The historical context of the merchant of Venice turns through the Middle Ages, were the property of the king, and merchandise was not permitted to refuse the church. In fact, English kings allowed the Jews to remind in England largely for financial reasons, what makes practicing trades, particularly money, lending money that were highly profitable, but at the same time forbidden to Christians and religious. For that reason, in that time, Jews earned large sums of money profits that were not under the burden of equally large taxes (longer as a source). It seems that Shakespeare was influenced by plays and the crimes, tragedies, drama and sonnets at that time in England. Furthermore, many Christians believe, that Jews are responsible for Jesus. Besides, there are sections in the bible which …show more content…
The Merchant of Venice is technically classified as a comedy, but at the same time, it refers to tragedy comedy because it shares features in common with comedy. Yet, it contains the sort of dark elements, which is typically found in tragedies. Basically, this masterpiece characterises in a comedic situation which is a pretty formal way to talk. That mean, the history of a merchant of Venice shows cruelty that begins with a conflict and end with complications in the ELIZABETH era. This roleplay created by William Shakespeare show the abuses of the Jewish moneylender, who express intolerance and prejudice as a result of avarice in the characters, which are represented by the following: Shylock: a Jewish moneylender in Venice. Angered by his mistreatment at the hands of Venice’s Christians, who demanding payment of a pound of flesh. Antonio: the merchant whose love for his friend Bassanio. Bassanio a kinsman, whose fell in love with the wealthy Portia and Antonio's friend. Gratiano: A friend of Bassano’s who accompanies him to
While the events taking place throughout the play are outlandish, but the actions aroused by the conflicting loyalties are comprehendible. The audience can still analyze the character’s actions and thoughts and recognize that they are genuine and understandable human encounters. From this, a sense of humanity—that we all have certain concerns and duties and we must respond to them
Worth Remembering People may know of the Holocaust, but not many know the specifics of this horrifying history. They know who was involved, how they were effected, and who was eventually killed. It’s time to show these victims respect, and learn their story. Studying the Holocaust is more than remembering the random facts; it’s learning from the atrocities and never repeating them again. Many people may ask why the Nazis committed this horrible crime against humanity, but to them the Jews were nothing more than a group of animals.
Every day, millions of people judge others based on the stereotypes that apply to them, and some do not even know it. Most times these misjudgments are harmless, however, they can definitely be destructive. False judgments based on the stereotypes one follows can make a total stranger seem like a menace to society. This issue is so popular, that it used every day to falsely misjudge others in harmful ways. The most important lesson gained from reading Night, Of Mice and Men, and watching Angel of Bergen-Belsen is that one cannot use stereotypes to judge others because the person could be the total opposite of the judgments and misjudging they can inflict harm to that person if used in the wrong way.
A Cruel Game Unknown to Othello, Iago was motivated by a cruelty that demanded the utter destruction of Othello’s public and private life. In the play Othello, by William Shakespeare, Iago is the main antagonist to the protagonist of the story. Iago is motivated by cruelty; his final goal is see all of his adversaries suffer. Cruelty is an especially crucial theme to any story, for it reveals the ugly truth about a character who is primarily motivated by cruelty. The social and political gains of Iago’s cruelty display how the theme functions in a work of literature and what it reveals about both the perpetrator and victim.
With the laws of Venice miles behind them, the characters of Othello seem to have entered a Hobbesian state of nature where anything is permissible so long as it furthers the individual interest. Indeed, upon arriving in Cyprus, the majority of the characters have lives that are “poor, nasty, brutish, and short” (Hobbes 76). Othello is the perfect illustration of the dangers of rhetoric. Iago exemplified the type of rhetoric that made the Greek demagogues threatening.
The personality of such characters as Hamlet from William Shakespeare’s play Hamlet is much remarked upon. However, it is even more meaningful to analyze changes in Hamlet’s character throughout the play. As Hamlet becomes more driven in his revenge, his actions lose morality and gain consequences. In fact, Shakespeare uses the relationship between a character’s cruelty and the meaning in the pain they cause to comment on the cyclically destructive nature of cruelty.
The common aim of playwrights of any time or location is to capture and hold the attention of their audience; this is what Shakespeare has clearly done. The tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice, is one of Shakespeare 's most renowned plays. Through construction of intriguing characters, exploration of universal themes, use of comic relief and a well-written script featuring a compelling plot, Shakespeare ensured the tragedy of Othello would hold the interest of the audience; despite being over four centuries old. It possesses so many conditions that can be accentuated to hit nerves with both a Shakespearean and modern audience. The entire plot of Othello is very much like the attitudes and methods of our modern day society.
A story of tragedy is not uncommon with William Shakespeare and his works of prose. In his plays, death and despair is more likely than honor and prosperity. This is an included facet to Macbeth as well, having sinister themes of greed, manipulation, and brutality. Macbeth, by the infamous playwright, Shakespeare, presents us with multiple aspects factoring into whether the main character controls his actions that lead to the tragic events.
Human nature is perceived as a delightful entity. In William Shakespeare’s Othello, several characters demonstrate the dark side of human nature and display how simple it is to get carried away with emotions. This includes Iago, who only cares for himself, Brabantio who has many doubts, and Roderigo who lacks intellect. Firstly, Iago demonstrates the dark side of human nature by being self-centered.
The English renaissance is generally marked between the late 14-century and early 17th century. This was after the Italian Renaissance It is also referred to as Elizabethan theater, which was based on Queen Elizabeth 1st. She was the most prominent political figure during her reign.
Shakespeare was one of the few authors who believed in the force of
In the story, “The Merchant of Venice,” there is a character named Shylock. Shylock is a Jewish citizen who lives in Venice, a place where Jewish people are one of the lowest class of citizens. This piece by Shakespeare creates this controversial character that can be viewed as a villain or victim. In this play, through the archetypal lense, we can see that Shylock is a villain because of his hatred and his desire for revenge. Some people may see Shylock as a victim because during the time period in which the story is wrote, jewish people were treated like animals and given nearly no rights or role in society.
Role of women in The Merchant of Venice Women during 16th century had no individual freedom. Despite the fact that a single woman ruled England at the time of Shakespeare, the Elizabethan society was patriarchal. Women were considered the weaker gender and always in need of being protected. Wealthy woman were highly educated but they had no right to have professions while poor women sometimes would turn to prostitution or become servants to survive. The book The Merchant of Venice was settled in Venice because Shakespeare wanted to show that even in the foundation place of Renaissance were prejudicial ideas and woman was considered as a weak character.
In most cases, Greek plays fall under one of two categories: tragedy or comedy. A tragedy is an event causing great suffering, destruction, and distress, such as a serious accident, crime, or natural catastrophe whereas, a comedy is a professional entertainment consisting of jokes and satirical sketches, intended to make an audience laugh. The acclaimed play, Antigone, written by Sophocles, can be portrayed as a tragedy. In this play, the main character, Antigone, rebels against Creon, king of Thebes, by burying her brother, Polyneices, after Creon announces to everyone that he is not to be buried. Creon later discovers what she has done, and sentences her to death.
“Life is a mixing of all kind of things: comedy and tragedy going together” (Alejandro Jodorowsky). Comedy and tragedy have been two popular forms of entertainment for people throughout the ages. From Greek performances to contemporary plays, the art of theatre is well and thriving. While the styles of playwrights and the way theatre is experienced changes through time, the messages these plays gaves have more or less stayed the same. Drama can, for the most part, be classified as either tragedy or comedy.