• The Merchant of Venice

William Shakespeare

  • Literature Notes
  • Major Themes
  • Play Summary
  • Character List
  • Summary and Analysis
  • Act I: Scene 1
  • Act I: Scene 2
  • Act I: Scene 3
  • Act II: Scene 1
  • Act II: Scene 2
  • Act II: Scene 3
  • Act II: Scene 4
  • Act II: Scene 5
  • Act II: Scene 6
  • Act II: Scene 7
  • Act II: Scene 8
  • Act II: Scene 9
  • Act III: Scene 1
  • Act III: Scene 2
  • Act III: Scene 3
  • Act III: Scene 4
  • Act III: Scene 5
  • Act IV: Scene 1
  • Act IV: Scene 2
  • Act V: Scene 1
  • Character Analysis
  • Critical Essays
  • Major Symbols and Motifs
  • William Shakespeare Biography
  • Famous Quotes
  • Film Versions
  • Essay Questions
  • Cite this Literature Note

Critical Essays Major Themes

Explore the different themes within William Shakespeare's comedic play, The Merchant of Venice. Themes are central to understanding The Merchant of Venice as a play and identifying Shakespeare's social and political commentary.

Reality and Idealism

The Merchant of Venice is structured partly on the contrast between idealistic and realistic opinions about society and relationships. On the one hand, the play tells us that love is more important than money, mercy is preferable to revenge, and love lasts forever. On the other hand, more cynical voices tell us that money rules the world, mercy alone cannot govern our lives, and love can evaporate after marriage.

The play switches abruptly between these different attitudes. Shakespeare organizes the shifts between idealism and realism by associating the two concepts with the play's two locations. Venice is depicted as a city of merchants, usurers, and cynical young men. Belmont, in contrast, is the land where fairytales come true and romance exists.

he Merchant of Venice begs the question, does mercy exist in the world? Between religious intolerance and personal revenge, the play seems devoid of a merciful being.

However, against all the odds, Portia does manage to bring about some mercy in Venice. When Shylock faces execution for his crimes, Portia persuades the Duke to pardon him. She then persuades Antonio to exercise mercy by not taking all of Shylock's money from him. Here, Portia's presence turns the proceedings away from violence and toward forgiveness. Portia does, therefore, succeed in transmitting some of her idealism into Venice. Act IV ends with the suggestion that idealism can sometimes survive in the real world.

Throughout the play, and as of Act 3, Scene 4, Launcelot Gobbo is still trying to reconcile his affection for Jessica with his belief that all Jews are devils. This theme continually recurs in the clown scenes, and it seems as though Shakespeare is deliberately making fun of the Christian's attitudes toward the Jews.

The function of a clown is to misunderstand people and undermine their assumptions by asking simple, obvious questions. By highlighting the confusion of biblical texts, and raising pragmatic questions about the conversion of Jews, Launcelot, in his clownish ways, demonstrates the absurdities and complications that arise from the automatic damnation of a religious faith. Ultimately, he prevents the play from simplifying life too much. Beneath the apparently clear-cut cultural divisions in the play is an awareness of the complexities of real life.

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Next Major Symbols and Motifs

Merchant of Venice

By william shakespeare, merchant of venice themes, the importance of money.

The Merchant of Venice is a play that is fundamentally about the exchange and value of money as compared to other things, like love and relationships. The play initially posits Shylock as a character who only cares about his money, while portraying the Christian characters as more dedicated to their families, love interests, and filial relationships. However, these paradigms are challenged throughout the play and are eventually upended by the fact that Shylock demands the pound of flesh over any amount of money – suggesting that he is more committed to justice and vengeance than he is to wealth. While critics are right to point out how extensively the play presents its Jewish characters as stereotypes, there are multiple instances in the play that call that complicate Shylock's character and call that reading into question.

Cycles of Antagonism

Throughout the play, Shylock argues that his vengeful behavior was essentially inherited from the way Antonio treated him in the past, suggesting that he learned how to be hateful and ruthless from the very people over whom he currently has power. While one cannot necessarily absolve Shylock of his behavior, his insistence that he is simply acting in accordance with what he has experienced raises larger questions about villainy, culpability, and the cyclical nature of hatred. That Antonio demands nothing more of Shylock than a conversion to Christianity at the end of the play suggests that this vicious cycle might finally end through mercy and understanding.

