merchant of venice grade 9 essay

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Essays on Merchant of Venice

The importance of writing an essay on merchant of venice.

Writing an essay on Merchant of Venice is important as it allows students to critically analyze the themes, characters, and messages portrayed in the play. It also helps in developing critical thinking and analytical skills, as well as improving writing abilities.

When writing an essay on Merchant of Venice, it is important to carefully analyze the characters and their motivations. For example, Shylock’s character can be explored in depth to understand the themes of prejudice, justice, and revenge. Additionally, the themes of love, friendship, and loyalty can be examined through the relationships between the characters.

Furthermore, it is crucial to consider the historical and social context of the play, as it provides a deeper understanding of the themes and messages conveyed by Shakespeare. For instance, the portrayal of anti-Semitism in the play reflects the societal attitudes of the time, and this can be analyzed in the essay.

When writing the essay, it is important to provide evidence from the text to support the arguments and analysis. This can include direct quotes, references to specific scenes, and interpretations of the characters’ actions and dialogue. Additionally, it is essential to structure the essay in a coherent and logical manner, with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and a strong conclusion.

In conclusion, writing an essay on Merchant of Venice is important for students to develop critical thinking, analytical, and writing skills. By carefully analyzing the characters, themes, and historical context of the play, students can gain a deeper understanding of the text and its significance.

Best Merchant of Venice Essay Topics

• The portrayal of Shylock as a villain or victim
• The role of women in The Merchant of Venice
• The theme of mercy and justice in the play
• The symbolism of the bond and the caskets
• The use of language and imagery in The Merchant of Venice
• The significance of the title in relation to the themes of the play
• The role of friendship and loyalty in The Merchant of Venice
• The portrayal of prejudice and discrimination in the play
• The relationship between Antonio and Bassanio
• The concept of appearance vs reality in The Merchant of Venice
• The motif of money and wealth in the play
• The portrayal of love and romance in The Merchant of Venice
• The role of religion in the play
• The use of comedy and tragedy in The Merchant of Venice
• The significance of the courtroom scene
• The portrayal of power and authority in the play
• The role of fate and destiny in The Merchant of Venice
• The theme of deception and manipulation
• The portrayal of outsiders and insiders in the play
• The relevance of The Merchant of Venice in today's society

Merchant of Venice Essay Topics Prompts

• Imagine you are Shylock's defense attorney. Write a closing argument that challenges the court's decision.
• Write a letter from Portia to Bassanio, expressing her feelings about the outcome of the bond and the caskets.
• Create a modern-day adaptation of The Merchant of Venice, set in a different cultural or social context.
• Write a dialogue between Antonio and Shylock, exploring their conflicting views on money and morality.
• Imagine you are a journalist interviewing Jessica after she elopes with Lorenzo. Write a series of questions and answers that reveal her motivations and feelings.

How Shakespeare Presents The Character of Shylock in The Merchant of Venice

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Juxtaposition of Love and Wealth in The Merchant of Venice

The value of loyalty in the merchant of venice, shylock as a hero or villain in the merchant of venice, the construction of portia's character in the merchant of venice, let us write you an essay from scratch.

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The Theme of Inequality in Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice

Discrimination in the merchant of venice, a play by william shakespeare, the role of daughter and the historical context, analysis of bassanio's affections in the merchant of venice, get a personalized essay in under 3 hours.

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Shylock's Personality in Shakespeare's "The Merchant of Venice"

Depiction of religious and racial prejudice in the merchant of venice, racial and religious issues in the merchant of venice, anti-semitism as a major controversy in the merchant of venice, a study of the theme of mercy in the merchant of venice, questioning anti-semitic ideas in the merchant of venice, being human as a profound paradox in the merchant of venice, the meaning behind portia's trick in merchant of venice, the question of anti-semitism in the merchant of venice, the relationship between father and daughter in the merchant of venice, the merchant of venice and modern connotations of the play, depiction of false love and marriage in the merchant of venice, a theme of deception in the merchant of venice by william shakespeare, shylock’s character and anti-semitism of elizabethan era in the merchant of venice, portia and the three caskets game in the merchant of venice, socisl dilemma in the merchant of venice, others as a mirror: anti-semitism in the merchant of venice and jew of malta, the trial of the rings as a climax of the conflict in the merchant of venice, the fluidity of justice in shakespearean comedy, the contrast of two cities in the merchant of venice.

