The Merchant of venice by shakespear act 1

1. The Merchant of veniceby shakespearact 1 Rush & spring

2. About the play In Shakespeare’s time, English law continued to forbid Jews from living in England, but a few hundred survived in London and other cities in the guise of Christians. Anti-Semitism increased in England around 1190 after non-Jews borrowed heavily from Jewish moneylenders. King Richard I (reign: 1189-1199) put a stop to Jewish persecution, but it returned in the following century during King Edward I's reign from 1272 to 1307. The government required Jews to wear strips of yellow cloth as identification, taxed them heavily, and forbade them to mingle with Christians. In 1290 Edward banished them from England. Only a few Jews remained behind, either because they had converted to Christianity or because they enjoyed special protection for the services they provided. In Shakespeare's time 300 years later, anti-Semitism remained in force in England.

3. Characters in act 1 • ANTONIO, a merchant of Venice • BASSANIO, his friend, suitor to Portia • SOLANIO, friend to Antonio and Bassanio • SALERIO, friend to Antonio and Bassanio • GRATIANO, friend to Antonio and Bassanio • LORENZO, in love with Jessica • SHYLOCK, a rich Jew • PORTIA, a rich heiress • NERISSA, her waiting-maid

4. Summary act i, scene i In scene 1 Antonio, a merchant of Venice is talking to his friends Salarino and Salanio who think that Antonio is sad Because f his argosies on the ocean, however he rejects that. Then Bassanio, Gratziano and Lorenzo arrive and Continue their conversation over Antonio’s melancholic mood. When Antonio and Bassanio are left alone, Bassanio Propounds his need for money in order to propose Portia, a rich hairess. Antonio who is so generous toward him says that he does not have much wealth at that time, but offers to borrow money for him.

5. The first scene The first scene is just as an introduction to talk about Antonio and his position as wealthy and well-known man in Venice that we didn’t see any part which can be deconstructed. Although there are lots of shocking contrasts in the dialogues, we could not say that they can be considered binary oppisition, on the basis of the definition of this element. When the writer uses the contrast between happiness and sadness, this is just an artistic style . “Salanio: then you must be somber because you are not destined to be merry; for “twere as easy now for you to laugh, and leap, and say that you are merry, only because you are not sad” (p.7) Since in binary opposition, we try to make a contrast so as to evaluate something by belittling the opposite.

6. Summary act I, scene ii This act takes place in Portia’s house at Belmont; a conversation between Poetia and her waiting-woman, Nerissa about Portia’s suitors. According to her dead father’s will, she has to marry someone, who win the lottery choosing the correct casket among three chests of gold, silver and lead. Portia is complaining about both this will and her suitors. Nerissa tries to calm her down and at the end she reminds Portia of a suitor called Bassanio, Antonio’s friend, whom Portia remembers him worthy of Nerissa’s praise.

7. Elements found in scene ii Aporia: logo centrism: Attachment:

8. “Portia: O me, the word choose. I may neither choose whom I would nor refuse whom I dislike, so is the will Of a lvingdaughter curb’d by the will of a dead father. Is it not hard Nerissa that there is none I can choose, none I can refuse.” (p.19) “Nerrisa: if he should decide and should he choose the right casket you should refuse to perform your father’s will should you refuse to accept him.”(p.22)

9. The father’s will is the center of the power, which they cannot disobey. They have made a logo out of this will and seem to be obliged to obey it. As a matter of fact they are so much attached to this will that they are not able to make a pure decision. This sort of attachment made Portia find herself in an aporetic decision, in which she has to choose her husband based on her father’s will. This sense of attachment to a will makes Portia unable to think properly. All they know is this: they must obey Portia’s father’s will. The only hope she has is that the suitor, who wins the correct casket, would be someone, whom she likes. She runs into an impassable difficulty that she cannot save herself, because saving herself, she should refuse her father’s will; something which seems impossible. This will is regarded as an original guarantee that must be inevitably followed.

10. Summary of scene iii Bassanioturns to shylock, a Jew who makes his living as a moneylender, for borrowing three thousand ducats and tells that Antonio will be responsible for repaying the loan. Shylock agrees and asked Bassanioif he may speak with Antonio first. Bassanio invite shylock to dine with them. But shylock refuse to eat with Christians. Antonio enters, he and shylock start a conversation full of irony because each of them think that he is superior to the other in his religion. Shylock in a hypocritical manner pretends that he does not have any enmity with them and accept to lend Bassaniomoney, with the guarantee that if they can not repay it in three months he would only demand a pound of Antonio's flesh. Antonio thinks Shylock is only joking about the pound of flesh, and is happy to seal the contract.