There are a number of close friendships portrayed throughout the play: between Bassanio and Antonio, Gratiano and Bassanio, and Portia and Nerissa . These friendships hold great power over individual characters' decisions, and are in many ways valued above romantic entanglements. Antonio, for example, willingly indebts himself to Shylock on Bassanio's behalf, even after having financially supported his friend many times before. Portia and Nerissa act as accomplices in their own, separate scheme to free Antonio from Shylock's demands, and Gratiano remains loyal to Bassanio throughout the play. These relationships, the play suggests, are stronger than the appeal of money or fortune – a philosophy that Shylock, the play's "villain," frequently appears to reject.

Financial Precariousness

The central conflict of the play revolves around money, and a number of characters are presented as wealthy or financially successful (Antonio, Portia, and Shylock, most notably). However, as the events of the play unfold, wealth starts to become more of an abstract idea and is eventually portrayed as rather fickle and unpredictable. Antonio, for example, begins the play as a wealthy merchant but ends the play unable to pay back his loan to Shylock. Furthermore, nearly every wealthy character in the play is plagued by a sense of sadness or lack of fulfillment. As such, the play takes on a skeptical tone toward money and the pursuit of wealth above all else, suggesting that things like friendship are more certain and long-lasting.

Prejudice is perhaps the single most significant motivation behind many characters' actions throughout the play. The most obvious form of prejudice in the play is Anti-Semitism, or prejudice against Jewish people. Antonio refers to Shylock as a "dog" multiple times in the play, and some characters equate Shylock's ruthlessness and miserly attitude with his Jewish identity (a common stereotype). Shylock, too, maintains prejudices about Christians and is appalled to learn that his daughter Jessica has chosen to marry a Christian man. That Shylock is forced to convert to Christianity at the end of the play, then, is a significant punishment despite its relatively minor consequences: the Christian characters seem to "prevail" in the end of by stripping Shylock of his Jewishness. Though contemporary readers with undoubtedly perceive the entire play as Anti-Semitic, The Merchant of Venice also interrogates the phenomenon of prejudice more generally, suggesting that prejudice functions in a perpetual cycle that must be broken. Whether the characters in the play actually break this cycle remains a debate among readers and scholars alike.

Revenge was a popular theme on the early modern stage. It appeared most frequently in tragedies, and in the early days of the theater was even granted its own character (Thomas Kyd's The Spanish Tragedy , for example, features Revenge as a choral character who comments on the action of the play). The Merchant of Venice is a comedy, but it still features a character who is hellbent on seeking vengeance for the wrongs done against him. While readers might sympathize with Shylock initially after learning of the abuses he has suffered at the hands of Christians, he soon becomes blinded by his desire of revenge above all else. Indeed, it is his pursuit of revenge rather than justice that eventually leads to his loss when Portia discovers the loophole in his contract with Antonio.

Christianity and Judaism

While prejudice between Christians and Jews plays a central role in the play, Shakespeare actually provides Biblical precedent as an explanation for why these characters cannot see eye to eye. During the trial, many of the Christian characters expect Shylock to be merciful toward Antonio – a philosophy embodied by Jesus Christ in the New Testament. As a Jewish person, however, Shylock abides by the Old Testament, which features a markedly less merciful God keen on exacting punishment for man's disobedience. While the play ultimately celebrates the merciful (and therefore Christian) approach through Antonio, the fact that Portia must explain mercy to Shylock showcases how his ruthlessness is due, in part, to his own religious beliefs and not simply to his prejudice against Christians.

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Merchant of Venice Questions and Answers

The Question and Answer section for Merchant of Venice is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel.

Explain Portias tactics. Why does she appear to support Shylock at first?

When Portia arrives in court, she asks, "Which is the merchant here, and which the Jew?" (4.1.169). Indeed, given the confusion so many people have with the title, it is often this very question which is asked. Scholars have tried to attribute her...

