kindle ✓ The Merchant of Venice Ó Paperback Ô william shakespeare

> kindle ✓ The Merchant of Venice Ó Paperback Ô william shakespeare

reader The Merchant of Venice

kindle ✓ The Merchant of Venice Ó Paperback Ô william shakespeare Ô In this lively comedy of love and money in sixteenth century Venice Bassanio wants to impress the wealthy heiress Portia but lacks the necessary funds He turns to his merchant friend Antonio who is forced to borrow from ShyS to his merchant friend Antonio who is forced to borrow from Shylock a Jewish moneylender When Antonio's business falters repayment becomes impossible and by The Merchant of Venice by Shakespeare is the old classics selection for catching up on classics for September 2016 This comedy first printed in 1609 five years prior to Shakespeare's death offers many pressing issues of its day that are unfortunately still relevant today It is still widely studied in schools yet is banned in many places as well due to its anti Semitic portrayal of Jews and some lewdness It is in this light that I discuss the Bard's work Jews had been banned from England in 1290 so it is highly unlikely that Shakespeare came across many Jews during his lifetime His portrayal of Shylock as a greedy moneylender is considered stereotypical by many Other scholars however have created rumors that perhaps Shakespeare himself was Jewish and that his creation of Shylock was to bring awareness the poor treatment of Jews throughout Europe The fact that this play was published in the First Folio after the Bard's death makes one uestion if perhaps Shakespeare himself did not write this particular play but maybe a ghost writer specifically a Jewish born ghost writer did Regardless Shylock's character including his Hath not a Jew eyes speech remains memorable these 420 years later Additionally Shakespeare has created strong female characters in this play both Portia of Belmont and Jessica Shylock's daughter I recently read Macbeth where Lady Macbeth is ruthless and calculating than her husband In The Merchant of Venice Portia uses a mind game to find a worthy suitor and later on disguises herself as a lawyer in order to free her husband's dear friend Antonio from Shylock's bond I remember all these years later being naturally drawn toward Portia's strong character when I read this play in school which is why I feel that schools select this work so that girls have a protagonist that they are captivated by while reading While the Merchant of Venice is officially deemed a comedy because three sets of characters marry the play also contains dramatic elements I am drawn toward the intrigue in tragedies so naturally the plot involving Antonio's bond to Shylock in order to assist Bassanio in wooing Portia held my attention than the actual romance involving Portia and Bassanio as well as Nerissa and Gratiano Additionally the role of Jews' in society which lead Jessica to renounce her Judaism in order to marry Lorenzo was heart rending to me as opposed to romantic Interestingly enough the last play of Shakespeare's that I read discussed little of the world at large but chose to focus on the characters themselves This leads me to uestion if the rumor to whether or not the Bard penned all of his plays actually contains a kernel of truth I enjoyed reading The Merchant of Venice for the first time in nearly twenty years It is eye opening through adult eyes the roles of both Jews and women in Shakespearean works Was the bard an anti Semitic Englishman renouncing Jews or a Jewish ghost writer warning Europeans of Jews' plight The fact that scholars are still debating this uestion over 400 years later is a testament to the Bard's place in written history It was a treat to revisit this work which I rate 5 huge stars for its societal awareness and timelessness

