Friday, February 24, 2017

For Tuesday: Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice, Acts 4 and 5


[Above: A clip from the trial scene (Act 4, Scene 1) of the 1974 Lawrence Olivier version of The Merchant of Venice] 

Answer TWO of the following:

Q1: The Christians spend most of Act 4, Scene 1 trying to convince Shylock to relent and show mercy of Antonio. What reasons does he offer for his refusal? Are his responses somewhat like Iago’s (the villain of Othello) who when asked why he framed Othello and his wife says “Demand me nothing: what I know I know./Never again shall I speak word.” Or does Shylock offer a more compelling argument for his cruelty?

Q2: Are we meant to feel sympathy for Shylock in Scene 1? While Shakespeare’s audience would have naturally cheered for Portia’s victory (this is a comedy, after all!), could Shakespeare have writing against the grain of audience expectations? Consider Shylock’s final words, “I am content,” and “I am not well.” Given his earlier confidence, are these comically brief...or concisely tragic?

Q3: Act 5 opens with an extended scene of love banter with Jessica and Lorenzo. Using the footnotes on the side, what makes their allusions to Cressida, Dido, and Thisbe somewhat surprising? How might this scene suggest Jessica’s state of mind after fleeing her father’s house and finding herself in the Christian world of Belmont? Is this ‘happily ever after’ for her, or is she constantly looking over her shoulder?

Q4: In Act 4, Scene 1, Portia tells Shylock, “in the course of justice none of us/should see salvation” (155). Does she offer the same compassion to her own husband in Act 5? What do you make of her bizarre interrogation of Bassanio, which culminates in her claming she has slept with Balthazar, the lawyer, to obtain the ring? Does she feel betrayed by Bassanio...or is she toying with him the same way she toyed with Shylock during the trial scene?



7 comments:

  1. Elyse Marquardt

    Q3) This scene is hilarious to me. All of the mythological references that Jessica and Lorenzo make are about characters who had tragic love affairs that ended in disillusionment and death. Jessica seems to be saying that she is certainly regretting her decision to leave her father on account of a fleeting love for a handsome face. This is the "ever after" part of "happily," which fairytales never tell us. Jessica depended on the happy sunset ending, but now that morning has come, she is realizing what her life promises to really look like; and it doesn't look good.

    Q4) Portia seems to enjoy making men uncomfortable, which would be fitting with Shakespeare's habit of creating independent, sassy female characters. I believe that she tested her husband's faith by asking for the ring in disguise, and when he failed the test she decided to make him miserable for it. And she certainly does not hold back. Telling him he is a cuckold is the ultimate jab at his pride. She seems to milk this opportunity to shame her husband for all its worth, and we as the audience love it.

    Elyse Marquardt

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  2. 3. It's rather interesting that they both use such tragic figures to parallel their love. They were both swept away and find that, somehow, in the light of day, their actions are not as romantic as they appeared. They get along well enough though, if I'm right about the teasing nature of their taunts. There have been worse matches of young lovers.

    4. I think she was messing with him. Giving him a hard time because of how he gave away the ring, which symbolized /their marriage/ to another man. I have a feeling that she's going to use this a lot to tease him. "Oh, don't like my poetry, well Balthazar does! Maybe I should marry him!" She toyed with both men, knowing she was backing them into a corner next to a rock and a hard place. Definitely a better measure of her husband than which casket he opens.

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  3. Q1: Shylock first offers no response but latter asks would the Christians let their slaves go because of mercy? He is using the same justification for his right to the pound of flesh that Christians use to their right to own slaves and treat them like animals. I believe Shylock offers a more compelling argument simply on the basis of how he allows the audience to feel guilty of the way in which non-white or non-Christians are treated and how those ridiculous actions are covered y the law and are seen as just.

    Q2: I believe Shakespeare wanted the audience to pity Shylock even when he is being monstrous. We are given a glimpse into the wrongs that he has been dealt and we can see the pain and shame on his face best during this scene because he unleashes all the pent up anger he has towards the Christians. His final words are very tragic because we see a deflated, defeated Shylock that looks as though he has died. His final words show that his punishment of converting has all but killed him, crushing his heart and making him sick.