Describe merchant of venice as romantic comedy

While the story hits upon the tragic element of despair, The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare, is a comedy because lovers are separated, characters are in disguise, and the story has a happy ending.

ACT III SCENE 3: What do you think Shylock means when he says, “it is my humour”?

This could be defined as "this is what I feel like doing".

Study Guide for Merchant of Venice

Merchant of Venice study guide contains a biography of William Shakespeare, literature essays, a complete e-text, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

  • About Merchant of Venice
  • Merchant of Venice Summary
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Essays for Merchant of Venice

Merchant of Venice literature essays are academic essays for citation. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of Merchant of Venice.

  • The Victorious Woman in Measure for Measure and The Merchant of Venice
  • Father-Daughter Relationships in The Merchant of Venice
  • Mercy and the Masquerade: Trial and Performance in The Merchant of Venice
  • Christianity and Judaism in The Merchant of Venice: Imperfect Faith
  • The Anti-Semitic Question in Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice

Lesson Plan for Merchant of Venice

  • About the Author
  • Study Objectives
  • Common Core Standards
  • Introduction to Merchant of Venice
  • Relationship to Other Books
  • Bringing in Technology
  • Notes to the Teacher
  • Related Links
  • Merchant of Venice Bibliography

E-Text of Merchant of Venice

Merchant of Venice E-Text contains the full text of Merchant of Venice

  • List of Characters

Wikipedia Entries for Merchant of Venice

  • Introduction
  • Plot summary
  • Earlier sources
  • Date and text

merchant of venice themes essay

merchant of venice themes essay

The Merchant of Venice

William shakespeare, everything you need for every book you read..

Prejudice and Intolerance Theme Icon

In connection with mercy and generosity, The Merchant of Venice also explores love and friendship between its characters. The central romantic relationship of the play is that between Bassanio and Portia . Their marriage is paralleled by several others: the elopement of Shylock's daughter, Jessica , with the Christian, Lorenzo ; and the marriage of Portia's servant, Nerissa , to Bassanio's companion, Gratiano . In addition, numerous critics have suggested that the strongest friendship in the play—between Antonio and Bassanio—also approaches romantic love. In addition, the play shows how strong the amicable ties are that connect all the various Venetian characters.

Given the generosity that they motivate between characters, love and friendship might seem to offer alternatives to the ugly emotions of prejudice, greed, and revenge on display in The Merchant of Venice . However, beginning with Bassanio's borrowing money from his friend Antonio in order to woo Portia, the play also demonstrates that the apparent purity of love and friendship can be tainted by selfish economic concerns. In addition, love and friendship are also at the mercy of the law, as seen in Portia's being subject to the terms of her father's riddle of the caskets .

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  • William Shakespeare
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merchant of venice themes essay

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The Main Themes in “The Merchant of Venice”

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“To bait fish withal; if it will feed nothing else, it will feed my revenge”… is one of many key lines from “The Merchant of Venice” by William Shakespeare. It is one of the memorable lines as it is the first line from Shylock’s pivotal speech based on revenge. I will be going into depth in this critical response about what are the main themes which will include the conflict between justice and mercy and the contrast of love and hate. Collectively, they help us to understand in detail about the characters, Also, I will be describing many other features from the play such as the key speeches by Portia and Shylock, setting and characterisation.

The Merchant of Venice’ is a play which focuses on two main plots. First of all there is Shylock’s plot, were he is on a quest for a pound of flesh from Antonio. However, Portia comes and saves the day. Also there is another plot surrounding Portia which involves three caskets and her marriage. In Shakespeare’s “The Merchant of Venice” he explores many themes but the main one in my opinion is the conflict between justice and mercy. As in Shylock’s key speech where he is putting a lot of emphasis on revenge by using rhetorical questions aimed at him being a Jew.

Shylock expresses his hatred and resentment of Antonio in his speech as all of his feelings which he had to suppress over the years now have burst to the surface. As the speech goes on he gets more passionate and tries to gain the sympathy of the audience and appeals to common humanity, Shylock does this by the use of rhetorical questions, such as: “Hath not a Jew eyes? Hath not a Jew hands”, “If you poison us, do we not die. ” However, Shylock’s sympathetic side does not last long as he quickly turns into his usual self by saying, “And if you wrong us, shall we not revenge.

