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I'd say the play is not really about the characters but rather the religious discrimination that exists in the society. The characters, especially Shylock, act as the tools to show the degree of the discrimination. What I mean about "especially Shylock" is that through him we are able to measure how the discrimination affects a person.
In addition to the post made by Bambi19, I would also like to add that stereotypes play a major role with the religious discrimination in the novel. If the characters in the novel had no previous idea (or stereotypes) about Jews or Christians, then there would have been maybe minimal religious discrimination against Shylock and the other characters.
Again, your discussion really fleshes out (pun intended) the ideas of the play we covered in class, and takes this in your own, original directions. You've wrestled with some tough issues here, and I applaud all of your efforts. Sometimes raising the right questions is better than having the right answers. GG!
I would just like to point out that The Merchant of Venice is indeed, a comedy. Although it's safe to say that the content is not in the least bit 'funny,' part of being an IB student is putting yourself in relativity with the play. Ever hear of the phrase "Time and place are the basic elements of a play"? Well, The Merchant of Venice can be classified as a comedy because when this play would have been preformed during Shakespeare's time, at the Golden Globe, the audience would have roared with laughter over this. You must remember that back then, Jews were hated by most, and the audience would have loved Shylock's misadventures, and so on, and so forth. The audience would have also loved that the men who dressed up as Nerissa and Jessica had to dress up as guys, again. Although, it could be argued that Shakespeare knew just that, so he put on comedic parts that the typical person of the day would have laughed at, but he also made the thoughtful people of the crowd feel sympathy towards Shylock. This is why Shakespeare is such a great writer, and, when reading works that have been written well before our time, you must remember that they were written in a way that would have made sense then, not now.
I have been wondering at the comedy element in it since I saw a (very good) film-adaptation of it I watched Much Ado bout Nothing before and that was comedy to a certain extent (when Bendick swears he will stay a bachelor and then the part in the garden :lol:), but with the Merchant of Venice I was a little at a loss. But I suppose when you put it really in its historic context with the men dressing up as women and then again as women-dressed-up-as-men that a smile comes to one's face.
Although, I have the impression that 'comedy' in Shakespeare's time is not 'comedy' as we see it.
what is the special about Nerrisa ? I mean in what way she is smart?
any insight.
Well, Shakespeare's audience would never have even seen a Jew much less known one personally. The vast majority of the Jewish population was expelled from England before Shakespeare's plays took the stage.
The plight of Shylock wouldn't have been nearly as personable or affecting to the contemporary audience as it is to a 21st century audience. Visions of death camps and gas chambers make Shylock a much more pitiable character today. We tend to forgive him his blood-thirst and desperate need for revenge. His suffering and the final solution have moved Shylock into the spotlight of Merchant today.
Given the lack of familiarity of Shakespeare's audience with Jews, stereotypes would have filled the void. Shylock would have seemed more like a monster; a well-poisoning Jew along the lines of Marlowe's Barabus. In the best case he would have been considered an unknown quantity, probably filled with malice for any god-fearing Christian. Not surprisingly, during the play the audiences suspicions are confirmed as Shylock's malice toward Christianity is revealed.
Gah, essentially what I was going to say. I noticed that most people on my class forgot that this view on Jews wasn't paticulary odd at the time of writing; most of the origional audience would be pleased with the way the Jew got what was coming to him.Quote:
Originally Posted by Woland