1596-1599, William Shakespeare

Shakespearean comedy

Antonio, an antisemitic merchant, takes a loan from the Jew Shylock to help his friend to court Portia. Antonio can't repay the loan, and without mercy, Shylock demands a pound of his flesh. The heiress Portia, now the wife of Antonio's friend, dresses as a lawyer and saves Antonio.

The Merchant of Venice is structured partly on the contrast between idealistic and realistic opinions about society and relationships. On the one hand, the play tells us that love is more important than money, mercy is preferable to revenge, and love lasts forever

Antonio, Bassanio, Gratiano, Lorenzo, Portia, Nerissa, Balthazar, Stephano, Shylock, Jessica, Tubal, Launcelot Gobbo, Old Gobbo, Leonardo, Duke of Venice, Prince of Morocco, Prince of Arragon, Salarino and Salanio

The forfeit of a merchant's deadly bond after standing surety for a friend's loan was a common tale in England in the late 16th century. In addition, the test of the suitors at Belmont, the merchant's rescue from the "pound of flesh" penalty by his friend's new wife disguised as a lawyer, and her demand for the betrothal ring in payment are all elements present in the 14th-century tale Il Pecorone by Giovanni Fiorentino, which was published in Milan in 1558.

The Merchant of Venice is one of the most famous plays of Shakespeare. The play is frequently staged today, but is potentially troubling to modern audiences because of its central themes, which can easily appear antisemitic. Critics today still continue to argue over the play's stance on the Jews and Judaism.

“You speak an infinite deal of nothing.” “With mirth and laughter let old wrinkles come.” “The devil can cite Scripture for his purpose.” “All that glisters is not gold.”

1. Shakespeare, W., Shakespeare, W., & Kaplan, M. L. (2002). The merchant of Venice (pp. 25-120). Palgrave Macmillan US. (https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-1-137-07784-4_2) 2. Lewalski, B. K. (1962). Biblical Allusion and Allegory in" The Merchant of Venice". Shakespeare Quarterly, 13(3), 327-343. (https://www.jstor.org/stable/2866826) 3. Halio, J. L. (2006). The Merchant of Venice. Shakespeare Bulletin, 24(2), 63-68. (https://muse.jhu.edu/pub/1/article/199046/summary) 4. Ferber, M. (1990). The Ideology of The Merchant of Venice. English Literary Renaissance, 20(3), 431-464. (https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1475-6757.1990.tb01442.x?journalCode=elr) 5. Willson, M. J. (1994). View of Justice in Shakespeare's the Merchant of Venice and Measure for Measure. Notre Dame L. Rev., 70, 695. (https://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?handle=hein.journals/tndl70&div=24&id=&page=) 6. Metzger, M. J. (1998). “Now by my hood, a gentle and no Jew”: Jessica, The Merchant of Venice, and the discourse of early modern English identity. PMLA, 113(1), 52-63. (https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/pmla/article/abs/now-by-my-hood-a-gentle-and-no-jew-jessica-the-merchant-of-venice-and-the-discourse-of-early-modern-english-identity/51E9B840D2AB9DB0ABAB356C6FBC0B20) 7. Moisan, T. (2013). " Which is the merchant here? and which the Jew?": subversion and recuperation in The Merchant of Venice. In Shakespeare Reproduced (pp. 196-214). Routledge. (https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9781315018584-15/merchant-jew-subversion-recuperation-merchant-venice-thomas-moisan-188) 8. Sokol, B. J., & Sokol, M. (1999). Shakespeare and the English Equity Jurisdiction The Merchant of Venice and the Two Texts of King Lear. The Review of English Studies, 50(200), 417-439. (https://academic.oup.com/res/article-abstract/50/200/417/1531451)

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The Merchant of Venice: Essay Writing Guide for GCSE (9-1)

Subject: English

Age range: 14-16

Resource type: Assessment and revision

Last updated

26 September 2020

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o you now know the play – but how do you structure your essay?

