Merchant of Venice
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Basics.
• You don’t need to indent when typing press return twice.
• This quote = very not good.
• This quotation= ok but not great.
• “You” = disaster of epic proportions. Use
“I”, “We..”, “The reader..”
• Firstly, secondly structure = not good.
• “Annoyed”, “nasty”, “upset”…improve your
vocab. Bit childish.
More basics…
• Act/behave – characters do NOT act in a
certain way, They behave in a particular
way.
• empathy/sympathy.
• In the beginning = bible
• At the beginning = your essay.
Shylock essay
• You don’t need full text summary. Takes up
valuable time. Explain anything that is relevant
to the question.
• You have to talk about Act Three, Scene One
more.
• You have to talk about Act Four, Scene One
more. What happens to Shylock at the end.
What are your feelings?
Analysis
• However, although at this point we feel sympathy for Shylock
because Jessica has run away, we also move on to develop new
emotions towards Shylock, and begin to dislike him. We see this in
Act Three, Scene One when Shylock is telling Salario and Solanio
what he would do with Antonio’s flesh if he was able to claim his
bond:
“To bait fish withal; if it
feed nothing else, it
will feed my revenge.”
This tells us that Shylock doesn’t care for Antonio, that he was
hoping that Antonio couldn’t pay the money back. In this way,
Shylock will be able to get his revenge. This makes me dislike
Shylock because he himself is prejudiced; Shakespeare has shown
us a different side of Shylock.
More Developed Analysis
•
However, although at this point we feel sympathy for Shylock because Jessica has run away, we
also move on to develop new emotions towards Shylock, and begin to dislike him. We see this in
Act Three, Scene One when Shylock is telling Salario and Solanio what he would do with
Antonio’s flesh if he was able to claim his bond:
“To bait fish withal; if it
feed nothing else, it
will feed my revenge.”
[This tells us that Shylock doesn’t care for Antonio, that he was hoping that Antonio couldn’t pay
the money back. In this way, Shylock will be able to get his revenge. This makes me dislike
Shylock because he himself is prejudiced; Shakespeare has shown us a different side of Shylock.]
Shylock’s response here is a brutal one and shows the extent of the hatred he feels towards
Antonio. Shylock acknowledges that a pound of human flesh has no material value and he shows
his disregard for Antonio’s life by saying he will use Antonio’s flesh to “bait fish”. In saying he will
use Antonio’s flesh for such a menial purpose, Shylock is demonstrating that he does not care
what it might mean for Antonio to lose his life. The pound of flesh in itself is worthless but the
death of Antonio will satisfy Shylock’s implacable desire for revenge. The intensity of Shylock’s
hatred and desire for revenge is shocking in this scene. While I understand that Shylock is a
victim of prejudice, his utter disregard for another man’s life and the extremes to which he will go
for revenge, make me much less sympathetic towards him.
Quotation
Act/Scene
Number
Context.
“How like a fawning publican he looks.
I hate him for he is a Christian”
Act One,
Scene Three
B. Has asked
loan in A’s
Credit. A has
just arrived on
Rialto.
Sh says this
as an aside.
Developed analysis
(What it tells us about
character and /or theme)