One of the many elements that make up a classic, is that the book, novel or play can be read in any generation, decade, century or in any part of the globe at any time and have relevance to the reader. The themes of this book should be universal, so that the reader can take something and create a parallel to an event or situation in his or her own life. Although The Merchant of Venice is not considered by many as Shakespeare’s greatest play, it still has elements that make it a classic. The Merchant of Venice has many contemporary themes in it.
In this essay I will provide you with examples of themes that still hold true today, 401 (1597) years after Shakespeare wrote this masterpiece. The re-occurring themes of love, anti-Semitism and inter-marriages are a few examples of contemporary themes that are manifest in The Merchant of Venice that are still issues that we discuss, worry, and care about today. A key theme in the book is love. There are many loving relationships in this play and not all are the type that involves the love that a man has for a woman, or vice versa.
Bassanio and Portia, Jessica and Lorenzo and Gratiano and Nerissa are all types of love that involve a man and a woman, which are of course relevant to today’s society. When one looks deeply into these relationships, they would see parallels to the ones of today. For instance, the concept that all three marriages will probably not last, is a parallel to the number of divorces that are occurring today. More and more divorces are happening and the increase from other years is shocking!
One of the main reasons why this is happening is that more people are getting married too fast and leaving no time to realize that there are not meant for each other. This is the same in two – and possibly three – of the relationships. Gratiano and Nerrissa got married after knowing each other for only several hours and Bassiano and Portia got married before they go to know each other (, but you can’t fault Portia for this, for strict policies were ordered onto her). Jessica and Lorenzo’s marriage might split for other reasons.
The second relationship that is explored in The Merchant of Venice is the type of man to man. Homosexuality is a type of love that happens in any period in time and is even more relevant today, as homosexuality has blossomed even more in the 1990’s, creating a large issue. Antonio’s “love” may not be the type that we are thinking about, but if this happened today we might see it as homosexuality. Many say that Shakespeare is a homosexual from evidence from his many plays. The third type is between a man and his money. Shakespeare’s portrayal of Shylock is a cold-hearted man, who only has one true love, his money.
He would sacrifice anything for money (even his own daughter). Once again this theme is good, because you will find people like this in every period of time. The second theme is anti-Semitism. Although we are not sure of Shakespeare being an anti-Semite we might think that he is, through his depiction of Shylock as a cold-hearted Jew, that hates Christians and wants to kill them. This view is well represented by the following excerpt from literary criticism: “[Shakespeare] planned a Merchant of Venice to let the Jew dog have it, . . .
The text itself preserves enough evidence of the author’s fixed intent to exhibit his Shylock as an inhuman scoundrel, whose diabolical cunning is bent on gratifying a satanic lust for Christian flesh, the Jew, in fact, who was the ogre of Medieval story and the cur to be exacerbated by all honest men” ( Charleton 7). Anti-Semitism is a very talked about issue not only for the Jewish people, but also for many non-Jews. The Merchant of Venice has been banned from public school’s shelves in Toronto, for its endorsement of anti-Semitism.
Parents and school boards are afraid the uneducated, young teenagers who have no real first hand interaction with Jewish people will believe that Shylock is the model of a common Jew and start hating all Jews. For a Jewish person learning this book, he or she can create a parallel to anti-Semitic situations in his or her life to the ones faced by Shylock in the play (i. e. the courtroom scene). So this is a good contemporary theme, because it affects both Jews and non-Jews. Finally, the theme of an inter-marriage, explored by Jessica and Lorenzo, is also a contemporary one.
This theme is more understood to a Jewish person (rather to a non-Jew) in today’s society. More and more Jews are leaving their faith in order to marry a gentile. The loss of Jewish identity across the world is staggering and is a very frightening issue for rabbis and Jewish people who practice and believe in the faith. The reaction, in a sometimes-left out silent scene, of Shylock after he learns that Jessica has eloped with Lorenzo is fantastic. We see him crying, screaming and then ripping his clothes and falling to the ground.
This is a symbol of the way a Jew mourns for a lost loved one. To him, Jessica is dead and unfortunately that is something that is happening in many more Jewish households and even more unfortunate, the reaction of Shylock is not present. Is The Merchant of Venice a classic? That is an issue that will be discussed for many years to come. But the argument for it being a classic definitely has some truth and evidence for it. The many themes of the play that are still relevant to us today, proves, to an extent, that The Merchant of Venice is a classic play.