This clean & simple new guide from Accolade Press will walk you through how to plan and structure essay responses to questions on William Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice. By working through seven mock questions, these detailed essay plans will show you how to go about building a theme based answer – while the accompanying notes will illustrate not only how to masterfully structure your response, but also how to ensure all AQA’s Assessment Objectives are being satisfied.

R.P. Davis, the author of this guide, has a First Class degree in English Literature from UCL, and a Masters in Literature from Cambridge University. Aside from teaching GCSE English (which he’s done for nearly a decade now), he has also written a string of bestselling thriller novels.

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GCSE English Shakespeare Text Guide - The Merchant of Venice includes Online Edition & Quizzes

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This superb Text Guide for Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice has everything you need to write top essays for the latest Grade 9-1 GCSE English Literature exams.

It’s bursting with thorough notes on the play’s plot, writer’s techniques, characters, language, themes and context — plus quick warm-up activities, in-depth exercises and realistic exam-style questions at the end of sections, alongside challenging questions for students aiming for Grades 8-9. Not only is this book packed with essay advice and engaging activities, it’ll also gives you access to our online Sudden Fail quizzes — ideal for putting your skills to the test! If all that prep makes you feel ready to jump off a gondola, we’ve rustled up a classic CGP cartoon-strip summary of the text to help remind you of all the important plot points.

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• Key Stage: KS4
• Subject: English
• Years Covered: 10-11
• Level: 9-1 (GCSE)
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• Publication Date: 2021
• No of Pages: 80

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Critical Essay - Merchant of Venice

The Merchant Of Venice

In the “Merchant of Venice” by William Shakespeare, Shylock the Jewish moneylender is portrayed as a villain, motivated only by revenge and is generally seen as a bitter, lonely, old man.  In my essay I intend to show that, while the above may be true, Shylock had been driven to this state by years of prejudice and abuse.

In the play, Bassanio needs to borrow money from his merchant friend and the title character, Antonio, in order to woo Portia, a wealthy heiress. Antonio however, does not have the money as all his funds are tied up in ships and trade goods.  Antonio decides to borrow the money for Bassanio from the Jewish moneylender, Shylock, who makes no qualms of the animosity between Antonio and himself.  The money is borrowed under the terms that if Antonio is unable to repay the money within three months then Shylock may take a pound of Antonio’s flesh.  Following the reported disappearances of all of Antonio’s ships, the bond goes unpaid and Shylock takes him to court.  In court Shylock is determined to have his bond as revenge for the abuse he has suffered at Antonio’s hands and refuses to show mercy.  Portia, who Bassanio had successfully wooed, arrives disguised as a lawyer and manages to find a series of loopholes in the bond which leaves Shylock set to lose all his possessions and his life.  The Duke of Venice spares his life and lets Shylock keep some of his wealth under certain conditions.  The final and arguably harshest punishment is that Shylock must convert to Christianity.

It is clear from very early on in the play that Shylock harbours a deep resentment towards Christians, especially Antonio.  We can see this in the way he talks to him.  For example in Act 1 Scene 3, Shylock says,

“I hate him for he is a Christian.”

