Regardless of this controversy, or where a person may weigh in on it, the main interest of this essay for people studying the merchant of venice is its indepth character analysis of the plays three main characters. We now propose to complete that criticism by extending it to other parts of the same drama. Learn all about how the characters in the merchant of venice such as shylock and antonio contribute to the story and how they fit into the plot. All line numbering and text references generally follow the merchant of venice, oxford edition, edited by jay l. Allows you to master the plot, characters and language of the merchant of venice. Commentary on the merchant of venice heres a fascinating and insightful look at different ways to interpret the merchant of venice, especially with respect to antisemitism. Sep 05, 2011 merchant of venice also has great significance to present date. In todays time when there is want of sincerity, moral values and justice, the play delineates all this very successfully. Bassanio and gratiano return immediately to venice to help. The merchant of venice is a 16thcentury play written by william shakespeare in which a merchant in venice named antonio defaults on a large loan provided by a jewish moneylender, shylock. The wordsworth classics shakespeare series, with romeo and juliet, henry v and the merchant of venice as its inaugural volumes, presents a newlyedited sequence of william shakespeares works. The merchant of venice is a 2004 romantic drama film based on shakespeares play of the same name. Shylock asks for a pound of flesh as part of a loan contract weird, bassanio agrees to it weirder, and portia saves the day by crossdressing and pretending to practice the law perfectly normal. Key the merchant of venice character map christian friends enemies married by bryan heckman related unknown religion works for the person from belmont not from belmont or venice from venice owes money to girl guy suitor to portia antonio jew gratiano.
The merchant of venice by shakespeare, free pdf, ebook. The merchant of venice character analysis course hero. A christian stole his daughter and she took his money, and nothing will satisfy shylock except the legal fulfillment of the bond. In this play, portia and bassanio the hero and heroine are married along with gratiano and nerissa, and lorenzo and jessica. It is believed to have been written between 1596 and 1599.
The duke of venice knows that he cannot risk venices livelihood by denying shylocks suit, but is less than happy at the fact. Summary of william shakespeares merchant of venice. Lancelot is a clown and a servantfirst shylocks and then bassanios. Follows the acts and scenes of original the merchant of venice text. The main characters in the merchant of venice are antonio, shylock, portia, and bassanio. The the merchant of venice characters covered include. Shylock is the most vivid and memorable character in the merchant of venice, and he is one of shakespeares greatest dramatic creations. The prince obboof morocco hylock morocco suitors to portia. The merchant of venice text excerpts penn state law. Merchant of venicecharacter analysis by celine edwards on. Below is a list of all the merchant of venice characters, with links to more detailed info on key the merchant of venice characters duke of venice, prince of.
An interactive study guide english at dartmouth academy. Shylock is a jewish moneylender of notable prominence in venice. This is a play about a merchant, antonio, who borrows money from a jewish money lender, shylock. Bassanio he is a typical elizabethan lover and nobleman who is careless with his money. While bassanio courts portia, gratiano falls in love with and eventually marries her servant, nerissa. The characters clash on a variety of levels, as they come from different backgrounds and life situations and have different points of view. Introduction the merchant of venice main menu the text comedy or tragedy. On stage, it is shylock who makes the play, and almost all of the great actors of the english and continental stage have attempted the role.
The the merchant of venice quotes below are all either spoken by shylock or refer to shylock. Antonio is a merchant who helps his friend bassanio win portias hand. Pdf downloads of all 1282 litcharts literature guides. Learn the roles and relationships of the characters in the merchant of venice, and how they contribute to the plot. I urge this childhood proof, because what follows is pure innocence. The merchant of venice characters from litcharts the creators of. The merchant of venice shakespeare resource center. The title character is the merchant antonio, not the jewish moneylender shylock, who is the plays most prominent and most famous character. See below for a full list of all the characters in the merchant of venice duke of venice. Characters character list shylock a jewish moneylender in venice. Home introduction quizzes essay topics youtube videos themes characters quotes. Character analysis in the merchant of venice owl eyes.
