Some very QUICK points about

-----<<<<[[[ SHYLOCK ]]] >>>>-----

Dennis’ group (-Submitted by Dennis Tat for his group in Rhetoric R1A)



-Shylock is the anti-Christian model, the antagonist, mostly based off his Jewish background.

-He is both lonely and anti-social towards other characters. He is more lonely because most of the other characters in the novel are Christian and despise that he is a Jew. They despise this more than anything else

- He places money above other things. Most of his thoughts are based around and focused on monetary gains.

-He tries to get revenge on Antonio because Antonio steals clients from him- and because Antonio has insulted him many times in the past, degrading his character.

-because of his anti-social, pessimistic attitude towards other characters, he does not hold any true relationships including of that with his daughter . He is a very detached person in terms of his emotions, his thoughts, and his actions.

-In act 3 he holds a self-speech that makes you lose symphony towards his character even though he explains that the Jews are the same as everyone else. He says the only thing he wants is money; however with Antonio, he does not want money, but in terms of another value, he wants retribution in terms of “flesh”; in other words, he wants Antonio to suffer greatly, even die.

[[ To bait fish withal; if it will feed nothing else, it will feed my revenge. He hath disgrac'd me, and hinder'd me of half a million, laughed at my losses, mock'd at my gains, scorn'd my nation, thwarted my bargains, cool'd my friends, heated mine enemies; and what's his reason? I am a Jew. Hath not a Jew eyes; hath not a Jew hands, organs, dimensions, senses, affections, passions; fed with the same food, hurt with the same weapons, subject to the same diseases, healed by the same means, warmed and cooled by the same winter and summer that a Christian is? If you prick us, do we not bleed? If you tickle us, do we not laugh? If you poison us, do we not die? And if you wrong us, shall we not revenge? If we are like you in the rest, we will resemble you in that. If a Jew wrong a Christian, what is his humility? revenge. If a Christian wrong a Jew, what should his sufferance be by Christian example? why revenge. The villainy you teach me I will execute, and it shall go hard but I will better the instruction." ]]

-** Starting in Act 3, other characters don’t even refer to Shylock by his name anymore- they refer to him by “Jew”. At this point he’s lost his identity and is regarded as nothing more than a “greedy Jew”.

- Later in the novel Shylock is marked as insane because he does grant any mercy to Antonio, when every character is on Antonio’s side, (or somehow happens to think that the ships sinking is punishment enough for the merchant), and finally he is very close to cutting up Antonio if not for the intervention of Portia in disguise (in the courtroom).

-With finding out that his daughter misused his money and left him, even calling their home “hell”, Shylock replies to Tubal, that [a dagger was stuck in him] referring to the pain he felt by the betrayal with which Jessica left him.

-Some play Shylock as the victim; some call him the villain. There is arguments for both sides of this name calling.

For those who call Shylock the victim, these arguments can be used:

When Shylock was persecuted, and finally at the end when he could not exact his revenge on Antonio, in order to keep half of the money (the other half of the money would be gone no matter what), he had to relinquish his property to Lorenzo. First, Lorenzo ‘stole’ Shylock’s daughter, possibly changing her mind against Shylock. Second, he would have to convert to Christianity- the very religion which he despised. So the penalties were harsh against him; despite him wanting Antonio’s flesh which he ‘rightfully’ deserved if we were to consider Antonio a villain in terms of how he insulted Shylock throughout the novel, and how he stole many of Shylock’s clients. But throughout the entire novel, Shylock rightfully wanted justice and to be equal, and he seeked this justice. His actions placed him as a ‘disgruntled’ individual and he wanted to give those who oppressed him the same thing, he wanted them to feel what he has felt.

For those who call Shylock the villain, there is one central/valid argument normally focused towards mercy and how he did not give any mercy to Antonio towards the end of the novel, even when offered up to six times the amount of the debt that Antonio owed him (even though Antonio lost most of his ships out in sea, and thus lost a huge percentage of his money in the process). Because he did not give any mercy, we can say that without any intervention from Portia, he would have most likely killed Antonio by extracting a “pound of flesh” (which would have caused Antonio to bleed to death). So in this way, because Shylock planned to exact his revenge, he was the villain, even with the epic speech he gave about how he was a human, and not different from anyone else. Christians and Jews should not have any hatred towards one another, he thinks. At first this tends to humanize him and make it feel as if though he is a very thoughtful, sincere person, but then many readers are said to “lose this thought” of him as he says the only thing he wants is retribution for everything Antonio has done to him.

