“Merchant of Venice”
Essay Plan
Character.
From a play you have read, choose a character that
inspires a variety of emotions in you.
Briefly describe the situation the character finds himself in
and go on to describe how the writer makes you feel as
you do.
From a play you have read, choose a character that
inspires a variety of emotions in you.
Briefly describe the situation the character finds himself in
and go on to describe how the writer makes you feel as
you do.
Plan
•Introduction
•Brief description of situation Shylock finds
himself in.
•How Shakespeare describes the first meeting
between Shylock and Antonio.
•How Shakespeare shows us the relationship
between Shylock and Jessica.
•Act Three, Scene One.
•The trial scene.
•Conclusion.
Introduction
• Remember:
• Opening sentence giving name of
playwright and text. Should also refer to
the question.
• Show the examiner that you understand
the main theme.
• In your final sentence tell the examiner
what you are going to be writing about.
Model Introduction
• The character of Shylock in Shakespeare’s “The
Merchant of Venice”, inspires a variety of different of
emotions in me. The play is about prejudice and shows
us the dreadful effects that this can have on people of all
creeds. Shylock is a Jewish money lender and is a victim
of the Anti Semitism of the Christian community in
Venice, in particular Antonio, to whom he lends money.
Shylock has his own deeply held prejudice against the
Christians community. At times I feel deep sympathy for
Shylock as he is so clearly mistreated simply because of
his faith. However, at other points in the play,
Shakespeare cause me to question my attitude towards
Shylock as a result of Shylock’s own behaviour and
attitudes.
Main Section of an Essay PEAR
• Topic sentence with a linking word referring to words of the question
and saying what you will be writing about in this paragraph.
• Give an example to back up your point.
• If the example is a quotation, make sure you explain who said it, to
whom, when and why.
• Quotation or paraphrase
• Explain what the quotation shows us about Shylock, other
characters or the theme.
• Explain how the quotation answers the question. How does it make
you feel about Shylock, his own behaviour or the behaviour of others
towards him. Respond to the question.
• You can give 2 or 3 examples in a section.
Model Section.
Firstly, at the beginning of the play , Shakespeare makes me feel
sympathetic towards Shylock. As he is Jewish, Shylock is treated very
badly by Christians such as Antonio and Bassanio. This can be seen in
Act One Scene Three when Antonio asks Shylock if he can borrow money
and Shylock replies:
“Fair sir, you spit on me Wednesday last;
You spurned me such a day; another time
You call’d me dog; and for these courtesies
I’ll lend you this much money.
This shows how Shylock has been treated in the past by Antonio, simply
because Shylock is Jewish. Shylock has been spat at and he has been
called “dog”. I feel sorry for Shylock at this point and can understand why he
dislikes Antonio so much. When Shylock complains about the way Antonio
has treated him, Antonio does not apologise but instead replies:
“I am as like to call thee so again,
To spit on thee again, to spurn thee too.”
Antonio tells Shylock that he will continue to treat Shylock badly, even if
Shylock lends him the money. This shows how prejudiced Antonio is against
Shylock and I feel very sympathetic towards Shylock and I can understand
why he “hates” Antonio. Shakespeare has succeeded in making me feel
sympathy for Shylock at the beginning of the play.
Topic Sentence for Para 2
• “However, although Shylock is a victim of
prejudice and this makes me sympathetic
towards him, he is also capable of
prejudice himself. Shakespeare makes
this clear when…
Conclusion
• Topic sentence, giving an opinion,
referring to playwright, text and question.
• Summary of the main points you have
made.
• What this play has taught you about the
characters and the theme of prejudice.
Model Conclusion
• Shakespeare’s has very successfully characterised
Shylock is such a way that I feel a variety of different
emotions towards him. At times, Shakespeare has made
me feel very sympathetic at the treatment Shylock
receives at the hands of the Christians. However,
Shylock’s own prejudice and the extent he is willing to go
to feed his revenge is also very shocking. In “The
Merchant of Venice” Shakespeare teaches us that
prejudice can only ever be a destructive force. Shylock is
a victim of prejudice in more than one way; he suffers
the aggression of others but he also allows his own
prejudice and the prejudice he suffers to drive him to
seek revenge in a way that ultimately destroys him.