He is saying here, because Antonio has done something wrong, Shylock has a right to take the pound of flesh and not show any mercy. Although, if you look at Portia’s key speech, in “The Merchant of Venice” you will find that her feelings and attitude differ from Shylock’s. Portia emphasises the value of mercy and how Shylock should show mercy to Antonio. The opening line of her speech is: “The quality of mercy is not strain’d… ” Portia is saying here that you cannot force mercy on anyone; mercy has to come deep down from the person’s heart.

Then, in the second line, Portia describes rain as “a natural occurrence” However, in Shylock’s case, mercy does not come naturally to him and cannot be “forced” on him as Shylock’s hatred and his will for revenge are very much the paramount of who he is as a person. Portia then goes on to show there is a connection between being a King or an important leader and the quality of mercy. She says that having a sceptre symbolizes earthly power, but it is far more important to show the quality of mercy which earns respect, which is the proper characteristic of true royalty.

Mercy shows the real integrity of the royal leader not a crown which is superficial. Basically, she is asking Shylock to consider showing mercy to Antonio by even allowing a doctor to be present when the pound of flesh is cut. As well as the conflict between justice and mercy there is the juxtaposition of the two main settings in the play, Venice and Belmont. First of all the juxtaposition of Venice and Belmont is highlighted as, throughout the plot it keeps going back and forth between the two so their contrasts become highlighted. In Venice, the characters are greedy and they all have to work hard to earn their money.

This leads to the characters in Venice not taking money for granted and they value money as they keep it all to themselves. However this can be compared to Belmont, which is very much the upper-class city. We see that, the characters in live in Belmont, the characters do not have to work as hard as they are already rich so their need ‘to work hard’ for money is not as great as in Venice. So overall, Venice is the city where the hard working who does not take money for granted and Belmont is the city of the upper-class who is all rich. Also Belmont is full of peace and harmony compared to the tense business world of Venice.

Antonio who is ‘The Merchant of Venice’ himself comes from Venice. He is often generous to his friends, especially Bassanio when he helps him out with a loan. Antonio is often sad and depressed; the cause of the sadness is not known but it is often said it is because he the two so their contrasts become highlighted. In Venice, the characters are greedy and they all have to work hard to earn their money. This leads to the characters in Venice not taking money for granted and they value money as they keep it all to themselves. However, this can be compared to Belmont, which is very much the upper-class city.

We see that, the characters that live in Belmont, they do no have to work as hard as they are already rich so their need ‘to work hard’ for money is not as great as in Venice. So overall, Venice is the city where the hard working, were people do not take money for granted and Belmont is the city of the upper-class who is all rich. Also, Belmont is full of peace and harmony compared to the tense business world of Venice. Antonio who is ‘The Merchant of Venice’ himself comes from Venice. He is often generous to his friends, especially Bassanio when he helps him out with a loan of ducats.

Antonio is often sad and depressed; the cause of this sadness is not known but it is often said it is because he is an isolated character. In a conversation with Gratiano, Antonio expresses his feelings metaphorically describing the world as: “A stage where every man must play a part, and mine a sad one. ” He feels his part is to play the role of a depressed character. We also learn at the start of the play when Antonio lends Bassanio the money, he breaks his own rules. He breaks his rules as Antonio disapproves morally of the lending of money for interest; however as a mark of affection to Bassanio he is willing to do this just for him.

Throughout the plot Antonio is still lonely after the climax he is the only one who has not found true love or even a relationship. Antonio has an enemy in the play, this is Shylock. Shylock is the one who suggests the unusual bond of a pound of flesh if Antonio does not repay the money Shylock lent to him. Shylock is a money-lending Jew, and for these two reasons he is very much disliked and hated by most in the plot. Throughout the plot Shylock is often associated with devil or animal imagery.

“An inhuman wretch, incapable of pity, void and empty from any dram of mercy. This is when the Duke is describing Shylock as being un-human and will only show a small measure of mercy. Also, in Shylock’s key speech – the Duke is correct – as he shows no mercy what so ever to Antonio as he thinks that revenge is more important than being merciful. However, at the end of the plot Shylock neither gets his pound of flesh or his three thousand ducats back. As a matter of fact he has to sign all of which he owns over to Jessica and Lorenzo, and he also must promise to become a Christian. By this point Shylock has lost everything and is totally defeated.

