Could i get feedback for this paragraph please.
In what ways has your understanding of how texts represent individual and collective human experiences been enhanced by the study of your core text?
Shakespeare conveys the human impulse towards autonomy, exploring the nature of individual experience within the framework of the fiercely moral universe of the Elizabethans. The casket test allegorises this fundamental human desire for agency in their own destiny. Hence, while other suitors’ pride and greed for money lure them to the showy caskets of gold and silver, Bassanio’s choice of the lead casket evidences his humility and ability to look beyond the temporal or the superficial to see the true worth of Portia, “meagre lead… Thy paleness moves me more than eloquence”. Similarly, Shylock’s bond allows him to feel some moment of empowerment despite his marginalised status and yet here Shakespeare interrogates the darker aspirations within the human experience, casting Shylock as an archetype of the fallen everyman, at odds with social and moral norms. He justifies his own thirst for revenge against Antonio in return to being a subject to Venetians’ prejudice and contempt, “The villainy you teach me I will execute”. However, the absence of iambic pentameter throughout his monologue becomes an aural reminder that his desires are in competition with absolute sovereignty of God’s order, reinforcing the didactic foundation of the play, thus it declares that despite the suffering and prejudice, humanity is answerable for their own moral choices.
In what ways has your understanding of how texts represent individual and collective human experiences been enhanced by the study of your core text?
Shakespeare conveys the human impulse towards autonomy, exploring the nature of individual experience within the framework of the fiercely moral universe of the Elizabethans. The casket test allegorises this fundamental human desire for agency in their own destiny. Hence, while other suitors’ pride and greed for money lure them to the showy caskets of gold and silver, Bassanio’s choice of the lead casket evidences his humility and ability to look beyond the temporal or the superficial to see the true worth of Portia, “meagre lead… Thy paleness moves me more than eloquence”. Similarly, Shylock’s bond allows him to feel some moment of empowerment despite his marginalised status and yet here Shakespeare interrogates the darker aspirations within the human experience, casting Shylock as an archetype of the fallen everyman, at odds with social and moral norms. He justifies his own thirst for revenge against Antonio in return to being a subject to Venetians’ prejudice and contempt, “The villainy you teach me I will execute”. However, the absence of iambic pentameter throughout his monologue becomes an aural reminder that his desires are in competition with absolute sovereignty of God’s order, reinforcing the didactic foundation of the play, thus it declares that despite the suffering and prejudice, humanity is answerable for their own moral choices.
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