1. Why has the character of Shylock been interpreted in so many differing ways by so many different critics? Why is this dramatic character more puzzling, or more stimulating, than any other character in any of Shakespeare’s other romantic comedies? 2. Many critics feel that the images of the sea […]

Read more Study Help Essay Questions

Adaptations of Shakespeare’s plays and other works have been featured in nearly 500 films and/or videos world-wide. That makes Shakespeare the most filmed playwright of all time! Here are the best, and most noteworthy, versions of The Merchant of Venice that can help you study and better understand the play. […]

Read more Study Help Film Versions

Shakespeare coined many popular phrases that are still commonly used today. Here are some examples of Shakespeare’s most familiar quotes from The Merchant of Venice. You just might be surprised to learn of all the everyday sayings that originally came from Shakespeare! “I hold the world but as the world, […]

Read more Study Help Famous Quotes

Many books have assembled facts, reasonable suppositions, traditions, and speculations concerning the life and career of William Shakespeare. Taken as a whole, these materials give a rather comprehensive picture of England’s foremost dramatic poet. Tradition and sober supposition are not necessarily false because they lack proved bases for their existence. […]

Read more William Shakespeare Biography

Explore the different symbols within William Shakespeare’s comedic play, The Merchant of Venice. Symbols are central to understanding The Merchant of Venice as a play and identifying Shakespeare’s social and political commentary. Portia Portia is the only character whom it is difficult to criticize, and Shakespeare appears to use her […]

Read more Critical Essays Major Symbols and Motifs

Explore the different themes within William Shakespeare’s comedic play, The Merchant of Venice. Themes are central to understanding The Merchant of Venice as a play and identifying Shakespeare’s social and political commentary. Reality and Idealism The Merchant of Venice is structured partly on the contrast between idealistic and realistic opinions […]

Read more Critical Essays Major Themes

Shylock is the most vivid and memorable character in The Merchant of Venice, and he is one of Shakespeare’s greatest dramatic creations. On stage, it is Shylock who makes the play, and almost all of the great actors of the English and Continental stage have attempted the role. But the […]

Read more Character Analysis Shylock

Portia is the romantic heroine of the play, and she must be presented on the stage with much beauty and intelligence. Of her beauty, we need no convincing. Bassanio’s words are enough; thus we turn to her love for Bassanio. Already she has given him cause to think that it […]

Read more Character Analysis Portia

Bassanio’s character is more fully drawn than Antonio’s, but it does not possess the powerful individuality that Shakespeare gives to his portraits of Portia and Shylock. First off, when one begins considering Bassanio, one should dismiss all the critics who condemn him for his financial habits. Bassanio’s request to Antonio […]

Read more Character Analysis Bassanio

Although the plot turns on Antonio’s predicament, his character is not sharply drawn. He is a rich man, and a comfortable man, and a popular man, but still he suffers from an inner sadness. One obvious, dramatic reason for Antonio’s quiet melancholy is simply that Shakespeare cannot give Antonio too […]

Read more Character Analysis Antonio