Illustrations of
“The Merchant of Venice”
Richard Parkes Bonington. Bassanio and Portia, c. 1826.
Although other titles have been suggested for this small picture, the source is clearly Act III, Scene ii, of The Merchant of Venice.
Bassanio has wisely chosen the lead casket on the table behind them and found inside it Portia's picture. He now claims her with a kiss
as he has been directed by the poem that accompanies "fair Portia's counterfeit":
You that choose not by the view
Chance as fair, and choose as true.
Since this fortune falls to you
Be content and seek no new.
If you be well pleased with this
And hold your fortune for your bliss,
Turn you where your lady is,
And claim her with a loving kiss.
In the background of the picture stand Portia's maid Nerissa and Bassanio's friend Gratiano, two lovers who have had no need of caskets
or poems to make their choice of mates.
Sir Samuel Luke Fildes. Jessica, exhibited in 1888.
By permission of the Folger Shakespeare Library
"There will come a Christian boy, will be worth a Jewess' eye"
(The Merchant of Venice, Act II, Scene v).
Fildes's Jessica was shown in 1888 in an exhibition of twentyone paintings sponsored by the newspaper Graphic. The series
of pictures was entitled Shakespeare's Heroines.
Sir John Gilbert. Shylock After the Trial.
Steel engraving, approximately 6.5 x 10.5 inches, by G. Greatbach. The engraving is from Charles Knight's two-volume Imperial Edition of The Works
of Shakespere(London: Virtue and Company, 1873-76).
The title of Gilbert's painting is a misidentification and is thus misnamed. After the trial (Act IV, Scene i), Shylock leaves the stage and we hear no
more of him. The action Gilbert illustrates occurs in Act II, Scene vii after Shylock learns that his daughter Jessica has eloped with Lorenzo--and a
sizeable portion of his money. Salerino and Salanio, friends of Antonio's, describe Shylock running madly through the streets lamenting his lost
daughter and money.
Salanio: The villain Jew with outcries raised the duke,
Who went with him to search Bassanio's ship.
Salarino: He came too late, the ship was under sail:
But there the duke was given to understand
That in a gondola were seen together
Lorenzo and his amorous Jessica:
Besides, Antonio certified the duke
They were not with Bassanio in his ship.
Salanio: I never heard a passion so confused,
So strange, outrageous, and so variable,
As the dog Jew did utter in the streets:
'My daughter! O my ducats! O my daughter!
Justice! the law! my ducats, and my daughter!
A sealed bag, two sealed bags of ducats,
Of double ducats, stolen from me by my daughter!
And jewels, two stones, two rich and precious stones,
Stolen by my daughter! Justice! find the girl;
She hath the stones upon her, and the ducats.'
Frederic Leighton. Two Venetian Gentlemen, c. 1862-3.
Oil on canvas, 38.5 x 28.5 inches. Private collection.
Thomas Sully. Portia and Shylock, 1835.
By permission of the Folger Shakespeare Library
Oil on canvas, 29 x 38 inches. The Folger Shakespeare Library, Washington, D. C.
An inscription on the back of the canvas says it illustrates The Merchant of Venice, Act IV, Scene i, lines 230-232. The
relevant passage is "Be merciful. / Take thrice thy money; bid me tear the bond." In Sully's painting Portia is poised to tear
the bond in two, but Shylock, holding the scale with which he intends to weigh the pound of flesh cut from Antonio, looks
harshly upon her and points to the bond. The painting seems unconcerned with fidelity to the text; Portia is not disguised
effectively as a judge and Sully is more intent on depicting the merciful, feminine Portia than a "Daniel come to judgment."
Henry Woods. Portia, exhibited in 1888.
By permission of the Folger Shakespeare Library
"Tarry, Jew: The law hath yet another hold on you" (The Merchant of
Venice, Act IV, Scene i). Portia was shown in 1888 in an exhibition of
twenty-one paintings sponsored by the newspaper Graphic. The series of
pictures was entitled Shakespeare's Heroines.
Welcome to
Renaissance
England
It’s
Time!
It’s time to don
your doublet!
Tighten your trussing!
Get on your galligaskins!
Females, fit on your farthingales!
Smooth your stomachers!
Remember your ruffs!
Slip on your shoes!
And grab your gloves!
Gentlemen?
Ladies?
Is everybody ready?
We’re going to the theatre!
Shakespeare
1563-1616
 Born: Stratford upon Avon, England
 Wrote 37 plays and 154 sonnets
 He started out as an actor

Stratford upon Avon
•Shakespeare’s birthplace
and burial place
•Shakespeare’s residence
outside of London
•Anne Hathaway’s cottage
still stands here along with
other monuments
•Home of the Royal
Shakespeare Company
London
•Shakespeare’s workplace as
an actor and playwright
•Home of the Globe Theatre
(1599) which was built by
(and for the performances
of) ‘The Lord Chamberlain’s
Men’ until it burnt in 1613.
The Globe!
Shakespeare’s theatre
is located just outside
of London, England.
The Globe Theater 1599
The Theatre
Plays produced for the general public
 Roofless- open air
 No artificial lighting
 Courtyard surrounded by 3 levels of
galleries

The New Globe Theater 1999
Spectators
Wealthy got benches
 “Groundlings”- poorer people
stood and watched from the
courtyard (“pit”)
 All but wealthy were
uneducated/illiterate
 Much more interaction than today

