read more

Critical Review by John W. Mahon

730 words, approx. 3 pages

In the following review of Richard Olivier's 1998 production of The Merchant of Venice, Mahon comments on the director's “colorblind” casting, decision to make Portia the p... Read more

Critical Essay by Walter Cohen

10,733 words, approx. 36 pages

In the following essay, Cohen views The Merchant of Venice as a flawed romantic comedy and suggests that the play may be viewed as a reflection of the socio-economic problems in late Elizabethan Engli... Read more

Critical Review by Alvin Klein

931 words, approx. 4 pages

In the following review, Klein assesses Richard Corley's production of The Merchant of Venice for the New Jersey Shakespeare Festival, contending that although it attempted to develop the play&... Read more

Critical Review by Robert Smallwood

1,955 words, approx. 7 pages

In the following excerpted review, Smallwood describes Trevor Nunn's production of The Merchant of Venice for the National Theatre as brilliant, and praises the principal actors, particularly H... Read more

Critical Review by Caryn James

762 words, approx. 3 pages

In the following review, James praises Trevor Nunn's adaptation of The Merchant of Venice for PBS, including Henry Goodman's “mesmerizing” Shylock and Derbhle Crotty'... Read more

Critical Review by Toby Young

282 words, approx. 1 pages

In the following excerpted review of Loveday Ingram's feminist production of The Merchant of Venice, Young states that the male characters were too emasculated to be credibly seen as romantic f... Read more

Critical Essay by Thomas Luxon

9,437 words, approx. 32 pages

In the following essay, Luxon investigates the play's treatment of Jews within the context of late Elizabethan society's attitudes toward Jewishness as both race and religion. Two recent... Read more

Critical Essay by Steve Patterson

14,434 words, approx. 49 pages

In the following essay, Patterson maintains that The Merchant of Venice analyzes the early modern tradition of male homoerotic friendship through Antonio's frustrated passion for Bassanio. Rath... Read more

Critical Essay by Martin Japtok and Winfried Schleiner

7,453 words, approx. 25 pages

In the following essay, the critics argue that The Merchant of Venice demonstrates that “racism was already fully operational” in the late Elizabethan era, despite the fact that “... Read more

Critical Essay by Richard Abrams

4,637 words, approx. 16 pages

In the following essay, Abrams examines Shakespeare's characterization of Antonio and Shylock, suggesting that Antonio's sadness is partially an affectation and that Shylock seeks love a... Read more

Critical Essay by Bruce Boehrer

10,155 words, approx. 34 pages

In the following essay, Boehrer studies the play's bestial language and imagery, contending that Shylock's association with a mongrel or cur informs an understanding of his role in The M... Read more

Critical Essay by Gary Rosenshield

11,655 words, approx. 39 pages

In the following essay, Rosenshield examines Antonio's role as an economic ideal—a Christian merchant—in The Merchant of Venice. For several millennia conservative writers have se... Read more

Critical Review by Peter Marks

1,035 words, approx. 4 pages

In the following review of Andrei Serban's production of The Merchant of Venice for the American Repertory Theater, Marks finds Will LeBow's Shylock to be the most moving aspect of the p... Read more

Critical Review by Hal Jensen

1,039 words, approx. 4 pages

In the following review of Trevor Nunn's production of The Merchant of Venice for the National Theatre, Jensen describes the way Nunn's direction emphasized the isolation of the main cha... Read more

Critical Review by Matt Wolf

801 words, approx. 3 pages

In the following review, Wolf praises the ability of Trevor Nunn, the director of The Merchant of Venice for the National Theatre, to sustain audience interest throughout his production. Among the man... Read more

Critical Review by Robert Smallwood

1,164 words, approx. 4 pages

In the following excerpted review, Smallwood observes that Gregory Doran's Stratford production of The Merchant of Venice offered no new insights into the play. Gregory Doran's The Merch... Read more

Critical Review by John Simon

424 words, approx. 2 pages

In the following excerpted review, Simon contends that certain elements of Trevor Nunn's production of The Merchant of Venice for the National Theatre were bit contrived, but finds the play as ... Read more

Critical Essay by M. M. Mahood

13,053 words, approx. 44 pages

In the following excerpt, Mahood examines the date and sources of The Merchant of Venice and the critical assumptions governing the play's reception. Date and Source The magnificent sailing shi... Read more

Critical Review by D. J. R. Bruckner

540 words, approx. 2 pages

In the following review of the 2003 Pearl Theater Company production of The Merchant of Venice, Bruckner underscores the effects of director Shepard Sobel's emphasis on the relationship between... Read more

Critical Essay by Russell Astley

6,484 words, approx. 22 pages

In the following essay, Astley explores issues of morality and ethical risk-taking in The Merchant of Venice. The Merchant of Venice bases its dramatic logic on the New Testament premise that you get ... Read more

Critical Essay by Burton Hatlen

6,631 words, approx. 23 pages

In the following essay, Hatlen offers a Marxist reading of The Merchant of Venice, maintaining that the playwright questioned both feudal and bourgeois concepts of value. Twentieth-century historians ... Read more

Critical Essay by Douglas Anderson

5,384 words, approx. 18 pages

In the following essay, Anderson references Shakespeare's religious sensibility to explain the “sordid conflict between religions” in The Merchant of Venice. �... Read more

Critical Essay by John K. Hale

5,273 words, approx. 18 pages

In the following essay, Hale discusses Shakespeare's use of Il Pecorone as a source for The Merchant of Venice. The value of source-criticism within Shakespeare is ancillary, negative, and indi... Read more

Critical Essay by Jay L. Halio

5,584 words, approx. 19 pages

In the following excerpt, Halio addresses Shakespeare's attitude toward Jews, a source of considerable controversy surrounding the representation of Shylock in The Merchant of Venice. Any appro... Read more