text º The Merchant of Venice ´ William Shakespeare

In this lively comedy of love and money in sixteenth century Venice Bassanio wants to impress the wealthy heiress Portia but lacks the necessary funds He turn Maybe because I read this play with the famous controversy of its antisemitism on my mind or because I expected a true hearted villain “Iago fashion” in the Jewish usurer Skylock but I reached the last scene of the play with the extraordinary sensation that the Jew’s failure to execute the bloodthirsty bond was of an anecdote than a climatic victory over evilShakespeare’s precise wordplay presents a flesh and bone figure in Shylock a flawed human being a man who has been mocked and persecuted by his Christian antagonists and who seeks disproportionate revenge out of hurt pride and blind rage He is not wicked by nature; the Jew has a motive to retaliate either with or without the weight of morality on his side and that is precisely what makes him such a believable characterAnd then there is Portia Portia Oh Portia To me Portia is the great revelation of the play A beautiful orphan wealthy but not spoiled ready to follow his deceased father’s will and marry the man who sees beyond appearances A woman with passion and brains that outshines her dull peers by daring to break the rules and suspend her role as a subservient female in order to save the day Her transfiguration and disarming display of acumen in the court scene followed by the allegorical teasing of the ring played on her dumfounded new husband Bassanio is enough to place Portia among sassy heroines the caliber of Beatrice Kate or HermioneThere is nothing to miss in this first rate comedy the best I have read so far Fast paced bantering misused words over brimming with jocular double meaning a fool who is wise enough to choose the winning side three romances that culminate in a great party and metaphoric sagacity in the form of playful riddlesBeyond the literal plotline there is a universe of challenged beliefs where apparently righteous characters are not essentially good scheming misers are not outright scoundrels and damsels in distress mere objects of male protectionShakespeare flips the coin fast enough to confuse the casual reader but if one reads between the lines he’ll meet defiant nonconformity in its most elegant disguiseMore like this please

William Shakespeare ´ The Merchant of Venice doc

The Merchant of VeniceThe terms of the loan agreement Shylock is able to demand a pound of Antonio's flesh Portia cleverly intervenes and all ends well except of course for Shyloc The pretty islands of Venice in the shallow lagoon atop the blue Adriatic Sea as the blazing rays of the Sun shine down on the brilliant colors of the homes the calm canals full of boats with cargo from faraway lands a glorious past but an uncertain future the rise of Portugal worries the people The city once powerful a short distance from the Italian mainland vastly wealthy is in declineAntonio the most successful merchant in Venice and a gambler in commerce his ships float in the unpredictable oceans waves always bringing him back riches to the lucky man His cousin and best friend Bassanio not so much he has a bad habit of spending not only all his money but uite a lot not in his pockets a concept still popular in modern times As they say a friend in need is a friend indeed Bassanio asks Antonio for a loan but unfortunately his kinsman has everything tied up but wait a short while soon his ships will come in and Antonio will be richer than ever Bassanio can't there is a woman involved he needs plenty of ducats to impress the lady Portia who lives on shore Belmont that he is well off not a penniless seeker of gold through marriage to her Only the moneylender Shylock can do this Christians in the middle ages considered it unchristian getting interest from loaning money so intelligent Jews dominates this trade and did very well The wise Shylock who despises Antonio a rival and the merchant does not love him either will not have anything to do with the reckless Bassanio but Antonio that's different an excellent reputation in business 3000 ducats agreed to a contract signed by Antonio with a funny line about a pound of flesh taken from The Merchant of Venice if he can't repay back the loan with interest in three months Simple his ships have always brought back precious merchandise making huge profits much over the cost of his investments but the mammoth seas are exceedingly treacherous and unfeeling news arrives a shipwreck off Tripoli another in the English Channel others fall under the stormy waves never to be seen again sink in the cold waters to the unknown bottom of the abyss Antonio is ruined like his ships Shylock demands not his money but the pound of flesh from his hide even the Duke of the city is helpless a contract is a contract bad for business if not enforced His cousin has been better served by the gods married to the wealthy smart independently minded beautiful Portia but Antonio still needs a good lawyer now the hesitant Bassanio returns to Venice with his wife's support on their wedding day Nerissa Portia's maid married Gratiano her husband's friend the two secretly follow them to the city dressed as men Their new unperceptive maybe even vacuous husbands know not these gentlemenPortia a pretend attorney with whatever legal knowledge she acuires but an intellectual giant must save Antonio from an undoubted deathThe Jewish Shylock makes the best statement ever against racism If you prick us do we not bleed if you tickle us do we not laugh if you poison us do we not die