Staging Areas





Stage>platform that extended into the
pit
Dressing & storage rooms in galleries
behind & above stage
Second-level gallery> upper stage>
famous balcony scene in R & J
Trap door>ghosts
“Heavens”> angelic beings
Differences
 No
scenery
 Settings > references in
dialogue
 Elaborate costumes
 Plenty of props
 Fast-paced, colorful- 2 hours!
Actors
 Only
men and boys
 Young boys whose voices had
not changed play women’s roles
 Would have been considered
indecent for a woman to appear
on stage
A white
flag have paid their
The
groundlings
penny
and
are
standing
to
watch
The
stage
is
a
lower
class
is
flying.
It’s
afternoon,
time
for
ThePoetry
youngismen
are dressing
a higher
class
the
play.
profession,
and
no
women
will
There’s
a
up to
taketo
thestart.
female roles.
the
play
of
art
than
play
writing
is.
appear
there.
play today!
The wealthy are in the upper decks.
We’re in for a real treat!
It’s good the plague is over and
the theaters are open again.
is about to begin!
It’sThe
oneplay
of Shakespeare’s
tragedies!
William Shakespeare
What do we
know
When he retired he
His
vocabulary
went back to a
about Shakespeare?
HeHe
purchased
married
Stratford-on-Avon
He
has ahuge:
monument
was
coat
of
arms
to
His
acting
company
He
died
in
1616.
He
wrote
37
His
father
was
Anne
and
bought
the
best
in
Westminster
They
had
three
His
hometown
He
was
born
17,000
to
She
was
26!
make
his
house
in
town.
Abbey
though
he’s
a
middle
class
was
called
“The
Lord
very
successful
Hathaway
children,
including
34,000
words!
is
Stratford-onburied
in
Stratfordin
1564.
Even
Queen
Elizabeth
family
upper
butcher,
mayor,
Chamberlain’s
Men.”
plays.
when
he
was
He moved to
London
and
on-Avon.
a
set
of
twins.
&
glovemaker.
Later
it
became
Avon.
class.
enjoyed
hisyears
plays!
18
old.
became
an actor,
playwright,
“The
Men.”
and King’s
theater owner.
What do we know
about Shakespeare?
He has had
an amazing
influence on
our English
language.
Shakespeare wrote:
 Comedies
 Histories
 Tragedies
Have you heard these phrases?
I couldn’t sleep a wink.
 He was dead as a doornail.
 She’s a tower of strength.
 They hoodwinked us.
 I’m green-eyed with jealousy.
 We’d better lie low for awhile.
 Keep a civil tongue in your head.

They are just some of the
many expressions coined
by that master of
language, William
Shakespeare.
Now, let the show begin!
Shakespeare’s Language
Using the handout provided, write the
following definitions on your sheet.
Elizabethan (QE1) Words
 An,and:
 Anon:
 Aye:
 But:
 E’en:
 E’er:
If
Soon
Yes
Except for
Even
Ever
Haply:
Perhaps
Happy: Fortunate
Hence: Away, from her
Hie:
Hurry
Marry: Indeed
Whence:
Wilt:
Withal:
Would:
Where
Will, will you
In addition to
Wish
Blank Verse
 unrhymed
verse
 iambic (unstressed, stressed)
 pentameter( 5 “feet” to a line)
ends
up to be 10 syllable lines
Prose
 Ordinary
writing that is not
poetry, drama, or song
 Only
characters in the lower
social classes speak this way in
Shakespeare’s plays
 Why do you suppose that is?
Plot
The
sequence of events
in a literary work
Exposition

The plot usually begins with this:
 introduces>>>>
setting
characters
basic situation
Inciting Moment
 Often
 the
called “initial incident”
first bit of action that occurs
which begins the plot
 What is the inciting moment in ‘The
Merchant of Venice’?
Conflict
 The
struggle that develops
 man
vs. man
 man vs. himself
 man vs. society
 man vs. nature
Crisis
 The
point where the
protagonist’s situation will
either get better or worse
 protagonist>good
guy
 antagonist>bad guy
Climax
 The
turning point of the
story>everything begins to
unravel from here
 Thus
begins the falling action
Resolution
The
end of the central
conflict
Denouement
 The
final explanation or
outcome of the plot
 If
this is included in literature,
it will occur after the
resolution.
Theme
 Central
idea or …
 Insight about life which
explain the downfall
Dramatic Foil
A
character whose purpose is
to show off another character
 Can
you think of any in ‘The
Merchant of Venice’?
Round characters
Characters
who have
many personality traits,
like real people.
Flat Characters
 One-dimensional,
only a single trait
 Shakespeare
embodying
often uses them to
provide comic relief even in a
tragedy
Static Characters

Characters within a story who remain
the same. They do not change. They
do not change their minds, opinions
or character.
Dynamic Character
 Characters
that change somehow
during the course of the plot.
They generally change for the
better.
Monologue
 One
person speaking on stagemay be other character on stage
too
 Find
an example from the text.
Soliloquy
 Long
speech expressing the
thoughts of a character alone on
stage.
 Find
an example from the text.
Aside
 Words
spoken, usually in an
undertone not intended to be
heard by all characters
Pun
 Shakespeare
loved to use them!!!
 Humorous use of a word with two
meanings > sometimes missed by
the reader because of Elizabethan
language and sexual innuendo
Dramatic Irony
A
contradiction between what a
character thinks and what the
reader/audience knows to be
true
Verbal Irony
Words
used to suggest the
opposite of what is meant
Situational Irony
 An
event occurs that directly
contradicts the expectations
of the characters, the reader,
or the audience
Comic Relief

Use of comedy within literature that is
NOT comedy to provide “relief” from
seriousness or sadness.

Find an example from the text.