During this thrilling scene Antonios life is under threat Essay Example For Students

During this thrilling scene Antonios life is under threat Essay During this thrilling scene Antonios life is under threat. Shylock has made a bond with Antonio à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" he has lent him 3,000 ducats and will take a pound if flesh if he fails to pay him back. Antonio did this for friends love, Bassanio wanted to woo the rich Portia of Belmont. Antonio initially thought the bond was in jest however, Shylock vowed revenge and stock to his bond. To identify with a character means to empathise with their situation. On the other hand, if an audience is alienated by a character, this means that their behaviour is controversial or abnormal. This next paragraph is all about anti-Semitism. Anti-Semitism means being racially prejudiced towards Jews, the majority of anti-Semitists are Christians. Christians are like this because they believe that Jews are responsibility for the death of Christ, the story goes that some Jews and Romans were discussing what to do with Jesus and a Jew said to hang him. And from then on Christians have been treating Jews like there second. Antonio has an extra reason to hate Jews, that is that Jews lend money with interest and Antonio does not think that this is right and they dont treat there customers honestly. Jew were treated as lower class citizens in Venice because they are forces to where bright red hats when they go out in pubic, also Christians could spit, kick do anything they wanted to the Jews but they cant do anything back, also Jews cant join the army or work in any part of the court; O, be thou damnd, inexorable dog! here Gratiano is calling Shylock a dog. A modern audience would find racism like this unbelievable and totally unacceptable, this is because there has been many protests regarding racial discrimination, their have been many famous protests but probably the most famous is the speech of Martin Luther King, this famous speech was delivered in 1963 to more than 200,000 civil-rights marchers at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D. C. the speech was called I have a dream, this is how it goes; I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the colour of their skin but by their content of their character. Nowadays if you were anywhere near as raciest as people are in the Merchant of Venice you could be put in prison or just get beat up and stabbed. In the Merchant of Venice Jews are spoke to as if they are lower than Christians, and they are oven called names, for example when Gratiano says to Shylock; O, be thou damnd, inexorable dog! Gratiano is calling Shylock a dog , this shows that Gratiano thinks that all Jews are below him and he truly hates all Jews. Portia also speaks poorly to Jews. E. g. when she is dressed up as a male lawyer she says; Art thou contented, Jew? The fact that she does not call him his real name Shylock but she calls him Jew, she is kind of putting him into a different group to her, a lower group than her. The Duke also is very rude to all Jews, like when he says; we all expect a gentle answer Jew. He is also calling shylock a Jew instead of his real name. Most Christians call Jews not by their real name but they call them Jew. Most of the Christians in Venice would like it if all of the Jews converted into Christians. They want to convert them because they think that if they dont they will be dammed for live in hell when they die. A modern day audience would not tolerate someone trying to change there religion, even though religion is not such a big thing now. People still belong to religion but they are not so rigid on all the rules. When this play was set nearly everyone was religions and tried their bet to obey all the rules. At the time that this play is set the low-courts were very different to nowadays. In act four, shylock is arguing with the Duke to recognise his bond, but in the Dukes mind he knows that he must give justice to Shylocks bond. He knows this because if he doesnt allow this bond to be fulfilled than he will be breaking his bond, and if he breaks one bond than everyone will want him to break their bond. Shylock knows this and he says; if you deny, let the danger light/ upon your charter and the citys freedom. This shows that he know that if he denies his bond than the hole community will fall to pieces. Scene four is very dramatic, there are lots of things that make it more dramatic. The main thing is that all the judges are wearing really nice cloths, and the fact that Shylock is in front of them and is surrounded by Christians all shouting at him. Is childhood the happiest time in a mans life EssayI dont think that a modern day audience would take Portias disguise seriously. I think this because it is very easy to that the lawyer is Portia, and no one notices who she is not even her husband. I think this is done on purpose to make the scene slightly funny. Portia tries to make shylock to relent by making a speech on page 70 act 4 scene 1; it starts on about line 181 and ends on about line 203. The main meaning of the speech is to say how can Shylock expect mercy to Jews if he doesnt show mercy to Christians. At the start of the speech Portia says The quality of mercy is not straind. This means that revenge just leads to more revenge. This speech has a big effect on the court, it makes them think that she is sorry for what ever might have happened to Shylock and that he should just put it behind him. Portia is very aggravated with Bassanios expressed love for Antonio, for example when she says: Your wife would give little tha nks for that, while she is dressed as a male lawyer. She would like to make a more dramatic response but she holds back, because she knows that if she says something more she will reveal her true identity. When Portia tests her husband, I think she had a good reason to do so. The main reason is the fact that her husband lied about being rich. He pretended to be rich so that he could enter the competition to try and win so that Portia will have to marry him. At the end of the play Bassanio is even more indebted to his wife because he gave his wedding ring away. I would suggest that a modern audience would be sympathetic with Jessica when she runs away with Lorenzo because she has been told exactly what to do by her farther: Do as I bid you; shut that doors after you. Also the fact that she loved her father but she hated the fact that he is so vengeful and the fact that he thinks that it is a war going on between Christians and Jews, and she is very peaceful. However some people might not be so sympathetic with her because she stole a large amount of Shylocks fortune including her mothers ring; parents who are overprotective of their own children would relate to Shylock. Portia is less traditional than Jessica for a number of reasons. I first is the fact that she is much more independent then a average woman in Shakespeare day. For example she is in control of her own fortune. Also when she asks Bassanio for the ring she says: Ill die fort, but some woman had the ring. She is accusing him of having an affair, even though she tricked him to give her the ring. I suggest that Jessica gets more of the audiences sympathy because of this. Friendship is very important in the play. There are a lot of reasons why Antonio lends Bassanio money. The first impression that an audience gets is that they are just very good friends. But by act 4 scene 1 Antonio is putting his life on the line and Antonio might think of him as more that just a friend. I think that Antonio is slightly in love with Bassanio. He says: Let his deservings and my love withal / Be valud gainst my wifes commandement. He is persuading Antonio to part with his ring. This shows that Antonio wants to valued as highly as Portia by Bassanio. I think that Antonios behaviour is threatening their marriage whether he means to or not. Portia is right to expect additional loyalty from Bassanio than Antonio. I assume this because Portia and Bassanio are wedded and that is a much stronger connection than friends, despite the fact that Bassanio and Antonio have been good friends for a very long time. I dont think that this play is anti-Semitic; I think this because at the end of the trial scene Bassanio lets Shylock keep half of his money even though Shylock was just about to kill him. The play does have anti-Semitic moments and people in it, the main issue in the play is anti-Semitic people. I think that the play does teach tolerance, almost all people can relate to a situation like these e. g. black and white, rich and poor, old and young or different religions.