Act IV

Act IV is the intense climax of the play—the court scene in which Antonio’s fate is decided. Throughout the court scene, Shylock is making an argument for justice in holding Antonio to the bond, saying that it is only lawful and fair that he take a pound of Antonio’s flesh. Antonio seems resigned to his fate. The Duke, Bassanio, and Gratiano passionately argue against Shylock, begging him to be merciful and “human.” Shylock makes the point that the Christians are hypocritical for demanding mercy when they have slaves, and do not treat them as a “human” would. Portia and Nerissa arrive dressed as men—Portia as Balthazar, sent by Bellario, and Nerissa as “his” clerk—to decide the case. Portia declares that justice must be upheld and holds Antonio and Shylock to the bond, and Shylock is thrilled. However, Portia points out that he must take a pound of Antonio’s flesh without spilling “a drop of Christian blood,” as this is against Venetian law and Shylock would be required surrender his land and money to the state. Additionally, Portia declares that because Shylock wanted to kill Antonio he has threatened the life of a Venetian. Shylock, as an alien, is lawfully required to give half his land and money to Antonio and the other half to the state. The Duke has the power to decide whether or not Shylock lives, and, as a merciful Christian man, chooses not to take his life. Antonio says that if Shylock converts to Christianity he will surrender his half of Shylock’s money and will ensure that it passes down to Jessica upon Shylock’s death. Shylock leaves the court overwhelmed and unhappy. Antonio and Bassanio then declare that they are indebted to Balthazar/Portia, and will give “him” anything “he” desires. After some discussion and persuasion, Portia and Nerissa both acquire the rings given to them by their lovers.

Major themes in this act concern that of mercy versus penalty, and how these two ideas correspond to notions of justice. Shylock, the Jew, seems to think that justice concerns sticking to the law and coming down hard on penalties he previously promised, while the Christians all take “justice” as more connected to ideas of mercy. The question of what is “human” and what is also prevalent in this act, as the Christians all consider themselves “human” in their merciful thinking (as opposed to Shylock). It is interesting, however, that Shylock pursues the idea of mercy throughout the arguments and discussions in the court up until the point that Portia/Balthazar declares that he will lose his money and land upon taking Antonio’s flesh—there is a certain point at which he backs down from his purpose. This makes us wonder what Shylock truly wants out of the situation—why is money suddenly more important to him than the repayment in flesh he is due from Antonio?

-Ellie Broadman, James Huang, Caché Jones

Act 2

Group Members: Carla Bernal, Matthew Iannone and Kira Labuda

SUMMARIES:

Scene 1: The Prince of Morocco persuades Portia that he is worthy of her.

Scene 2: In the beginning, Launcelot recites his monologue about whether he should run away or stay with his master, Shylock. He then tricks his father, Gobbo. Also, in this scene, Bassanio, Gratiano and the rest of Antonio's friends plot to steal Jessica.

Scene 3: Jessica is ashamed to be Shylock's daughter, and promises Lorenzo she will convert into a Christian, if he keeps his promise as well.

Scene 4: Launcelot sends Jessica a message, and the rest of Jessica's plot to run away is made.

Scene 5: Shylock leaves for dinner and leaves Jessica to care for the house.

Scene 6: Jessica flees, disguised as a man, and steals treasures from her father.

Scene 7: Prince of Morocco chooses the first casket (gold) and chooses only by its cover. The prince is generally arrogant.

Scene 8: Saleria and Solanio gossip about Shylock's anger over Jessica fleeing with a Christian, Lorenzo. Also, the closeness (friendship) between Antonio and Bassanio is revealed.

Scene 9: The Prince of Argon chooses the silver casket and receives what "he deserves."

Main Points/Themes:

• Theme of superficiality, especially with the choosing of caskets.
• Jessica's cross dressing foreshadows Portia's cross dressing.
• Theme of race: Prince of Morocco
• Father-child relations: Gobbo and Launcelot and Jessica and Shylock

Act 5

For this group, we were asked to:

1) Determine if the ending is a let down?

