EUROPEAN STANDARD SCHOOL (ESS)
Class: VI, Subject: English Literature (TFS)
Information Sheet # 1
Teacher: Ms. Sumayra Ambrin Elma
Date: ____________
Name:
Section: __________________ Roll No. _______
Key notes about the play- The Merchant Of Venice
F U L L T IT L E -The Comical History of the Merchant of Venice
T Y P E O F W O RK -Play
G E N R E -Comedy
T IM E A N D P L A C E W R IT T E N · 1 5 9 8; London, England
T O N E -Comic, romantic,
S E T T IN G ( T IM E ) -Sixteenth century
S E T T IN G ( P L A C E ) - Venice and Belmont, Italy
P R O T A G O N IS T -There is no clear protagonist. Antonio is the merchant of the play’s title, but he plays a relatively
passive role. The other major characters of the play are Bassanio and Portia who attempt to free Antonio from Shylock
and succeed at the end.
THEMES- race, wealth, friendship, justice, self-interest versus love; the divine quality of mercy; hatred as a cyclical
phenomenon
MOTIFS- the bond; cross-dressing
SMBOLS -the pound of flesh, the rings.
PLOT ANALYSIS
MAJOR CONFLICT- Antonio defaults on a loan he borrowed from Shylock, and as a penalty promises to sacrifice a
pound of flesh.
RISING ACTION- Antonio’s ships, the only means by which he can pay off his debt to Shylock, are reported lost at
the sea.
CLIMAX-Portia, disguised as a man of law, intervenes on Antonio’s behalf.
FALLING ACTION – Antonio is saved and Shylock is ordered to convert to Christianity and bestow his possessions
to Lorenzo and Jessica(Shylock’s Daughter); Portia and Nerissa (in disguise of the counselor and his clerk) persuade
their husbands to give up their rings.
RESOLUTION- The secret of Portia and Nerissa’s disguise is revealed and appreciated
THE CHARACTERS
Antonio – Arguably the protagonist of the play and the merchant whose love for his friend Bassanio prompts him to
sign Shylock’s contract and almost lose his life. Antonio, as Shylock points out, possess of an incorrigible dislike of
Jews. Nonetheless, Antonio is beloved of his friends and proves merciful to Shylock at the end.
Shylock – The antagonist of the play who is a Jewish moneylender in Venice. Angered by his mistreatment at the
hands of Venice’s Christians, particularly Antonio, Shylock schemes to carry out his revenge by ruthlessly demanding
as payment a pound of Antonio’s flesh. His fluent expressions of hatred, have earned Shylock a place as one of
Shakespeare’s most memorable characters.
Portia - A wealthy heiress from Belmont. Portia’s beauty is matched only by her intelligence. Bound by a clause in
her father’s will that forces her to marry whichever suitor chooses correctly among three caskets, Portia is nonetheless
able to marry her true love, Bassanio. Far and away the most clever of the play’s characters, it is Portia, in the disguise
of a young law clerk, who saves Antonio from Shylock’s knife.
Bassanio - A gentleman of Venice, and a kinsman and dear friend to Antonio. Bassanio’s love for the wealthy Portia
leads him to borrow money from Shylock with Antonio as his guarantor.
Gratiano - The attendant and friend of Bassanio who accompanies him to Belmont. While Bassanio courts Portia,
Gratiano falls in love with and eventually weds Portia’s lady-in-waiting, Nerissa.
Nerissa - Portia’s lady-in-waiting and companion. She marries Gratiano and escorts Portia on Portia’s trip to Venice
by disguising herself as her law clerk.
Bellario - A wealthy Paduan lawyer and Portia’s cousin. Doctor Bellario does not appear in the play, but he gives
Portia’s servant the letters of introduction needed for her to make her appearance in court.