Critical Essay by Yoshiko Kawachi

9,121 words, approx. 31 pages

In the following essay, Kawachi chronicles the reception of Shakespeare's play in Japanese translation. In the sixteenth century Venice became one of the most prosperous hubs of East-West trade... Read more

Critical Essay by Charles Edelman

12,239 words, approx. 41 pages

In the following excerpt, Edelman documents the performance history of The Merchant of Venice, paying particular attention to the actors who have played Shylock. Mark Twain is thought to have said tha... Read more

Critical Essay by Robert Hapgood

4,679 words, approx. 16 pages

In the following essay, Hapgood discusses Portia's devotion and loyalty to the letter of the law. In a passage which sums up the main point of his provocative article, “The Merchant of V... Read more

Critical Essay by Michael J. C. Echeruo

7,408 words, approx. 25 pages

In the following essay, Echeruo compares Shakespeare's characterization of Shylock in The Merchant of Venice with Marlowe's rendering of Barabas in The Jew of Malta, examining the relati... Read more

Critical Essay by Elizabeth S. Sklar

4,060 words, approx. 14 pages

In the following essay, Sklar highlights similarities between Bassanio and Shylock despite their apparent differences. Bassanio is probably the least prepossessing of the principal figures in The Merc... Read more

Critical Review by Kenneth S. Rothwell

596 words, approx. 2 pages

In the following excerpt, Rothwell praises the outdoor settings of the Film d'Arte Italiana silent film version of The Merchant of Venice, but regrets that the film's ending has been los... Read more

Critical Review by Susan L. Fischer

1,700 words, approx. 6 pages

In the following review, Fischer calls Hansgünther Heyme's 2002 staging of The Merchant of Venice a “postmodern, transcultural production,” incorporating elements of Erwin ... Read more

Background and Influence: Merchant of Venice

1,957 words, approx. 7 pages

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... Read more

Shylock: Why He Is a Victim

646 words, approx. 3 pages

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... Read more

Aspects of Love in the Merchant of Venice

938 words, approx. 4 pages

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... Read more

The Effects of Prejudice Described in Literature

671 words, approx. 3 pages

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... Read more

The Villain of Venice

825 words, approx. 3 pages

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 ... Read more

Religious Allusions in The Merchant of Venice

1,645 words, approx. 6 pages

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... Read more

Themes in The Merchant of Venice

2,992 words, approx. 10 pages

Appearance and Reality -------------------------------- The Merchant of Venice depends heavily on deception to thicken the plot and create the general atmosphere and mood of suspense shrouding the ... Read more

Shylock: Villain or Victim?

2,412 words, approx. 9 pages

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... Read more

The Merchant of Venice

597 words, approx. 2 pages

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... Read more

Appearance Versus Reality in "The Merchant of Venice"

1,064 words, approx. 4 pages

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... Read more

Shylock - in 'the Merchant of Venice'

1,380 words, approx. 5 pages

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 ... Read more

Is Portia the Most Intelligent and Most Important Character?

760 words, approx. 3 pages

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... Read more

Portia's Attitude Towards the Casket Test and Her Suitors

464 words, approx. 2 pages

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 ... Read more

Character Sketch of Bassanio

552 words, approx. 2 pages

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... Read more

Character of Sketch of Antonio

532 words, approx. 2 pages

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... Read more

Who Is to Blame for the Bond Shylock or Antonio?

782 words, approx. 3 pages

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... Read more

Shakespeare's Portia

514 words, approx. 2 pages

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... Read more

The Merchant of Venice Essay: Theme of Greed

1,549 words, approx. 6 pages

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 ... Read more

The Pros and Cons of Antonio from Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice

599 words, approx. 2 pages

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', ... Read more

The Merchant of Venice: Examining Portia as a Renaissance Women

1,365 words, approx. 5 pages

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... Read more

The Merchant of Venice: A Character Analysis of Shylock

1,647 words, approx. 6 pages

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... Read more

Shylock - Victim or Villain?

596 words, approx. 2 pages

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 ... Read more

The Merchant of Venice

2,381 words, approx. 8 pages

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... Read more

Was Shylock, in "The Merchant of Venice", the Lone Unattractive Character?

1,889 words, approx. 7 pages

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, ... Read more

Shylock, Victim or Villain?

2,038 words, approx. 7 pages

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... Read more

Portia's Intentions in the Merchant of Venice

760 words, approx. 3 pages

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... Read more

Racism and Sexism in the Merchant of Venice

816 words, approx. 3 pages

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... Read more

A Just Sentence in "The Merchant of Venice"

544 words, approx. 2 pages

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 ... Read more

Themes in The Merchant of Venice

709 words, approx. 3 pages

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... Read more

Shakespeare and Racism

1,500 words, approx. 6 pages

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... Read more

Hath a Film Not Drama?

574 words, approx. 2 pages

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... Read more

Is Shylock a Villain or Victim?

317 words, approx. 2 pages

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... Read more

Merchant of Venice: Villain

1,022 words, approx. 4 pages

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... Read more

Shylock: Victim of the Merchant of Venice

418 words, approx. 2 pages

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 ... Read more

Discuss the Portrayal of Portia and Jessica in the Merchant of Venice

1,802 words, approx. 7 pages

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. ... Read more

Shylock's Search for Justice

236 words, approx. 1 pages

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... Read more

Conflict in "The Merchant of Venice"

1,118 words, approx. 4 pages

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... Read more

Shylock in "The Merchant of Venice"

732 words, approx. 3 pages

`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... Read more

Represention of Social Groups in "The Merchant of Venice"

1,394 words, approx. 5 pages

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... Read more

Free Book Notes (1)

Merchant of Venice

12,182 words, approx. 41 pages

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... Read more

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