Then there is Portia who is another important character in ‘The Merchant of Venice. ’ Portia is a very intelligent and beautiful woman who falls in love with Bassanio, However, her father has planned a test with three caskets and whoever chooses the correct casket is allowed to marry Portia. Later she dresses up as a lawyer in the courtroom scene and saves Antonio’s life. At the end of the play Portia is happy as she and Bassanio ‘live happily ever after. ’ One of the central themes in ‘The Merchant of Venice’ is the contrast between love and hate. There is not just one type of love explored in the play; there are many.

Such as the love of a friend which is explored through Antonio and Bassanio, These two friends are extremely close and Antonio would just about give his live or do anything for Bassanio. In return Bassanio would do the same and would even give up his wife for Antonio. Another type explored is the love shared between father and child. Firstly, you have Portia who still respects her father’s wishes regarding the terms of the caskets left in his will. Then there is Jessica and her father Shylock; their relationship is not as strong as Jessica welcomes the chance to run away from home.

Also there is Lancelot whose father does not even recognise him when the accidently meet. However, he finally recognises him for his blessing. Also there is the romantic love explored by Shakespeare. Here it is explored through Portia and Bassanio as they have fell in love with one another, but Bassanio’s true motives for him marrying Portia was for her money. Then there is Nerissa who marries Gratiano but they hardly know each other. Also there is a love between characters and possessions, for example you could say Shylock loves his money.

However, all is not love and well as hate is also shown through certain characters and factors in ‘The Merchant of Venice. ’ First of all you see the hatred shown to Shylock as he is a Jew from all Christians. There is even more tense and hatred relationships between Antonio and Shylock. This hatred causes Shylocks to go in search of revenge rather than to be merciful to Antonio. In my opinion love is explored stronger than hate in Shakespeare’s ‘The Merchant of Venice’ as there are more ways in which he explores it compared to hate. Also the end scene shows that mostly everyone lives happily ever after and all is well.

Iambic pentameter is a language technique used by William Shakespeare in ‘The Merchant of Venice. ’ It is when the lines are unrhymed but all have ten syllables, they also have to be divided into five ‘feet. ’ Shakespeare uses it throughout this play. An example of it is, “My wind, cooling my broth, would blow me to ague when I thought what harm a wind too great might do at sea. ” This is an example of it as there are ten syllables which are unrhymed, this results in iambic pentameter. The effect of iambic pentameter is so that the lines flow well and they do not have to rhyme for this to happen.

Shakespeare uses this technique a lot in his plays. The key scene of the plot is act four which is also known as ‘the courtroom scene. ’ In the courtroom scene both the Duke – the judge – and Portia – who is dressed up as a lawyer – give speeches on the quality of mercy, Portia’s main objective for going to the trial is to saver her husband, Bassanio, as he is willing to give his life for Antonio. This is when the two plots converge as Shylock, with the pound of flesh, and Portia, with the three caskets, come head to head in the courtroom. When they come head to head, it gets very tense as Shylock still seeks revenge.

However, Shylock does not succeed in his wish as all of a sudden due to Portia he has lost everything he once owned. Furthermore, Portia who is the main character around the three casket theme shows how strong her bond with her father was as she still kept the terms in the will. However she complains about the restrictive terms in the will. The exact terms in her father’s will are that if anyone wants to marry Portia they must either choose gold, silver or a lead casket. The caskets all come with one rhyme for the suitors to think about and consider when they are making their choice.

Also for the suitors to know if they have made the correct choice there will be a small portrait with a painting of Portia on it. The first suitor to make his preferred choice is The Prince of Morocco. His choice is the gold casket and inside is a skill and a scroll with writing on it, results in him choosing the wrong casket and must never return to Portia and cannot tell anyone the casket in which he had chosen. The second suitor to choose a casket is ‘The Prince of Arragon. ’ This suitor also chooses the wrong casket in which he had chosen the silver casket.