However, this is not asking for a personal opinion. It is asking to determine if the conclusion of the play is both plausible and reasonable with the rest of the story. Thus, it is important to look at specific examples from the text.

General thoughts:

· When Portia tells Antonio of his ships, it seems like Portia was looking for a reason not to pay Antonio

· Antonio never learns his lesson or has an epiphany because at the end of the play, his flesh is saved, and he gets back all his money

· Concerning the ring: The ring never really seemed to have a significance. Thus, when it was at the end of the play, it did not make sense to include it to the extent that it did.

· Portia and Narrisa are confusing because they get mad at the men for letting their rings go, but then confess to being the men. Then when they confess to being men, Antonio and Bassanio get mad at being tricked only to get happy shortly after.

· Play seems to end to simple. The trail was well detailed, but the conclusion of the play seemed to elementary

Is the ending a let down:

Yes. With the conclusion of the trail, there should have been a continuum of events that resulted from the decision. But, the ideas and problems presented at the end seemed new and unimportant ( the ring, deception, Lorenzo/Jessica). The ending was a let down because it had no influential ending with an all encompassing resolution. Since the chain of events were unrealistic, all members of the group thought the ending was not plausible.

Tracking Antonio throughout the play

Tracking Antonio throughout the play
(1.1)
-Antonio opens up the play as he ponders why he is so sad. His friends suggest that his wealth which is at seas is what is making him sad.
-He is confident about his character and his wealth. Therefore, he concludes that he is sad, but it is definitely not related to his investments.

(1.3)
-In this particular scene Antonio makes the bond.
-The contract he signed states that if he cannot repay his loan on time he will repay with a pound of his flesh. Despite the bond being so extreme he goes ahead and proceeds.
-We were able to find an underlying homosexual theme.
-Antonio has homosexual tendencies towards his great friend Bassanio. He signs the contract to try to impress him and declares that his wealth will be three times the loan in two months instead of three.

(2.6)
-In this scene Antonio is thinking about Bassanio being abroad (he has set off to win Portia).
-It is ironic that if he is in love with Bassanio, Antonio just handed him money to go get married.
-Antonio prefers for Bassanio to marry and be happy because he knows that they cannot be together.

(3.3)
-Antonio is taken to the jail by the Jew.
-Antonio writes a letter to Bassanio where he tells him that he is paying his due, he wants to see Bassanio before he dies.
-(3.3.38-39) “Pray god Bassanio come/to see me pay his debt/and then I carry on.”

(4.1)
-(4.1.116) “ I am a taint wether of the flock”
A “taint wether” refers to a castrated sheep
“Meetest for death. The weakest kind of fruit/Drops earliest to the ground and so let me.”
-Antonio is aware that he is gay and he feels he should be condemned.
-(4.1.273)”Give me your hand Bassanio, fare you well”
-(4.1.283-285) “Say how I loved you; speak me fair in death/And when the tale is told, bid her be judge/Whether Bassanio had not once a love.”
-(4.1.289) “I’ll pay it instantly with all my heart.”
-Antonio can only portray his love for Bassanio through money or death. Since money failed he must now die.
(4.
-Antonio wants Bassanio to give the ring away. Almost as if he is saying that their friendship should be worth more than Bassanio’s marriage. He even says that Portia would not mind because she knows that they are such good friends.

(5.1)
Portion returns Antonio’s wealth by letting him have half of the Jews wealth and informing him that three of his ships are back.
-Portia being the most intelligent character is doing so in order to hint to Antonio, here is your wealth now let me have my husband.

-If we tie all this back to the opening scene where Antonio wonders why he is so sad, we can assume that is is because he loves his friend Bassanio. He knows that he cannot be with him, therefore Antonio has no other option but to be sad.

The Globe Theate

Motto: Totus mundus agit histrionem

"All the world plays the actor"

It was thought that The Globe Theater's motto might possibly reference the famous line from Shakespeare's As You Like It, "All the world's a stage".

As You Like It was thought to have been written in late 1599 or early 1600, and interestingly, The Globe Theater was built in 1599. Coincidence?