And those themes will always be contemporary for better or for worse and the play will always be a classic. English Essay One of the many elements that make up a classic, is that the book, novel or play can be read in any generation, decade, century or in any part of the globe at any time and have relevance to the reader. The themes of this book should be universal, so that the reader can take something and create a parallel to an event or situation in his or her own life.
Although The Merchant of Venice is not considered by many as Shakespeare’s greatest play, it still has elements that make it a classic. The Merchant of Venice has many contemporary themes in it. In this essay I will provide you with examples of themes that still hold true today, 401 (1597) years after Shakespeare wrote this masterpiece. The re-occurring themes of love, anti-Semitism and inter-marriages are a few examples of contemporary themes that are manifest in The Merchant of Venice that are still issues that we discuss, worry, and care about today.
A key theme in the book is love. There are many loving relationships in this play and not all are the type that involves the love that a man has for a woman, or vice versa. Bassanio and Portia, Jessica and Lorenzo and Gratiano and Nerissa are all types of love that involve a man and a woman, which are of course relevant to today’s society. When one looks deeply into these relationships, they would see parallels to the ones of today. For instance, the concept that all three marriages will probably not last, is a parallel to the number of divorces that are occurring today.
More and more divorces are happening and the increase from other years is shocking! One of the main reasons why this is happening is that more people are getting married too fast and leaving no time to realize that there are not meant for each other. This is the same in two – and possibly three – of the relationships. Gratiano and Nerrissa got married after knowing each other for only several hours and Bassiano and Portia got married before they go to know each other (, but you can’t fault Portia for this, for strict policies were ordered onto her).
Jessica and Lorenzo’s marriage might split for other reasons. The second relationship that is explored in The Merchant of Venice is the type of man to man. Homosexuality is a type of love that happens in any period in time and is even more relevant today, as homosexuality has blossomed even more in the 1990’s, creating a large issue. Antonio’s “love” may not be the type that we are thinking about, but if this happened today we might see it as homosexuality. Many say that Shakespeare is a homosexual from evidence from his many plays. The third type is between a man and his money.
Shakespeare’s portrayal of Shylock is a cold-hearted man, who only has one true love, his money. He would sacrifice anything for money (even his own daughter). Once again this theme is good, because you will find people like this in every period of time. The second theme is anti-Semitism. Although we are not sure of Shakespeare being an anti-Semite we might think that he is, through his depiction of Shylock as a cold-hearted Jew, that hates Christians and wants to kill them. This view is well represented by the following excerpt from literary criticism: “[Shakespeare] planned a Merchant of Venice to let the Jew dog have it, . . The text itself preserves enough evidence of the author’s fixed intent to exhibit his Shylock as an inhuman scoundrel, whose diabolical cunning is bent on gratifying a satanic lust for Christian flesh, the Jew, in fact, who was the ogre of Medieval story and the cur to be exacerbated by all honest men” ( Charleton 7). Anti-Semitism is a very talked about issue not only for the Jewish people, but also for many non-Jews. The Merchant of Venice has been banned from public school’s shelves in Toronto, for its endorsement of anti-Semitism.
Parents and school boards are afraid the uneducated, young teenagers who have no real first hand interaction with Jewish people will believe that Shylock is the model of a common Jew and start hating all Jews. For a Jewish person learning this book, he or she can create a parallel to anti-Semitic situations in his or her life to the ones faced by Shylock in the play (i. e. the courtroom scene). So this is a good contemporary theme, because it affects both Jews and non-Jews. Finally, the theme of an inter-marriage, explored by Jessica and Lorenzo, is also a contemporary one.
This theme is more understood to a Jewish person (rather to a non-Jew) in today’s society. More and more Jews are leaving their faith in order to marry a gentile. The loss of Jewish identity across the world is staggering and is a very frightening issue for rabbis and Jewish people who practice and believe in the faith. The reaction, in a sometimes-left out silent scene, of Shylock after he learns that Jessica has eloped with Lorenzo is fantastic. We see him crying, screaming and then ripping his clothes and falling to the ground. This is a symbol of the way a Jew mourns for a lost loved one.
To him, Jessica is dead and unfortunately that is something that is happening in many more Jewish households and even more unfortunate, the reaction of Shylock is not present. Is The Merchant of Venice a classic? That is an issue that will be discussed for many years to come. But the argument for it being a classic definitely has some truth and evidence for it. The many themes of the play that are still relevant to us today, proves, to an extent, that The Merchant of Venice is a classic play. And those themes will always be contemporary for better or for worse and the play will always be a classic.