The most potent isolation is caused by religious estrangement. Flourish cornets enter portia with the prince of morocco, and both their trains trumpets play. When bassanio asks him for money to impress portia, antonio wants to give it to him but cannot because all of his money is tied up in goods that are being transported by ship to ports where they will be sold. Angered by his mistreatment at the hands of venices christians, particularly antonio, shylock schemes to eke out his revenge by ruthlessly demanding as payment a pound of antonios flesh. Which is a pound of this poor merchant s flesh, thou wilt not only loose the forfeiture, but, touchd with human gentleness and love, forgive a moiety of the principal. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one. In a late number of the journal there was a partial analy sis of shakespeares merchant of venice. Download the merchant of venice william shakespeare. Portia enters with the prince of morocco and both their entourages. An overview and statistics of shakespeares play the merchant of venice. Characters 171 the language of the merchant of venice 180 history and the jews 186 the merchant of venice in performance 189 writing about shakespeare 198 writing about the merchant of venice 200 timeline 202 acknowledgements 203 cambridge unive rsit y pre ss 9781107615397 the merchant of venice edited by rob smith frontmatter more. Get free homework help on shakespeares the merchant of venice. Bassanio, needing money to be a suitor to portia, asks his friend antonio, a wealthy merchant, for a loan, but antonios wealth is invested in shipments that are currently out at sea.
The merchant agrees to this, confident in the return of his ships before the appointed date of repayment. This ten minute activity gets students out of their seats and moving around the room engaging with the characters of the play. Antonio is a merchant of venice, perhaps the merchant of venice. Written sometime between 1594 and 1598, the play is primarily based on a story in il pecorone, a collection of tales and anecdotes by the fourteenthcentury italian writer giovanni fiorentino. By the foregoing remarks, or in the previous essay, it. Character list since his main source of income is from his merchant ships, he is the merchant of the plays title. The merchant of venice ranks with hamlet as one of shakespeares most frequently performed dramas. A brief history of the english language words shakespeare invented 20 examples words and phrases coined by shakespeare merchant of venice characters, scene information, and language help using. Pdf the merchant of venice book by william shakespeare. In strict terms the merchant of venice appears to be a comedy, as four of the central charactersbassanio and portia and. In venice, shylock is no longer interested in the mere payment of the money due him. Of particular interest to this study of cognitive types involves the radical shift that portia makes in the court scene. The merchant of venice is no puppy pile or cuddle puddle. Summary of the merchant of venice shakespeare birthplace.
Preliminary production notes the merchant of venice, p. Antonio is borrowing the money for his friend, bassanio. A list of all the characters in the merchant of venice. The merchant of venice, comedy in five acts by william shakespeare, written about 159697 and printed in a quarto edition in 1600 from an authorial manuscript or copy of one.
The merchant of venice title page of the first quarto written bywilliam shakespeare characters antonio shylock portia bassanio jessica date premieredspring of 1605 place premieredcourt of king james original languageenglish seriesfirst folio subjectdebt genreshakespearean comedy settingvenice, 16th century the merchant of venice is a 16thcentury play written by william shakespeare in which a merchant in venice named antonio defaults on a large loan provided by a jewish moneylender, shylock. Who is the main character in the merchant of venice by. Act i volume i book vi 7 bassanio in my schooldays, when i had lost one shaft, i shot his fellow of the selfsame flight the selfsame way with more advised watch, to find the other forth, and by adventuring both. He is horribly mistreated by the christian characters, especially antonio, and seeks to enact his revenge by forcing antonio to stick to the bond that he signs.
The merchant of venice is often considered shylocks play, for the reading of his character generally influences the interpretation of the drama as a whole. The merchant of venicefrank finlay right is shylock in a 1972 production of the. The merchant of venice is a play by wiliam shakespeare about a man named antonio who gets into debt with a. Shylock, a jewish moneylender, recalls past insults from antonio and, instead of asking interest on the loan, asks insteadin what he calls a merry sportthat if the loan is not repaid, antonio will owe a pound of his own flesh. Edited, introduced and annotated by cedric watts, professor of english literature, university of sussex. The protagonist in the merchant of venice by william shakespeare is often considered to be antonio, as he is the character through whom all the other characters in the play are connected antonio. Glancing an eye of pity on his losses, that have of late so huddled on his back, enow to press a royal merchant down and pluck commiseration of his state. Themes prejudice and social injustice revenge, justice and forgiveness money and love motifs recurring elements and patterns of imagery in the merchant of venice which support the plays themes goldducats, jewels and caskets the law. Perhaps the most important related work for merchant of venice, however, is christopher marlowes the jew of malta 158990, which tells the story of the moneylender, barabas, who has all. Characters map for william shakespeares the merchant of venice. Ks3 merchant of venice character starter teaching resources. D uke of v eni ce p rince of m orocco m orochoq1, m or oc husq1 p rince of a rragon a ragon a suitors to portia a ntonio a nthonioq1. The merchant of venice shakespeare theatre of new jersey. Although classified as a comedy in the first folio and sharing certain aspects with shakespeares other romantic.
