THE MERCHANT OF VENICE
Genre of the play
By Ben & Fernanda
WHAT SHOULD WE EXPECT TO SEE IN SHAKESPEAREAN
PLAYS?
Light humorous tones
Deception and disguise
Family dramas
Multiple plots with twists and turns
Iambic pentameter
GENRE
Drama• Shakespearean Drama
• Family drama• Love affairs
Comedy• Types of Humor:
• Outright • Opinion on suitors
• Sexual• “Go to dinner” connotations of “go to bed”
IAMBIC PENTAMETER
× / × / × / × / × /
To swell the gourd, and plump the hazel shells
A Recipe for Comedy
2 table spoons of 2-dimensional characters 1/3 cup of stereotypes A pinch of humorous tone ½ cup of superficiality
A pinch of deception and a dash of disguise
BAKED TO DECEPTION!
• Shylock and Portia (masked by virtue)• Obdurate • Greedy• Selfish• Shylock:• loan shark• Portia:• false impersonator (lawyer)• Jessica:• Deceives father, disguises as a boy
FAMILY DRAMA
Jessica – internal conflicts between her and her father
Lancelot- cruel jokes on his blind father
Bassanio- Loyal to friends (more than his wife)
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