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 itfeed nothing else, itwill 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 itfeed nothing else, itwill 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. Developed analysis

(What it tells us about

character and /or theme)

“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.