BookRags.com Literature Guides Literature
Guides
Criticism & Essays Criticism &
Essays
Questions & Answers Questions &
Answers
Lesson Plans Lesson
Plans
My Bibliography Periodic Table U.S. Presidents Shakespeare Sonnet Shake-Up
Research Anything:        
History | Encyclopedias | Films | News | Create a Bibliography | More... Login | Register | Help

Not What You Meant?  There are 5 definitions for Prince of Morocco.

The Merchant of Venice Study Guide

Print-Friendly  Order the PDF version  Order the RTF version
by William Shakespeare
About 217 pages (64,979 words)
The Merchant of Venice Summary

Bookmark and Share Know this work well? Help others and get FREE products!

Critical Essay #1

[Kermode presents a concise overview of The Merchant of Venice, initially examining Shakespeare's punning of the term "gentle" and discussing the word's various meanings throughout the play. The critic identifies two readings of " gentle" which have a significant bearing on the drama: the sense of " gentleness" as in civility or an improved nature; and the notion of "Gentile," or Christian, which stands in contrast to Shylock and Judaism In addition. Kermode asserts that justice is a primary theme of the dram, noting that while the Christians stress mercy, love, and charity, Shylock advocates the letter (rather than the spirit) of the law, hate, and vengeance. The Merchant of Venice, the critic concludes, is about 'Judgment, redemption, and mercy; the supersession in human history of the grim four thousand years of unalleviated justice by the.....

This is a free excerpt of 135 words. This section contains 1,757 words. This study guide contains 64,979 words (approx. 217 pages at 300 words per page).

Read the rest of this Literature Guide with our The Merchant of Venice Access Pass.

Ask any question on The Merchant of Venice and get it answered FAST!
Answer questions in BookRags Q&A and earn points toward
discounted or even FREE Study Guides and other BookRags products!
Learn more about BookRags Q&A
Copyrights
The Merchant of Venice from BookRags and Gale's For Students Series. ©2005-2006 Thomson Gale, a part of the Thomson Corporation. All rights reserved.



Join BookRagslearn moreJoin BookRags


About BookRags | Customer Service | Report an Error | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy