Essay about William Shakespeares The Merchant of Venice

William Shakespeares The Merchant of Venice The merchant of Venice was written by Willliam Shakespeare. It is a play in which Shakespeare creates a range of emotions for his audience to experience, through one of the characters Shylock. The play is about Antonio, who is a Christian and Shylock, who is a Jew. Shylock is overconfident and a careful money lender and Antonio is the owner of the ships, which is where he gets his income. When Antonio is short of money he goes to Shylock to borrow some until his ships come in. As a result of Shylock being a Jew he suffers enormously, by being discriminated against by Antonio, which is why Shylock wants to get revenge. He does this by making a bond†¦show more content†¦Therefore, the majority of the audience would find the comment more acceptable, rather then being offensive or racist, in comparison with someone saying this nowadays. When talking about Antonio he doesn’t talk so Antonio can hear, but acknowledges his presence so only the audience can hear what is actually being said. Later on Antonio starts to talk about Shylock in an offensive manner: â€Å"I am as like to call thee so again, To spit on thee again, to spurn thee too† When doing this he talks to Shylock directly so that he can hear, whereas Shylock at least had the decorousness to not speak directly to Antonio. This forces the reader to encounter varied emotions regarding Shylock’s character, where at this point in the play the audience might sympathize with him, as a result of him being discriminated against. From this occurrence the audience can get an early indication on what both characters are really like. This is also a very effective build up, to what is going to happen later on in the play, by Shylock saying this, and therefore showing his true feelings: â€Å"†¦for an equal pound of your fair flesh.† By Shylock using this type of bond, the reader’s opinion of Shylock as a businessman changes, as a result of letting his feelings for Antonio effect his decisions.Show MoreRelatedWilliam Shakespeares Merchant of Venice2271 Words   |  10 PagesWilliam Shakespeares Merchant of Venice In many ways, shylock is a more difficult character for a modern audience than for an Elizabethan audience. With close reference to Act 1 scene 3, Act 3 scene 1 and Act 4 scene 1 show how an actor might reveal the human being behind the stereotype. The merchant of Venice is a play written in Elizabethan times by William Shakespeare. The play is set in Elizabethan Venice. 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