---- The End ---
EUROPEAN STANDARD SCHOOL (ESS)
Class: VI, Subject: English Literature (TFS)
Information Sheet # 2
Teacher: Ms. Sumayra Ambrin Elma
Date: ____________
Name:
Section: __________________ Roll No. _______
Key notes about the play- Macbeth
F U L L T I T L E · The Tragedy of Macbeth
A U T H O R · William Shakespeare
T Y P E O F W O RK · Play
G E N R E · Tragedy
S E T T I N G ( T I M E ) · The Middle Ages, specifically the eleventh century
S E T T I N G ( P L A C E ) · Various locations in Scotland; also England, briefly
P R O T A GO N I S T · Macbeth
ANTAGONIST- Lady Macbeth
MOTIFS- The supernatural hallucinations, violence, prophecies, the witches
SYMBOLS- the dagger, the witches
THEMES-The corrupting nature of unchecked ambition; the relationship between cruelty and masculinity; the
difference between kingship and tyranny.
PLOT OVERVIEW
M A J O R C O NF L I C TS · The struggle within Macbeth between his ambition and his sense of right and wrong;
the struggle between the murderous evil represented by Macbeth and Lady Macbeth and the best interests of the
nation, represented by Malcolm and Macduff
R I S I N G A C T I O N · Macbeth and Banquo’s encounter with the witches initiate both conflicts; Lady Macbeth’s
speeches influence Macbeth into murdering Duncan and seizing the crown
C L I M A X · Macbeth’s murder of Duncan represents the point of no return, after which Macbeth is forced to
continue butchering his subjects to avoid the consequences of his crime
F A L L I N G A C T I O N · Macbeth’s increasingly brutal murders (of Duncan, Banquo, Lady Macduff and her son);
Macbeth’s second meeting with the witches; Macbeth’s final confrontation with Macduff and the opposing armies.
R E S O L U T I O N - Macduff emerges with Macbeth’s , head in his hand and proclaims Malcolm King of Scotland
THE CHARACTERS
Macbeth- The Scottish general and the thane of Glamis who is led to wicked thoughts by the prophecies of the three
witches, Macbeth is a brave soldier and a powerful man, but he is not a virtuous one. He is easily tempted into murder
by his wife to fulfill his ambitions to the throne, and once he commits his first crime and is crowned King of Scotland,
he continues on further violence with increasing ease. Ultimately, Macbeth proves himself better suited to the
battlefield than to political intrigue, because he lacks the skills necessary to rule without being a tyrant. His response
to every problem is violence and murder.
Banquo - The brave, noble general whose children, according to the witches’ prophecy, will inherit the Scottish
throne.
The Three Witches - The weird sisters or the ministers of darkness plot mischief against Macbeth using charms,
spells, and prophecies. Their predictions prompt him to murder Duncan, to order the deaths of Banquo and his son,
and to blindly believe in his own immortality. The play leaves the witches’ true identity unclear.
Lady Macbeth - Macbeth’s wife, a deeply ambitious woman who longs for power and position. Early in the play she
seems to be the stronger and more ruthless of the two, as she urges her husband to kill Duncan and seize the crown.
After the bloodshed begins, however, Lady Macbeth falls victim to guilt and madness to an even greater degree than
her husband. Her conscience affects her to such an extent that she eventually commits suicide.
King Duncan - The good King of Scotland whom Macbeth, in his ambition for the crown, murders.
Macduff - The thane of Fife and a Scottish nobleman hostile to Macbeth’s kingship from the start. He eventually
becomes a leader of the crusade to unseat Macbeth. The crusade’s mission is to place the rightful king, Malcolm, on
the throne, but Macduff also desires vengeance for Macbeth’s murder of Macduff’s wife and young son.
Malcolm - The son of Duncan, whose restoration to the throne signals Scotland’s return to order following Macbeth’s
reign of terror. Malcolm becomes a serious challenge to Macbeth with Macduff’s aid (and the support of England).
Donalbain - Duncan’s son and Malcolm’s younger brother who fled after his father’s murder.
Fleance - Banquo’s son, who survives Macbeth’s attempt to murder him and flees. At the end of the play, Fleance’s
whereabouts are unknown.
--- The End ----