Q: Discuss the relationship between Antonio and the emphasis is on Barabas’ wickedness and lack of morality, which

Bassanio. What does their friendship reveal about turn the Jew into a character described by inhumanity.
their charactgers? Shakespeare’s play, despite the fact that it talks about anti-
Q: Examine shylock’s rhetoric. How do his speeches Semitism, is not as severe and strict regarding the depiction of a Jew
reflect his character as a whole? character as a distorted caricature. Shylock’s character comprises
Q: Critically analyse the plot of Merchant of Venice. both the fervent perseverance for his quest for vengeance and the
Q: Evaluate Merchant of Venice as a Tragi-Comedy. unquestionable accusation of Christianity’s cruel treatment towards
Q: Distinguish the Comedy of Jonson from that of the jewish population. In present times, reading Shakespeare’s play
Shakespeare. rises the problem of a factual conflict and our moral values and
Q Is “Merchant of Venice” a pure comedy or tragic- codes clash with the standards of Shakespeare’s time.
comedy?
Q Plot of Merchant of Venice is a little complex.
Discuss.

Q: Shylock is a tragic hero. Discuss in the light of

Aristotle’s definition of a tragic hero.

Q: Historical Context of Shakespeare The Merchant of Venice

Historical context:
The Jews and Judaism have experienced numerous
persecutions, starting from late Antiquity and the early Middle Ages,
when the Roman Empire frequently subdued the Jewish people, first
by evicting them from their homelands during the pagan Roman
era and later by authorizing them as second-class citizens during the
Christian Roman era. Another wave of persecutions followed in
medieval Europe during the Crusades, in the name of Christianity,
and the expulsions of Jewish populations from England, Germany,
France, Spain and Portugal. Procedures such as expulsion and
genocide were used throughout history by entire nations and
empires who sought to oppress and eliminate the Jews. Some of the
most important actions against the Jewish populations were:
the First Crusade, the Spanish Inquisition, the Portuguese Inquisition
and the Pogroms backed by the Russian Tsars, but the most
destructive was in Nazi Germany- the Holocaust led to the slaughter
of around 6 million Jews.
Jews in Venice:
Jewish merchants and moneylenders visited and worked
in the city of Venice beginning with the 10th century but only started
settling there during the 13th century, when they had to pay certain
taxes in order to be allowed to make transactions. Fearing the
Jewish appropriation in the economic domains, the authorities
decided the expulsion of Jews from Venice in the 14th century, with
the only possibility of work limited to two-week intervals. Only
those who were not moneylenders remained in Venice, suffering
various restrictions and being forced to wear markings on their
clothing to identify themselves as Jews, such as: a yellow badge, a
yellow hat and later a red hat. (Levy et al. 779)
Portrayal of Jews in literature
Throughout history, the stereotypes of Jews in literature
have developed but their constancy over the centuries is a
suggestion of the fact that the way in which Jews were treated was
stagnant and little affected by the modifications in the Jewish
society. While trying to represent a character of Jewish origins,
authors mirror the perspective of their contemporaneous society,
which evolves through the modifications of economy and culture.
But the existence of anti-Semitism is an undeniable truth, proved by
the reiteration of the evil stereotype of the Jews in literature. Thus
some of the first depictions of this stereotype were the early mistery
plays. The medieval fantasies which portrayed Jews as evil villains
who attacked Christians represented the inspiration for plays such as
The Jew of Malta by Christopher Marlowe and The Merchant of
Venice by William Shakespeare. But in Shakespeare’s time there
were no Jews in England, having been banished for almost 300
years. Therefore Shakespeare’s public couldn’t have possibly known
from a real experience what Jewish people were like, having to rely
only on stories and biased rumours.
Christopher Marlowe's The Jew of Malta was one of the
plays which influenced Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice. The
main Jewish character is called Barabas and is depicted in a similar
way to Shylock, as a villain, a manipulative and malevolent exploiter
who ends up punished for his crimes after he loses his daughter. But