This is a preview of the whole essay

This comment shows Shylock’s prejudice towards Christians for, as far as we know at this point, with no apparent reason.  However as the scene progresses we can start to see the reason for Shylock’s hatred: the years of abuse he and other members of the Jewish faith had suffered at the hand of the native Christian Venetians.  We can see much of the hatred is reserved for Antonio in particular when, speaking in a soliloquy, talks of how Antonio ruins his business by lending interest-free money to people and that if he can he will take some form of revenge and will:

“Feed fat the ancient grudge I bear him,”

This show that Shylock has hated Antonio for a very long time and we start to see the extent to which he does hate Antonio when he turns down the offer of three times the amount of the loan in the courtroom scene since when he learned that his daughter, Jessica had eloped with a Christian man, Lorenzo and stolen gold and possessions he was reported as running down a street, yelling:

“O my daughter! O my ducats!”

In my opinion this suggests that Shylock cares equally for his wealth as he does his own daughter.  This shows how much he hates Antonio because he cares more for revenge then for wealth and in turn, more for revenge than for his only child.

I feel that the reason for Shylock’s bitterness and hatred towards Antonio and the Christians in general stems from of abuse and taunts, mainly from Antonio and his friends, Solanio, Salerio and Gratiano.  We first hear of this abuse in Act One Scene Three during Shylock’s speech during discussion with Antonio and Bassanio:

“You call me misbeliever, cut-throat dog, and spit upon my Jewish gaberdine…you come to me, and you say, ‘Shylock, we would have moneys’-you say so; You that did void your rheum upon my beard, and foot me as you spurn a stranger cur…I’ll lend you thus much moneys?”

It is this abuse that motivates Shylock in his desire for revenge, and when he sees his opportunity in the unpaid bond, he takes advantage of this glorious opportunity.  We know that the bond is purely an act of revenge from Shylock’s reply when asked by Salerio, what he would do with a pound of flesh, to which he answered,

“If it will feed nothing else, it will feed my revenge.”

In later speech in Act Three Scene One, he talks of the Jews and the Christians’ common humanity and how he is seeking revenge after following Christian example:

“Hath a Jew not 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, as 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, do we not revenge? If we are like you in the rest, we will resemble you in that.”

This is Shylock speaking to Salerio and Solanio, trying to tell them that a Christian is not above a Jew and a Jew is no less human.  This also shows how bitter Shylock has become that he has also become as prejudiced against Christians as Antonio and his friends are against Jews, as he sees Christians as a single entity who all stand against him and his people.

Another reason I feel Shylock deserves our sympathies is how lonely he must be as he only had his daughter, Jessica who ran away. As well as feeling upset and lonely after Jessica running away, he must have felt betrayed as his only child, his own flesh and blood has eloped with a Christian, one of the “enemy”, as well as hearing that Jessica had exchanged one of his most treasured possessions for a monkey.

A final reason I believe Shylock is justified in his desire for vengeance is that he was fully and legally entitled to claim his bond and was tricked out of what he was owed by technicalities.

To conclude, I feel that although Shylock is embittered towards the world and driven purely by revenge, I think he was driven to this by years of prejudice and abuse.  I therefore feel Shylock deserves out sympathies.

Document Details

• Word Count 1071
• Page Count 3
• Subject English

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Merchant of Venice

Shakespeare's portia anonymous.

In The Merchant of Venice, Shakespeare crafts a dynamic female character uncommon to his collection of plays. Portia, the lovely and wealthy heiress, exemplifies stereotypical feminine qualities but also exhibits independent and intelligent thought. Most of Shakespeare’s female roles function as static characters designed to further the plot action; they are elements of the backdrop against which the male protagonist and antagonist act. In fact, in Shakespearian drama, any strong female character generally exhibits masculine qualities. Thus Portia acts as an exception to the norm. Her command of logic is as stunning as her beauty, and this depth of character has placed Portia at the center of much literary analysis. Portia typifies the ideal, well-rounded woman.

Many aspects of Portia’s character reflect the view of Shakespeare’s contemporaries that a woman ought to be obedient and humble. Even though her father is deceased, Portia commits herself to obeying his final command. She will not choose a husband for herself; instead, potential suitors must enter a lottery designed by her late father. Each man must select one of three caskets, and the bachelor who opens the casket containing Portia’s portrait earns her hand in...

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