The Role Of Prejudice In The Merchant Of Venice

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Term Paper Title	The Role Of Prejudice In The Merchant Of Venice
# of Words	2223
# of Pages (250 words per page double spaced)	8.89

The Role of Prejudice In The Merchant of Venice

The Role of Prejudice In The Merchant of Venice

  This paper discusses the subject of prejudice in the William Shakespeare
  play, The Merchant of Venice.

  I.  Introduction

        William Shakespeare's satirical comedy, The Merchant of Venice, believed
to have been written in 1596 was an examination of hatred and greed.The premise
deals with the antagonistic relationship between Shylock, a Jewish money-lender
and Antonio, the Christian merchant, who is as generous as Shylock is greedy,
particularly with his friend, Bassanio.The two have cemented a history of
personal insults, and Shylock's loathing of Antonio intensifies when Antonio
refuses to collect interest on loans.Bassanio wishes to borrow 3,000 ducats from
Antonio so that he may journey to Belmont and ask the beautiful and wealthy
Portia to marry him.Antonio borrows the money from Shylock, and knowing he will
soon have several ships in port, agrees to part with a pound of flesh if the
loan is not repaid within three months. Shylock's abhorrence of Antonio is
further fueled by his daughter Jessica's elopement with Lorenzo, another friend
of Antonio's.
        Meanwhile, at Belmont, Portia is being courted by Bassanio, and wedding
plans continue when, in accordance with her father's will, Bassanio is asked to
choose from three caskets -- one gold, one silver and one lead.Bassanio
correctly selects the lead casket that contains Portia's picture.The couple's
joy is short-lived, however, when Bassanio receives a letter from Antonio,
informing him of the loss of his ships and of Shylock's determination to carry
out the terms of the loan.Bassanio and Portia marry, as do his friend, Gratiano
and Portia's maid, Nerissa.
        The men return to Venice, but are unable to assist Antonio in court.In
desperation, Portia disguises herself as a lawyer and arrives in Venice with her
clerk (Nerissa) to argue the case.She reminds Shylock that he can only collect
the flesh that the agreement calls for, and that if any blood is shed, his
property will be confiscated.At this point, Shylock agrees to accept the money
instead of the flesh, but the court punishes him for his greed by forcing him to
become a Christian and turn over half of his property to his estranged daughter,
Jessica.

II.Body
        Prejudice is a dominant theme in The Merchant of Venice, most notably
taking the form of anti-semitism.Shylock is stereotypically described as
"costumed in a recogniza...

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