Portia

Portia

(Alan, Lauren, Sean, Katie)

First appearance: Act I Scene II - Speaking with Nerissa about casket/suitor situation

Here we learn of Portia's initial and basic character traits

• We, the readers, become aware Portia is both beautiful and wealthy
• She seems picky, yet intelligent because her critiques of her suitors go beyond just their surfaces. Ex. 1.2.40-46. Also, this lets us realize Portia seems to be very concerned with marriage.
• Portia also seems resentful, due to her late father's wishes, yet dutiful. Ex. 1.2.20-22
• We quickly realize Portia is "sprung" on Bassanio 1.2.100-104

Next appearances: Encounter w/ Morocco and Aragon, Bassanio's arrival/decision

Between these two appearances, we see almost no character development, and Portia seems to be more of a static character

• Portia shows no interest in the men, and still dislikes the suitors which come for her.
• Portia is still highly attracted to Bassanio and is very ecstatic when he arrives in Belmont. She urges him to delay his casket choice so he may spend more time with her, yet he correctly chooses the lead casket, Portia immediately marries Bassanio.

Portia's final appearances: The situation with Antonio's trial

Within these events, we learn portia is more of a complex and dynamic character. We see she is intelligent, a quick thinker, clever, deceptive and manipulative

• Portia immediately gets the fully-formed idea to disguise herself as a male and travel to Venice to defend Antonio
• Portia is able to not only fool everyone into thinking she is a man, but is able to think of a viable defense for Antonio (Shylock can take flesh, but no blood)
• An intriguing observation - Portia is both the cause and cure for Antonio's dilemma
• Later, Portia is able to trick and convince Bassanio to give up his wedding ring

Overall:

Portia initially seems to be a static and simple character who cares only about marriage. However, once she plots and successfully executes her journey to Venice, she reveals herself to be a complex and dynamic character who is intelligent, clever, deceptive, and manipulative. Though it took her until Act IV to reveal more of her character, it is safe to say that Portia is anything but simple and static.

Act 3

Group members: Arvinder, Antonio, Theo

Summary:
Act 3 begins with Solanio and Salerio discussing how they have heard that Antonio's ships were wrecked. Shylock enters and confirms this. He also says that he wants Antonio's flesh and he will have his revenge for all of the suffering he has been forced to endure at the hands of the Christians. He says that the others only have a problem with the wager because he is a Jew that wants the flesh of a Christian. If the situation were reversed, it would not appear to be such a big deal. Then, Tubal enters and informs Shylock that Antonio's ships have indeed crashed and Shylock is happy about this. Tubal also tells Shylock that he cannot find Jessica but a creditor showed him a ring that Jessica traded him for a monkey. Shylock says that he wishes his daughter were dead because she has taken so much of his money and other jewels.

In Scene 2, Portia wants Bassanio to delay choosing a casket so that they can spend more time together just in case he guesses wrong. However, Bassanio just wants to get it over with. As Bassanio makes his decision, he basically discusses how one should not judge something by its outward appearance and that is why he correctly chooses the lead casket. Portia is happy and gives Bassanio a ring that she wants him to keep forever. Then, Nerissa and Gratiano reveal that they have also fallen in love and wish to marry. Salerio brings a letter for Bassanio from Antonio. The letter reveals that all of Antonio's ventures have failed and Shylock fully intends to collect Antonio's debt. Antonio's only request is that he see Bassanio one last time before he dies. Portia says that she is willing to pay twenty times the amount that Antonio owes but Jessica says that her father only cares about revenge and will not accept this. Bassanio then leaves for Venice to be with Antonio.

Scene 3 is about Antonio pleading with Shylock and Shylock refusing to acknowledge Antonio's requests. Shylock is certain that the duke will grant him justice. Solanio says that he is sure the duke would never allow something like this to pass but Antonio disagrees and says that Venice has a history of upholding the law and if the duke breaks this tradition, the city's economy will suffer. At this point, the only thing Antonio seems to care about is Bassanio seeing him pay his debt.