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  4. Q1: Shylock responds in a way that throws the Christian ideal back in their face. He compares Antonio to a slave, claiming that he has the same holding over him as one does a slave, which is legal. He simply states that he wants revenge, that it is his right to do so, so he will. It is in this part that we see Shylock get the arrogance of a Christian, see him use the law to his advantage, and not back down to the bologna that the Duke is throwing at him.

    Q2. In this scene we see the proud and mighty Portia do what she does best, by shaming yet another man in the play. I think that she tried to give her husband a pass, tried to give him the opportunity to do the right thing, but when he fails she attacks. I, as I think most people do, loved this part and loved the fact that she was able to shame a man and show her power. Portia is the main character in this play and shows that it is her stage, and she can do what she wants.

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  5. Q1: In the mind of Shylock, he owes the Christians nothing, and by nothing, that includes any kind of explanation, and it definitely includes mercy and forgiveness. I believe that Shylock is taking advantage of giving the Christians a taste of their own medicine. Through his actions, he more or less says “oh, look. I’m not a Christian, I am merely a Jew, but look, I can do what the Christians do. I can be merciless and vengeful.” Just as the Christians take their revenge, so does Shylock. I would think that the audience would finally start to see and pity Shylock as a person, rather than a human punching-bag of sorts.

    Q3: In the opening of Act 5, Jessica and Lorenzo seem as if they are trying to compare their love to some of the most infamous love stories ever told, and just all-around acting like lovesick teenagers. The beginning starts sweet, but they start to use their own story in place of the allusions they were making, and it only appeared to grow sour from there. After hearing out-loud from Lorenzo what she had done, she started to realize how bad it sounded. She feels ashamed of herself for stealing from and abandoning her own father. She realizes that that was not the ‘happily ever after’ that she had pictured for herself. Her guilt probably had chipped away at her just enough for her to fully comprehend what she had done.

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  6. Q1: Shylock offers double sided answers to why he will not relent his bond. On one hand, we can see them as very compelling, though not very articulate, reasons to continue his torment of Antonio. He compares Antonio to a rat, and says that he bought Antonio through the bond, therefore he is his property, and if the law does not go through with Antonio's punishment, they are denying Shylock his justice and his right as a property owner. Antonio has been mean to Shylock, so we as modern readers can understand his need for revenge. On the other hand, however, these reasons are anything but sound. He tells the judge that he will not relent to exacting a pound of flesh from Antonio because he hates him. When asked why Antonio is like a rat to Shylock, he simply tells the judge that it is his business and he really doesn't need to tell anyone because there is no law forcing him to tell. One of his reasons is compelling, the other, simply petty(or so it seems to the audience).

    Q2: I feel bad for Shylock because there is so much done against him based off nothing except his religion. I imagine throughout this scene, he is beside himself with the need for some sort of justice- for balance to be restored to his world. It is all he can think of, and as he sees his justice coming undone, then his world start to disintegrate, the fight just leaves him. He becomes defeated in mind, manner and body. He has no strength left. Antonio, after winning the case, demands that Shylock convert to a Christian immediately. That robbed Shylock of everything he has ever known. Christians have taken everything from him, and are never satisfied. They took his daughter, his money, and now they are demanding his faith, profession (because only Jews are allowed to be usurers), his community (which include the few friends he has), and his home (since it is in a Jewish community and without wealth or his faith, he cannot maintain it). That is the cruelest thing I can imagine. To strip a man of his dignity daily, then take literally everything from him, until he is so weak in spirit, mind and character that he just melts off the stage. He has no strength to go out with anything more. He is "not well".

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  7. Marilyn Kull
    Q1: Shylock at this point has already lost his temper. We've seen his distress from being made a fool of and it is finally his opportunity to get revenge and in some form he can be taken seriously now. He is intimately giving a similar response, but he admits that he has no reason aside from the hatred and loathing that he bears for Antonio. He now remains determined to have the bond rectified.
    Q2: I wholeheartedly believe that this is meant to be a tragedy. The final lines from Shylock ad to the misery as the Christians and Portia defend Antonio and the laws of Venice. I'm not sure that the audience would have felt badly for Shylock, and while they might not cheer for Portia's victory it is my belief that they would have cheered as Shylock left the stage getting unwell.

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