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THE Merchant OF Venice - riassunto del Mercante di Venezia by William Shakespeare
letteratura inglese
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THE MERCHANT OF VENICE:
It has a main plot where we can find the dispute on money matters between the Venetian Antonio and the
Jewish money-lender Shylock and a subplot with the choice of a husband by the rich lady Portia, who lives
in Belmont. It’s classified as a comedy but is Shakespeare’s most controversial play.
One of the settings is Venice which in the 16th century was an autonomous trading town. The English saw it as a symbol of wealth, but it was also associated with greed. Jews were forced to wear a red hat to identify themselves and lived in the ghetto. The two views of Venice are expressed through: Shylock, the Jew who symbolises the greedy side; and Antonio, the rich but generous Christian merchant, who stands for the wealth of Venice. The town had strict laws and was a world largely dominated by men. The other setting is Belmont, an idyllic place where a rich, happy and sophisticated society lives. A fairy-tale world of music and love. Women seem to have more power than men. The Jewish in 1290 with the Edict of Expulsion had been banned from England; they were excluded from many fields of work so moneylending was the most common occupation among the Jews; Shakespeare drew on anti-Semitism and common stereotypes. Shylock: was a moneylender who had a daughter who deserted him; he had a beloved wife who is dead; he belonged to a ‘sacred nation’ and a ‘tribe’; he lived in a society that despises him; at the end of the trial he is deprived of his identity as a Jew; he didn’t show any mercy to Antonio.
Themes: o Jews vs Christians. o Hatred and prejudice. o Mercy, justice and revenge. o Appearance and reality. o Value and worth.
The story starts with some men talking about bargains in the streets of Venice. When they were alone Bassanio asks his friend Antonio to lend him some money because he wanted to conquer the beautiful lady Portia. Antonio has just invested all his money on his ships, but he wants to help his friend so they decide to asks for money to Shylock, a Jewish moneylender. In the meantime, at Belmont, Portia is receiving her suitors but she doesn’t like none of them. The suitors have to choose the right casket, among the three in front of them, under whom there is Portia’s portrait, as her father had decided before dying. Antonio and Bassanio went to Shylock to asks for a loan and at first the Jewish doesn’t want to lend it to them because Antonio has always mistreated him spitting in his face, until he accepts their request giving them an ultimatum. If he doesn’t have his money back in three months he will take a piece of antonio’s flesh. Once he has Shylock’s money, Bassanio goes to Belmont and chooses the right casket, the lead one, so he can marry Portia. His friend Graziano falls in love with Portia’s maid Nerissa so they marry too. In Venice Shylock’s servant Launcelot goes away from his house and becomes Bassanio’s servant. His daughter Jessica escapes with her love Lorenzo carrying with her most of Shylock’s jewellery. After three moths Antonio’s ships haven’t come back so he loses all his money and he isn’t able to pay back Shylock, they go to court for a trial because Shylock wants his revenge. When Bassanio finds out what’s going on he leaves Belmont to go to Venice. His wife Portia and Nerissa go there too without telling anything to anyone. They mask themselves to look like judges and help Antonio with the trial.
THE Merchant OF Venice - riassunto del Mercante di Venezia by William Shakespeare
Materia: letteratura inglese
