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The Merchant of Venice - Coggle Diagram
The Merchant of Venice
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• the main plot: the dispute on money matters between the Venetian Antonio and the Jewish money-lender Shylock;
• the subplot: the choice of a husband by the rich lady Portia, who lives in Belmont.
Themes:
- various types of love
- Jews vs Christians
- Hatred and prejudice
- Mercy, justice and revenge
- Appearance and reality
- Value and worth
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The settings:
- In the 16th century Venice was an autonomous trading town
- The English saw it as a symbol of wealth, but it wasalso associated with greed.
- Jews were forced to wear a red hat to identify themselves and lived in the ghetto.
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• Shylock, the Jew who symbolises the greedy side;
• Antonio,therichbutgenerousChristianmerchant, who stands for the wealth of Venice.
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The settings:
Belmont was an idyllic place where a rich, happy and sophisticated society lives. A fairy-tale world of music and love.
• Young people there play tricks on each other, wit and humour are part of their daily life.
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Jews were:
- 1260 EDICT OF EXPULSION (Jewshadbeenbanned
from England)
- excluded from many fields of work
- moneylending
- Shakespeare drew on anti-Semitism and common stereotypes