Essays On Play

In the Merchant of Venice written by William Shakespeare, a Christian named Antonio asks to borrow money from the Jewish money-lender shylock. Bassanio is the Christian that asks Antonio to borrow the money from shylock so he could marry the fair, rich, maiden Portia. Jews were treated with racial discrimination by the Christians, simply because […]

The Oxford English Dictionary explains ‘just’ as ‘that which is morally right’; this definition would lead a person to believe that there is an element of humanity in justice. This, however, happens to be a particularly modern view on justice, a view which has been altered and warped over the years but it is reflected […]

The Merchant of Venice was written by Shakespeare in or around 1597, during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. At this time, Jews were in exile from England and there was a strong feeling of anti-Semitism. Therefore, in answering the set question, what I really need to answer is, “was Shakespeare essentially an anti-Semite himself; […]

This is the first scene that we see Portia and Nerissa, her maid. Although one works for the other they are still close friends despite this and talk to each other in an honest and friendly way. Shakespeare introduces them to us in this way because it gives a large amount of information that the […]

The Merchant of Venice is set in a time of racial and religious strife. Venice was an important Mediterranean centre for goods from the Far East. It would have been a very exotic location for an Elizabethan audience; Shakespeare chose to set the play in Venice, because people in Elizabethan England would not have visited […]

My life was far from ordinary until three years ago. It consisted of an ongoing struggle with my father’s appalling conduct, causing constant sorrow in my mind. Prior to meeting Lorenzo, a financially modest clerk, I had no knowledge of an alternative way of living. He introduced me to the true meaning of happiness, which […]

I shall first begin my essay by concentrating upon the conflicts between friendship and love in The Merchant of Venice. Looking at I. i. , conflict has already begun between the 2 realms of friendship and love as signified by Antonio’s sadness. He is upset that Bassanio has transferred his affections for him to a […]

The Merchant of Venice is a play written by William Shakespeare in the Elizabethan period. It is set in Venice, situated in the northeast of Italy, in the 15th century. The play is primarily looking at the treatment of the Jewish nation in Venice but also the great conflicts between Christians and Jews. The attitude […]

Shylock has always been a controversial character; this probably has something to do with his Jewish background. Jews have always been persecuted because they have not had a permanent homeland for hundreds of years and have settled in numerous communities all over the world. Jewish people have endured much suffering and atrocities. In 1595 Venice […]

The Merchant of Venice by Shakespeare was intended to be and is performed as a comedy; however throughout its several plots it has many tragic elements. For this reason it may be best described as a tragi-comedy. Of the plots, those involving Shylock, the Jewish moneylender are perhaps the most famous. As a Jew, Shylock […]

The Merchant of Venice is about a Christian merchant called Antonio; he is well respected and highly thought of. His friend Bassanio needs some ducats and Antonio being the caring friend that he is, lends money from Shylock, a Jewish usurer. Antonio makes it clear to Bassanio that if he can’t afford to pay him […]

The Merchant of Venice is set in Venice, though mostly in Belmont. Venice is a very old and well-known Italian city. There are several different types of religions in Italy, but the most common were the Jews and the Christians. The Jews and Christians resented each other; an example of this is in the merchant […]

‘The Merchant of Venice’ is a play written by William Shakespeare in around 1596. Due to the prejudices of its target Elizabethan audience, it was intended to be a comedy and by using comic devices such as: disguises, comic characters, a happy ending and tricks, as well as using the discriminatory stereotypical Jewish character in […]

The story of The Merchant Of Venice looks at very typical attitudes of the day on many subjects such as the treatment of Jews and the way women should have acted towards men (mainly their fathers and husbands). After studying the Merchant Of Venice I have decided to discuss weather Shakespeare’s three women characters are […]

Since the very early ages, discrimination against people of different races has always existed in society. People with different coloured skin, people from different religions and people from different countries are often stereotypes, and some people are prejudice about these people and act on the prejudice. This is known as racism. Shakespeare’s play “The Merchant […]

To adequately answer the first question, we must assess how Shylock treats Antonio, how Antonio treats Shylock, Jessica’s treatment of her father, and Shylock’s response to Jessica’s actions. To answer the second question, we need to analyze Act 4 Scene 1 (the courtroom scene) where Shakespeare incorporates dramatic techniques to depict the varying fortunes encountered […]

During the late 16th century, England displayed a strong Christian identity and harbored prejudice against individuals of different races or religions, particularly Jews. This sentiment is evident in the literature of that time, such as Shakespeare’s ‘The Merchant of Venice,’ where one character named Shylock represents the stereotype of Jews being fixated on money and […]

English 101-210 Final Draft Battle of the Directors The Merchant of Venice, also known as “The Jew of Venice” is a drama play originally written by William Shakespeare in 1598. The major conflict occurs when a man named Antonio (Venetian merchant) fails to pay off a loan to a greedy Jewish money loaner known as […]

Shylock, Villain or victim? The Merchant of Venice June 8th, 2011 In the play The Merchant of Venice Shylock is supposed to be the protagonist, the definition of protagonist is; the leading character or a major character in a drama, movie, novel, or other fictional text. But the way Shylock is portrayed is more along […]

It is a common notion that money doesn’t buy happiness. Or does it? The classic play, “A Raisin in the Sun”, by Lorraine Hansberry seeks to reflect on this idea. The play recounts the story of the Youngers, a poor African American family, who are awaiting the arrival of a $10,000 insurance check. This check […]

Lorraine Hansberry’s playwright, ‘A Raisin in the Sun’, sets a strong depiction of black women in the south side of Chicago after World War II. Hansberry’s depiction of these women is more believable when shown by her, that if it were shown by anyone else because she was a young black woman struggling to make […]

Walter is frustrated with his current position in life, and every disappointment he has encountered thus far. His position is symbolic of every black male struggling to provide for his family by any means necessary. Hansberry stated in her meeting with Robert Kennedy”the first thing that must be achieved is equal opportunities for Negroes…when unemployment […]