Usury the jew of malta, marlowe antisemitism settings. Youre very kind, but i must tell you the worst at once. Marries the 10year older than him ann hathaway 1586 leaves his family in. Also notable is portias speech about the quality of mercy. He is infatuated with the illustrious portia, who causes him to borrow. Prince of morocco, prince of arragon, suitors to portia. Intermediate level points for understanding answer key macmillan readers the merchant of venice. The merchant of venice characters from litcharts the creators of sparknotes. The merchant of venice was probably written in either 1596 or 1597, after shakespeare had written such plays as romeo and juliet and richard iii, but before he penned the great tragedies of his later years. Need help on characters in william shakespeares the merchant of venice.
Act i volume i book vi 7 bassanio in my schooldays, when i had lost one shaft, i shot his fellow of the selfsame flight the selfsame way with more advised watch, to find the other forth, and by adventuring both i oft found both. William shakespeare the merchant of venice william shakespeare short biography. It is a romantic comedy with a knife at its heart, and that gives it a dark side that people talk about long after the lovers have left the stage. The merchant of venice shakespeare homepage merchant of venice you can buy the arden text of this play from the online bookstore. The merchant of venice by william shakespeare a contemporary english version, emended and rectified with notes and commentary by jonathan star dramatis person. William shakespeare short biography born on 23 april 1564 in stratford. The merchant of venice shakespeare birthplace trust. Antonio, the merchant in the merchant of venice, secures a loan from shylock for his friend bassanio, who seeks to court portia. The the merchant of venice quotes below are all either spoken by portia or refer to portia. The first edition of the novel was published in 1596, and was written by william shakespeare.
Antonio from shylock, so bassanio is the likeliest candidate. A brief history of the english language words shakespeare invented 20 examples words and phrases coined by shakespeare merchant of venice characters, scene information, and language help using a 2014 production playing shakespeare merchant of venice full online text. Free download or read online the merchant of venice pdf epub book. Read the merchant of venice translated as an easy to read, exciting teenage novel. A great talker, he is almost impossible to shut up, and can be unmannerly, to the extent that bassanio only allows him to. The book was published in multiple languages including english, consists of 237 pages and is available in paperback format. Main menu the merchant of venice was most likely performed for the first time in 1596. Detailed analysis of characters in william shakespeares the merchant of venice. The merchant of venicefrank finlay right is shylock in a 1972 production of the merchant of venice. Friends of antonio and bassanio, minor characters almost indistinguishable from each other who comment on the action and who inform the.
The textual editing takes account of recent scholarship while giving the. Merchant of venice might be described as a revenge tragedy barely averted, as portia swoops into the courtroom scene and saves antonio from shylock. A great talker, he is almost impossible to shut up, and can be unmannerly, to the extent that bassanio only allows him to accompany his trip to belmont on condition that he keep himself under control. A nobleman from venice, who is a kinsman, close friend, and longtime debtor of the merchant, antonio. Its basic plot outline, with the characters of the merchant, the poor suitor, the fair lady, and the villainous jew, is. The merchant of venice character map by bryan heckman on prezi. In shakespeares the merchant of venice, bassanio needs to repay a loan to his friend antonio, a leading merchant of venice, so he hatches a plot to win the hand of.
It was first published in the first quarto edition in 1600. The merchant of venice characters from litcharts the. A notoriously vulgar venetian and friend of bassanio. This seems an awful lot to ask, but if you would trust me, and lend me even more, i think i could manage to pay you back. You see, im completely unable to repay what i owe you now. Character analysis in the merchant of venice shylock. It furthers the universitys objective of excellence in research, scholarship. In the court of justice, presided over by the duke of venice, shylock faces his enemy, antonio. The main characters of this classics, drama story are. The merchant of venice is a tragic comedy by william shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1596 and 1598. The merchant of venice is a play by william shakespeare set in 16th century, venice. The merchant of venice is a play by william shakespear e, believed to have been written between 1596 and 1598. The occasion is a production that looks at jewish characters from the merchant of.