Monday, July 25, 2011

Shakespeare's biasness in portrayal of main characters in MOV

I feel that Shakespeare is not biased in terms of portrayal of the main characters in The Merchant of Venice. In The Merchant of Venice, we are able to see the main characters in many different view points and not only in one light. Shakespeare highlights both the characters' positive and negative traits, not showing who is the exact "good" or "bad". For example, while Portia is viewed as a pure and innocent "princess" at first, her "scheming" traits are portrayed during the court trial. She uses different means to force Shylock into resigning to them. Another example would be Jessica. While she may be viewed as a faithless daughter due to her elopement with Lorenzo, she is also a charming and vivacious young lady. However, Shakespeare also shows Shylock as a "typical Jew", according to the stereotype of Jews at his time. This can be seen in the seemingly one-sided portrayal of Shylock, with his evil deeds and mindset allowing audiences to see him as the villain in the story. However, Shakespeare also manages to portray him as an isolated minority overwhelmed by prejudice from the Christian majority of Venice. Thus, I believe that Shakespeare is not biased in the portrayal of the characters in this play.

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