This casket had a picture of a blinking idiot and also a scroll. So this meant the lead casket which the audience knew the was the correct casket but the final suitor did not know this, The third suitor is of course Bassanio, although Bassanio has already fell in love with Portia he still must make the correct choice to ‘win’ Portia as his wife. Bassanio chooses the lead casket and this reveals a picture so devine and life-like of Portia as Bassanio describes the portrait as, It also contains a scroll which at the end of it says, “And claim her with a kiss” to confirm the correct casket.

With the three caskets there is a certain element of superficiality around them. The superficiality is mostly around the appearance as the three caskets are gold, silver and lead. Now, most people would think Portia’s father would put her in the gold casket as gold represents wealth and something special. Also on the gold casket the inscription says, “Who chooseth me shall gain what many men desire. ” This would suggest that Portia’s father has an opinion that men do not deserve the love of Portia. However, he puts the picture of Portia in the least expected casket; this would be the lead casket.

The inscription on this casket reads, “who chooseth me must give and hazard all the hath. ” He is saying here that if you choose this casket you must go through and put up with what might ever come your way with Portia, this might put some men off picking it as it sounds negative and so does the fact it is in the lead casket. So overall, Portia’s father does not go for the obvious he went for the least obvious which is what superficiality is all about. In my opinion to conclude the question in which I chose the main theme is the conflict between justice and mercy for many reasons I will briefly state.

First of all Portia who is one of the main characters, her key speech was based around mercy. Then if you compare that to Shylock’s, another main character, his speech was based around revenge. So these two most famous speeches are based around the main theme. Also at the end of the play, in my opinion Shylock deserved what he got so justice was served. Justice and mercy is also relevant in today’s society as the quality of mercy is not dead. It is not dead as people still believe that showing mercy to others is still worthy of praise and should be respected.

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A Study of The Theme of Mercy in The Merchant of Venice

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Introduction, examples of mercy in the merchant of venice.

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  1. The Merchant of Venice: Themes

    The Merchant of Venice highlights the complexities of wealth and treats this theme with ambivalence. Several wealthy characters are depicted as unhappy despite their vast fortunes. At the beginning of the play, Antonio is a prosperous merchant on the verge of more financial success, but he still suffers from a sense of melancholy.

  2. Major Themes

    Explore the different themes within William Shakespeare's comedic play, The Merchant of Venice.Themes are central to understanding The Merchant of Venice as a play and identifying Shakespeare's social and political commentary.. Reality and Idealism. The Merchant of Venice is structured partly on the contrast between idealistic and realistic opinions about society and relationships.

  3. Merchant of Venice Themes

    Revenge. Revenge was a popular theme on the early modern stage. It appeared most frequently in tragedies, and in the early days of the theater was even granted its own character (Thomas Kyd's The Spanish Tragedy, for example, features Revenge as a choral character who comments on the action of the play). The Merchant of Venice is a comedy, but ...

  4. The Merchant of Venice Themes

    Law, Mercy, and Revenge. Both the central action of The Merchant of Venice — Shylock's attempt to revenge himself on the Christian Antonio —and the romantic subplot—between Bassanio and Portia —explore the relationship between law, mercy, and revenge. Shakespeare's contemporary, the philosopher Francis Bacon, defined revenge as a "kind ...

  5. The Merchant of Venice Study Guide

    Shakespeare's late romance, The Tempest (1510-1) takes the form of a "revenge tragedy averted," beginning with the revenge plot but ending happily. Merchant of Venice might be described as a revenge tragedy barely averted, as Portia swoops into the courtroom scene and saves Antonio from Shylock.

  6. Themes in Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice

    The Merchant of Venice is a play by William Shakespeare that tells the story of a merchant called Antonio and a moneylender called Shylock. Themes are the main ideas that appear repeatedly in a ...

  7. The Merchant of Venice Themes

    The main themes in The Merchant of Venice are mercy versus justice, interpretation, and prejudice and anti-Semitism. Mercy versus justice: The principles of mercy and justice are shown to be at ...