Scene 4 begins with Lorenzo assuring Portia that Antonio is a great person and is worthy of the help that she is sending him. Portia says that Bassanio and Antonio are so close that helping Antonio is just like helping her husband. She then tells Lorenzo that she and Nerissa will be staying in a nearby monastery until Bassanio's return and that he and Jessica are in charge of her estate. Portia then sends her servant Balthazar to Mantua with a letter to give to her cousin Doctor Belario and take whatever notes and clothes Belario gives him and bring them to Venice where she will be waiting. Portia informs Nerissa that they are going to dress as men and go see their husbands.

In the last scene of act 3, Launcelot tells Jessica that he fears for her soul because of the sins of her father. Jessica responds that she will be saved by her husband because he has made her a Christian. Launcelot says that with all these Jews becoming Christians, the price of pork will go up. Lorenzo enters and scolds Launcelot for impregnating a moor. Launcelot responds by joking about the moor's belly getting larger. He then asks Jessica what she thinks of Portia. Jessica basically says that Portia is an "angel" because she compares her to being like "heaven on earth".

The most significant moment of act 3 is Shylock's monologue on why he wants Antonio's flesh. He argues that Jews are just as human as Christians. The questions that Shylock asks at this point force the audience to reconsider the malice that they must be feeling towards him. However these feelings of doubt are almost completely erased in scene 3 when the audience witnesses Shylock's manic pursuit of a pound of Antonio's flesh.

Another noteworthy moment is when Portia instructs Balthazar to go to Belario and bring back the clothes that he gives him. This is the first the audience hears of Portia's plan to free Antonio. Up to this point, Portia has adhered to her father's wishes even though he is not there to see this. But now, it seems that she feels free to display the full capacity of her intelligence, which seems to be a lot more than that of the men that surround her.

Act 1

In Act 1 we were asked to focus on the following points:

-how does it set up the problems of the play

-how does it ensue the intention of the play

Foreshadowing is abundant in Act 1 as it sets the stage for the rest of the play. From the beginning, Act 1 conveys Antonio's state of mind as always being a somber man. Throughout the play Antonio was never really happy. He always had his mind on his ships, lost his ships & all the money that was invested, and was forced to deal with the consequence of getting one pound of his flesh cut off. Antonio states that the world is "A stage where every man must play his part,/And mine a sad one" (1.1.80.) which continues to foreshadow that throughout the play he will be playing his role of being sad. Every other character also seems to be suffer in their own way. Bassanio having the need to protect his friend, Shylock losing his daughter and getting ridiculed at, Portia's suitors choosing the wrong boxes, Jessica ashamed of being Shylock's daughter, and Launcelot hating his duties with the Shylock. As discussed a little in class today, this quote also explains how characters within the play played another role. For example, Jessica dresses up as a torch-bearer in order to run away with Lorenzo, Portia cross dresses to become a male judge in the trial and Lorenzo fools his father by acting like a stranger. Salerio's quote "Enrobe the roaring waters with my silks-/And in a word, but even now worth this,/And now worth nothing?"(1.1.36) also foreshadows the money of Antonio and in a way, Shylock. All of Antonio's money were in his ship, and in an instance all his ships were lost and all his money was gone, becoming inferior to the Jew he had borrowed money from. At the same time, Shylock who had made his money upon interest, lost all his money because he refuses to give mercy to Antonio.

Act 1 also sets the stage for the conflict between Jews and Christians. In a way, Shylock seems to have the desire to be accepted in society, however the rejection of the Jew ways (collecting interest, and Shylock's personality, etc.) has possibly caused his mind to be filled with revenge and hatred towards the Christians. Not only for looking down upon him, but also for the abandonment from his daughter Jessica. This may be a reason as to why Shylock refuses any amount of money and gives no mercy to Antonio. His revenge on the Christians was more important to him than any amount of money; suggesting he was mentally ill and was somewhat, just plain crazy.