11. Elements found in scene iii Binary opposition/ supplementarity Theo centrism/ anthropocentrism ethnocentrism

12. ethnocentrism Ethnocentrism is judging another culture solely by the values and standards of ones own culture. Ethnocentric individuals judge other groups relative to their own ethnic group or culture, especially with concern for language, behavior, customs, and religion. (Omohundro, 2008) William T. Sumner, who created this term, defines it as “the technical name for the View of things in which one’s own group is the center of everything and all others are scaled and rated with reference to it.” (quoted in Mertob, 1996, P.248) People born into a particular culture that grow up absorbing the values and behaviors of the culture, will develop a worldview that considers their culture to be the norm. (Seidner, 1982) Here in the conversation between Antonio and Shylock, ethnocentrism can be regarded as the dominant element. Continuing reading the play, we see Shylock looks down at Antonio as a Christian and visa versa.

13. “Shylock: may I speak with Antonio? Bassanio: if it please you to dine with us. Shylock: yes, to smell pork, to eat of the swine which your prophet, the Nazarite, conjured the devil into. I will buy with you, sell with you, talk with you, walk with you, and so forth. But I will not eat with you, drink with you, nor Pray with you.” (p.27) Shylock: how I despise his Christian haughtiness….              he hates our sacred nation.(pp. 28.29)

14. “Shylock: Signior Antonio, many a time and oft in the rialto you brated me, about my monies and my usances…” (p.33) “Antonio: I am as like to call thee so again. To spit on thee again, to spurn thee, too. If thou wilt lend this money, lend it not as to thy friend- for when did friendship make profit on barren metal breeding it as if the offspring of a living creature. Nay, lend it rather to thine enemy who, if he breaks, you mays’t with better face exact the penalty.” (pp.34.35) “Shylock: o father Abram, how these Christians are: their own hard dealings teach them to suspect the thoughts of others.” (p.37) “Antonio: the Hebrew will turn Christian. He grows kind.” (p.38)

15. Suggestion As Seider (1982) asserts, if people experience other cultures that have different values and normal behaviors, they will Find that the thought pattern appropriate to their birth culture and the meanings their birth culture attacks to behaviors are not appropriate for the new cultures. However since people are accustomed to their birth culture, it can be difficult for them to see the behaviors of people from a different culture from the viewpoint of that culture rather than from their own.

16. Binary opposition Binary opposition is a pair of related terms or concepts, which are opposite in meaning. Based on structuralism, Binary opposition is the system by which in language and thought, two theoretical opposites are strictly defined and set off against one another. on the contrary, in supplementarity, these two opposites concepts supplementinstead of Raising against one another. This supplementarity is considered a suggestion to put an end to this opposition. In Act I, scene III, as the discussion between Antonio and Shylock goes on over their behaviors towards one another, one can see the opposition raising against them as a Jewish and a Christian till they call themselves enemies: “Shylock: Signior Antonio, many a time and oft in the rialto you brated me, about my monies and my usances…” (p.33) “Antonio: I am as like to call thee so again. To spit on thee again, to spurn thee, too. If thou wilt lend this money, Lend it not as to thy friend- for when did friendship make profit on barren metal breeding it as if the offspring of A living creature. Nay, lend it rather to thine enemy who, if he breaks, you mays’t with better face exact the penalty.” (pp.34.35)

17. Theo centrism vs. anthropocentrism According to Theo centrism, God is central aspect to our existence as opposed to Anthropocentrism or existentialism. On the contrary, Anthropocentrism is the belief that human beings are the central or most significant species on the planet. The Christian defenders of Anthropocentrism base their belief on the verse 1:26 from the Book of Genesis: “and God said, let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle and all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.” Here in this scene, Antonio knows God, “the hand of heaven”, the cause in Jacob’s story:

18. “Shylock: when Jacob grazed his uncle Laban’s sheep he then was third in line from Abraham – this his wise mother has deftly arranged; the third possessor- ay, he was the third. Antonio: and what of it? Did he take interest ? Shylock: no, not directly- hear what Jacob did: he first agreed with Laban, that for earnings, he could have all the sheep born marked or spotted. Tis known whatever a ewe sees when mating that’s what her newborn will come to resemble. Autumn had come; it was the time for breeding. So Jacob peeled off the bard from some sticks and when the work of generation was between these wooly breeders in the act he put the branches in front of the ewes. In spring they conceived lambs that were spotted and all the offspring rightly went to Jacob. This was the way he thrieved, and he was blessed; and thrift is blessing if men steal it not. Antonio: this was a venture, sir, that Jacob served for, a thing not in his power to bring to pass but swayed and fashioned by the hand of heaven.

19. references • ^ John T. Omohundro (2008). Thinking like an Anthropologist: A practical introduction to Cultural Anthropology. McGraw Hill. ISBN0-07-319580-4. • Robert King Merton (1996). PiotrSztompka, ed. On social structure and science. University of Chicago Press. p. 248. ISBN978-0-226-52070-4. • Stanley S. Seidner, Ethnicity, Language, and Power from a Psycholinguistic Perspective. Bruxelles: Centre de recherchesur le pluralinguisme, 1982.