  8. A Summary and Analysis of William Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice

    Plot summary. There are two main plot strands to The Merchant of Venice, both closely intertwined. The first involves Portia, the wealthy heiress of Belmont, who decides that she will marry whichever suitor picks the right casket when faced with a choice of three (made of gold, silver, and lead). The second involves a loan the Jewish ...

  9. Prejudice and Intolerance Theme in The Merchant of Venice

    Human and Animal. Themes and Colors. LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Merchant of Venice, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work. The Venetians in The Merchant of Venice almost uniformly express extreme intolerance of Shylock and the other Jews in Venice. In fact, the exclusion of these "others" seems ...

  10. The Merchant of Venice Critical Essays

    Topic #1. Much of the plot of The Merchant of Venice is generated by contractual obligations. These take the form of legally binding contracts, such as the bond between Antonio and Shylock, as ...

  11. The Merchant of Venice Major Themes and Critical Essays

    Major Themes and Critical Essays. Explore the different themes within William Shakespeare's comedic play, The Merchant of Venice. Themes are central to understanding The Merchant of Venice as a play and identifying Shakespeare's social and political commentary. Reality and Idealism. The Merchant of Venice is structured partly on the ...

  12. The Merchant of Venice: Themes

    Love and Friendship. The Merchant of Venice explores the theme of love and friendship between many of its characters. The chief romantic relationship in the play involves Bassanio and Portia, and other relationships are also explored through Jessica's elopement with Lorenzo, the wedding between Nerissa and Gratiano, and the bond of friendship between Antonio and Bassanio.

  13. The Merchant of Venice

    Paper 1 is worth 64 marks and accounts for 40% of your overall GCSE grade. The Merchant of Venice essay is worth 34 marks in total, because it also includes 4 marks for spelling, punctuation and grammar. Section A of Paper 1 contains The Merchant of Venice question and you are required to answer the one available question on the play.

  14. The Merchant Of Venice: Theme Of Love And Loyalty

    In this essay on The Merchant of Venice and the theme of love, the exploration of the characters' love for each other is evident. For example, Portia's love for Bassanio is shown when she disguises herself as a lawyer and saves Antonio's life. Loyalty is also a recurring theme throughout the play as we see how the characters are loyal to each ...

  15. The Role of Justice and Revenge in The Merchant of Venice

    To explore the themes of justice and revenge in the Merchant Of Venice, this essay delves deeper into these themes, highlighting the complexity of moral righteousness versus harmful intent. The protagonist Antonio is a prime example of this interplay between justice and revenge, showcasing the darker aspects of human nature and shedding light ...

  16. Love and Friendship Theme in The Merchant of Venice

    Themes and Colors. LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Merchant of Venice, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work. In connection with mercy and generosity, The Merchant of Venice also explores love and friendship between its characters. The central romantic relationship of the play is that between Bassanio ...

  17. 45 Ideas for Students on Merchant of Venice Essay Topics

    Meanwhile, in the next list, prepared by our English essay writer, you will find 45 great ideas for topics based on this play. Table of contents hide. 1 "The Merchant of Venice" essay questions to explore. 2 Ultimate "The Merchant of Venice" topics. 3 "The Merchant of Venice" persuasive essay topics. 4 "The Merchant of Venice ...

  18. The Main Themes in "The Merchant of Venice"

    The Merchant of Venice' is a play which focuses on two main plots. First of all there is Shylock's plot, were he is on a quest for a pound of flesh from Antonio. However, Portia comes and saves the day. Also there is another plot surrounding Portia which involves three caskets and her marriage. In Shakespeare's "The Merchant of Venice ...

  19. A Study of The Theme of Mercy in The Merchant of Venice

    Even in the days of Shakespeare, it was known that we must show mercy. The poet makes example of this in his great play The Merchant of Venice. One could go so far as to say that mercy is the main theme of the play. He shows his readers many times that for one to receive mercy, one must show mercy to others. This is demonstrated with Lancelot ...

  20. Free Essay: The Themes of the Merchant of Venice

    The Themes of the Merchant of Venice. The play Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare has two major themes running through its story. Even though it was written in the late 1500s these themes still have significance today. The main characters of this play are Shylock, the Jew, who is a money lender charging interest to make living.