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How effectively does Merchant of Venice tell stories to reveal both the personal and shared nature of human experiences?
William Shakespeare’s tragic play “The Merchant of Venice”, effectively shares tales that reveal both the collective and individual nature of human experiences. This is evident as the play showcases to the audience the inconsistencies and anomalies that are evident within human behaviour. The play explores these common human experiences, through portraying the characters inconsistencies and anomalies in their behaviour, which encourages audiences alike to recognise the complexity of human emotions. Shakespeare effectively demonstrates these human experiences through the thematic idea of prejudice and social injustice, which represents the social attitudes and beliefs that were common in the Elizabethan Era. Additionally, the thematic idea of greed vs selflessness, and gender inequality, highlight the discrepancies that are evident between gender and social classes during the Elizabethan era. Hence, through the depiction of the inconsistencies of human behaviour in “The Merchant of Venice”, Shakespeare effectively reveals both the personal and collective nature of human experiences.
Shakespeare implements the thematic idea of prejudice and social injustice, as it highlights the extent of prejudice towards an individual or group of a certain race or religion. This has been exemplified to allow audiences to gain a perspective, and to resonate with an individual who experiences social prejudice. This social injustice is evident through Shylock being presented as a scapegoat. This is evident in Act 3 Scene 1 where Shylock miserably rants about how the Venetians mistreat him for being Jewish, “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 take revenge?”. Shakespeare utilises pathos in this quote as an attempt to evoke emotions from the audience, as the speech represents Shylock at his most vulnerable and melancholic state. Shakespeare effectively achieves this through Shylock describing many human characteristics and experiences to show that regardless of his religion, they are all human and indifferent to each other. He does this to go against the societal norm of the Elizabethan Era. During this era, Jews are heavily discriminated against as they are regarded as evil and malicious individuals, which by doing so allows audiences to feel sympathy for Shylock who experiences prejudice just for his religion. This highlights that Shylock's character is an anomaly, through his personal human experience, as he is Jewish which deviates from the norm in a predominantly christian Venice. Through the analysis, Shakespeare effectively presents stories to reveal both the individual and collective nature of human experiences through utilising the thematic idea of Prejudice and Social Injustice. This is effective as it represents the attitudes relevant in the Elizabethan era and shows how these prejudiced beliefs can affect someone's mental wellbeing.
Shakespeare utilises the thematic idea of greed vs selflessness as it showcases the human nature of wanting the best outcome and items for yourself, whilst disregarding the wellbeing of others. This has been achieved to show the audiences the inconsistencies of human behaviour that arise when an individual is desperately seeking the best outcome for themselves. This is evident in Act 1 Scene 4 where Antonio is discussing with Bassanio that he is fortunate to die when Shylock takes a pound of flesh from him, as he prefers to die than to live as a poor man, “For hein Fortune shows herself more kind than is her custom: it is still her use to let the wretched man outlive his wealth to view the hollow eye and wrinkled brow an age of poverty”. Shakespeare uses personification to show how Antonio views his wealth. He does this to show audiences the hypocrisy and irony of Antonio’s character, whom would rather die than live a day as a poor man. This highlights the inconsistencies that are prevalent within Antonio's character, as Venetian Christian men like Antonio are arguably just as greedy and self-centered as the people they despise. This allows audiences to identify the hypocrisy evident within Antonio's character, as it shows the glaring similarities between him and Shylock. As a result, Shakespeare is able to show audiences the actuality of people's greed, regardless of their religion. Through this analysis, Shakespeare effectively presents stories to reveal both the individual and collective nature of human experiences by utilising the thematic idea of greed vs selflessness. This is achieved as it represents the inconsistencies of human behaviour that arise when an individual is faced with a favourable outcome.
Shakespeare makes use of the thematic idea of gender inequality as it reveals the discrepancies between males and females, and how this issue affects individuals collectively within the Elizabethan era. This has been achieved to challenge the societal norms of a predominantly patriarchal society. By doing so, Shakespeare allows audiences alike to gain a perspective of the collective human experience, by highlighting that female characters aren't just servants for men, but instead can be intelligent and independent people, irrespective of the time period. This is evident in Act 2 Scene 1 where Jessica plans to leave Venice to marry Lorenzo and feels ashamed to be Shylock’s daughter due to his actions, “I am his daughter by blood, I am not his daughter by manners”. Shakespeare utilises anaphora to show that Jessica is her own person, and not the daughter of Shylock. This emphasises her determination and empowerment in her own life, which challenges the beliefs of the Elizabethan era. This shows audiences that Jessica is an anomaly through her personal human experience, as she is challenging her father and society's expectations of a woman. Through the analysis, Shakespeare effectively tells stories to reveal both the individual and collective nature of human experiences that emphasise the discrepancies that were common within males and females within the Elizabethan era.
Through representations of human experiences, William Shakespeare’s tragic play “Merchant of Venice”, effectively shares tales that reveal both the personal and shared nature of human experiences. The play achieves this through exploring the common human experiences that are evident in society, through portraying the characters inconsistencies and anomalies in their behaviour, thus encouraging the audiences to recognise the complexity of human experiences. This idea is further emphasised through the utilisation of the thematic ideas, prejudice and social injustice, greed vs selflessness and gender inequality, which represent the social attitudes, beliefs and the discrepancies that are evident between gender and social classes evident in the Elizabethan era.
