Merchant of Venice Critics Flashcards

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1
Q

Peter Cash; Shakespeare’s 1st aim in the Merchant of Venice.

A
  • “to present us with a comprehensive view of a flawed humanity”
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2
Q

Peter Cash; Shakespeare’s 3rd aim in the Merchant of Venice.

A
  • “to assay human values in order to determine man’s sense of priorities”
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3
Q

Peter Cash; Shakespeare’s 4th aim in the Merchant of Venice.

A
  • “to explore the difficulties that attend man’s moral choices”
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4
Q

Peter Cash; common human dilemmas.

A
  • The play aims to “illustrate that there are common human dilemmas which - being impossible to resolve - first excite laughter, but ultimately inspire pity for our lapsed condition
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5
Q

Harold Bloom; the play as a comedy, but still anti-Semitic.

A

“Shakespeare’s grand, equivocal comedy…is nevertheless a profoundly anti-Semitic work”

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6
Q

Peter Thomson; the juxtaposition of scenes from Belmont & Venice in Acts 1 to 3.

A

“Shakespeare’s strategy…to create suspense through the employment of ‘imminence’. What is about to happen in Venice or Belmont is constantly interrupted by a shift to the other place.”

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7
Q

William Hazlitt; comments on the portrayal of Shylock onstage as grotesque, and Shylock’s obsession with his revenge.

A

“a decrepit old man…brooding over one idea, that of his hatred, and fixed on one unalterable purpose, that of his revenge

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8
Q

Stephen Greenblatt; Shylock’s use of language (idiosyncratic speaking style, repetition, etc.)

A

“Although Shylock shares a language with his Christian adversaries, he inhabits it ‘in a wholly different sense’ “

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9
Q

Michael L. Fleischer; the idea that Portia & Bassanio’s relationship plot is less important to the story than Shylock’s revenge plot (can be used whenever you feel that Portia & Bassanio’s relationship developments are unrealistic).

A

“The relationship between Shylock & Antonio is the dramatic core…the love story (between Portia & Bassanio) is of secondary dramatic importance

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10
Q

Farah Karim-Cooper; the treatment of Portia & Jessica as male property in the play (whenever Shylock talks about Jessica as being his, or Portia talks about her father or being Bassanio’s).

A

“In the stories of Portia & Jessica, Shakespeare highlights the various conditions under which women were viewed as property in Elizabethan England.”

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11
Q

Anne Parten; Portia as capable & a character of action (any time she does anything in Act 4 / 5, & in Bassanio’s choosing scene).

A

“Portia…represents Shakespeare’s first effort to create a comic heroine capable of controlling & directing the action…around her

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12
Q

Anne Parten; Portia as a stronger character than the men in the play.

A

“In constantly demonstrating her ability to beat men at their own games, Shakespeare allows Portia to emerge as a more potent character than any of her masculine companions.”

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13
Q

Harold C. Goddard; on Antonio’s feelings toward Shylock.

A

“Antonio has a no less savage detestation of Shylock…Antonio abhors Shylock because he catches his own reflection in his face.

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14
Q

Anne Barton; Shylock as alien, different & opposed to the pleasure-seeking society of Venice due to his frugal nature.

A

“Shylock is an alien in a society whose religion, pleasures, aims & attitudes are radically different from his own. Restrained & frugal by nature, he holds the pleasure-loving life of the Christians in contempt. Even his economical, unadorned style of speech sets him apart from the Venetians.

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15
Q

Warren D. Smith; Shylock not being a true Jew, but rather using his religion to justify his vengeance; showing no personal engagement with the faith.

A

“Shylock is perfectly willing to use the Jewish faith as a cloak for villainy.”

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16
Q

Lawrence Danson; On Antonio’s sadness as a manifestation of his love for Bassanio.

A

“Antonio’s sadness remains inexplicable…a competition between Portia & Antonio seems the inevitable result of the assumption.”

17
Q

Cynthia Lewis; Idea that Antonio is a less present character.

A

“Antonio may be the least visible character ever to have had a play named after him”

18
Q

Robin Russin; theme of appearance vs reality.

A

“greed masquerading as wealth & sophistication”

19
Q

Robin Russin; Bassanio winning Portia (& comparing her to the story of Jason & the golden fleece).

A

“This fleece is not love, or even Portia’s golden hair, but her gold, plain and simple.”

20
Q

Robin Russin; similarities between Portia & Antonio in their relationship with Antonio.

A

“how Portia and Antonio mirror each other […] in their attraction to and financial support of Bassanio

21
Q

Robin Russin; Shylock’s fate after the trial & prejudice.

A

“Shylock must give everything…not in any way an invitation for him to achieve either salvation or forgiveness: he remains an alien, not a citizen, and still without rights.”

22
Q

Robin Russin; theme of appearance vs reality in Jessica’s & Lorenzo’s relationship.

A

“It is the money that matters to Lorenzo, and the chance to live like a wealthy Christian that matters to Jessica”

23
Q

Emma Smith; love & money.

A

“Shakespeare shows how capitalism affects – and infects – emotional relationships”