Sigmund Freud's Essay on The Merchant of Venice

[totally optional reading, for those interested in psychoanalysis and literature]

"The Theme of the Three Caskets" (1913)
Freud, Sigmund. Writings on Art and Literature. Stanford UP 1997

http://books.google.com/books?id=Jf70-7NZlRwC&pg=PA109&lpg=PA109&dq=freud++three+caskets&source=bl&ots=MYowSAPKWm&sig=CuUrgtLfZbJPrRce56bv2ol5KNo&hl=en&ei=v155TMGWJpO8sAOO6ajtCg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=6&ved=0CC0Q6AEwBTgK#v=onepage&q=freud%20%20three%20caskets&f=false

Stephen Greenblatt on The Merchant of Venice

[excerpted from "Marlowe, Marx, and Anti-Semitism" Leaning to Curse Routledge 1990, pg.55-57]

The Merchant of Venice is built around a series of decisive structural conflicts--Old Law vs. New Law, Justice vs. Mercy, Revenge vs. Love, Calculation vs. Recklessness, Thrift vs. Prodigality--all of which are focused upon the central dramatic conflict of Jew and Gentile or, more precisely, of Jewish fiscalism and Gentile mercantilism. The great economic utility of Shylock--and of the Jew in thsi period--is his possession of liquid assets, assets which he is committed, for his very existence, to employ actively. In general, in the northern Italian city-states, when the Christian merchants were weaker, the Jewish moneylenders were stronger; in Venice [..] there was a vigorous attempt by the merchant class to undermine the power of Jewish moneylenders through the establishment of the Monte di Carita, Christian lending institutions that would disrupt the Jews' "bargains" by providing interest-free loans. All of this seems to be reflected in the hatred Shylock and Antonio have for each other, hatred Antonio attributes to the fact that he has "oft deliver'd from his forfeitures/ Many that have at times made moan to me" (3.3.22-23).

If Shylock is set against Antonio on grounds of fiscalism vs. mercantilism, he is set against Portia on grounds equally based upon the economic position of Jews in early modern Europe. [...] The constant application of capital, to which the Jews were committed, precluded investment in immovable property. The law did not permit the Jew to acquire land, and the Jew, for his part, did not attempt to secure such permission [...].

In Shakespeare's play this economic nexus is suggested above all by Shylock's usury, but it is also symbolized by his nonparticipation in Venetian society, his cold, empty house, and such subtle indicators of value as his hostility to masquing--"the vile squealing of the wry-neck'd fife" (2.5.30). All of this is in sharp contrast to Portia, who has plenty of liquid assets; she can offer at a moment's notice enough gold to pay Antonio's 3000-ducat debt "twenty times over" (3.2.306). But her special values in the play are bound up with her house at Belmont and all it represents: its starlit garden, enchanting music, hospitality, social prestige. That is, the economic nexus linking Portia with her environment is precisely not instrumental; her world is not a field in which she operates for profit, but a living web of noble values and moral orderliness.

Shylock is the antithesis of this world, as he is of the Christian mercantilism of Venice. He is the "alien," the "stranger cur," "a kind of devil," in short, the "faithless Jew." Even the language he shares with the Christian Venetians does not provide a bridge between them; he may use the same words, but he uses them in a wholly different sense:
            Shylock:   Antionio is a good man.
            Bassanio:  Have you heard any imputation to the contrary?
            Shylock:   Ho no, no, no, no: my meaning in saying he is a good man, is to have you understand
                            that he is sufficient. (1.3.10-15)
Shylock needs to explain his use of the apparently innocuous "good man," as he will later be pressed to explain why he insists, against all reason and self-interest, upon his bond: linguistically, psychologically, ethically, as well as religiously, he is different. To be sure, he appeals at moments to his sameness--"Hath not a Jew eyes?"--and this sameness runs like a dark current through the play, intimating secret bonds that no one, not even the audience, can fully acknowledge. For is Shakespeare subtly suggests obscure links between Jew and Gentile, he compels the audience to transform its disturbing perception of sameness into a reassuring perception of difference. Indeed the Jew seems to embody the abstract principle of difference itself, the principle to which he appeals when the Duke demands an explanation for his malice:
          Some men there are love not a gaping pig!
          Some that are mad if they behold a cat!
          And others when the bagpipe sings i'th'nose,
          Cannot contain their urine... (4.1.46-49)
The examples would be whimsical--evoking a motive no grander than allegory--where they not spoken by Shylock, knife in hand; instead, they bespeak impulses utterly inacessible to reason and persuasion; they embody what the rational mind, intent upon establishing an absolute category of difference, terms madness.