Common Module (Ideas & Analysis) Shakespeare The Merchant of Venice

Resource Description

LOVE + SETTING (JESSICA)
 Jessica's experience of love becomes corrupted by the religious influences from Venice,
resulting in her misery as she is forced to betray her father and sacrifice her identity to pursue
her romantic connection with Lorenzo. Despite expressing shame in abandoning the paternal
love from her father for an identity that is assimilated with the majority, describing herself as a
"sinner", she seeks romantic love to feel a sense of belonging in Venice, using apostrophe "I
shall end this strife, become a Christian and thy loving wife".
 In order to achieve this, Jessica steals from her father Shylock, using mercenary language "gild
myself with some more ducats", which by framing her as a prize, symbolically represents the
unstable financial world intruding into the romantic world. This instability foreshadows the
failure of their relationship, leading to the presence of tragedy in Belmont at the end of the
play.
 Although she is situated with her lover in the 'perfect' romantic sphere, the dramatic choice of
her final lines "I am never merry when I hear sweet music" illustrates the continuous life of
isolation she will live due to the problematic intersection of the financial and romantic worlds.
Thus, Shakespeare challenges audiences' assumptions of love as infallible as we see the
paradox in seeking love to end suffering only creating further suffering when relationships are
commodified.

PARADOX OF JUSTICE (SHYLOCK + PORTIA)
 Shakespeare then displays the story of the individual experience against the collective in the
judicial system, and in the processes of law we see that they are inherently biased against
certain individuals – giving modern audiences questions to think upon regarding the fairness of
the justice system, which we can apply to our own lives as it represents something familiar and
uniting.
 The Duke's description of Shylock as "an inhuman wretch" foreshadows the outcome of his
trial as he is pressured by the demands of the majority, perverting justice into a one-sided
outcome rather than a common ideal for all. This establishes an underlying sense of irony; as
the mercantile society of Venice entirely relies upon the law to function, revealing the limits of
Venetian tolerance for religious difference and clearly establishing the flaws within the judicial
system.
 Portia's intervention fulfils the unjust outcome, using verbal irony in "the Jew shall have all
justice" to reveal contempt in the successful pursuit of revenge wherein she traps Shylock into
an inescapable fate. This directly juxtaposes her previous speech about mercy, describing it as
"an attribute to God himself" to establish the Christian community as morally superior.
However, in acting with merciless hate towards Shylock, comparing him to "an alien" and
threatening "thou diest", she raises further questions regarding both the core values of
Christianity and the fairness of the justice system wherein there is no mercy. Thus in
highlighting inconsistencies in the ways humans enact and receive justice, and alternating acts
of cruelty and righteousness, the audience is left to reflect upon and question assumptions of
traditional ways of thinking.
o Justice is still applicable to current society because of the intrusion of religious prejudice
 permeates, commenting on society etc, these flaws in human nature are unlikely to
change and laws will always be biased against certain individuals