The Merchant of

Venice
Themes

Learning Outcomes
Identify the importance of each of the themes in the play
Analyse the language used to convey these themes to the
audience

Interpret the message intended to be conveyed to the

audience and justify your reasons

Starter
What is a theme?
Why are they important when studying a novel/play?
How important is the historical context of a piece of
writing?

You need to draw this table four times, one on each of the next four
pages, landscape.
You will be coming back to fill in more information as we read
more of the play.

Themes
Hatred as a cyclical phenomenon
We need to consider:
- why do the characters behave as they do?
- could this have been different if the cycle had been
broken?
"I am a Jew if I serve the Jew any longer", as if being a Jew is the worst think he can think of.
When Jessica escapes with Lorenzo, Gratiano pays her the complement of calling her "a
gentile and no Jew" (even though she had not yet converted to Christianity).
What does this suggest about their preconceived ideas regarding the Jewish race?

Themes
Mercy and Justice
If a Jew wrong a Christian, what is his humility? Revenge. If a Christian wrong a Jew,
what should his sufferance be by Christian example? Why, revenge!"

Do you agree with Shylock's argument? Shylock has clearly had experience of a
Christian 'justice' which discriminates against Jews.

The New Testament advocates that Christians should "turn the other cheek" rather
than exact revenge from the the person who has wronged them. Shylock's view of
justice is the complete opposite: it is "an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth" - which
interestingly is an idea of justice which can be derived from the Old Testament.

Themes
Love and Hate
Which type of love is shown to be the strongest in the
play? What about the tensions in some of the
relationships? What is Shakespeare telling us about the
nature of love?
You could also comment on the love of possessions: would
you say that Shylock loves money?

Themes
Appearance and Reality
There are many instances in the play when all is not quite as it seems. We, the
audience, are aware of the disguises and deceptions with which some of the
characters are involved.
Lancelot deceives his blind father, pretending that he is not his son.
Jessica dresses up as a boy in order to elope with Lorenzo.
It is clear that we should not judge by appearances!
Do you think that it is fair to deceive others, even for 'honourable' motives? Are
there any characters in the play who, in your opinion, take deception too far?
We could also question the 'appearance' of the Venetians - they call themselves
Christians (and so ought to follow the teachings of the New Testament, loving
their neighbours), but the reality is that they own slaves and persecute the Jews.

Themes
Value and Worth
The plot revolves around money, debts and payment. But do all things have a
price? Can we put a monetary value on everything - even human life?
- Are the women in the play treated as objects rather than people by the men? It could be
argued that Portia's father saw her as a possession to include her in his will; Shylock treats
the loss of Jessica equally with the loss of his money - "My ducats and my daughter!
- The caskets are deliberately labelled with riddles, intending to confuse potential suitors.
The gold casket contains the famous line, "All that glisters is not gold" which emphasises
the idea that appearances can be deceiving.
- When Bassanio is about to make his choice, he comments that "So may the outward
shows be least themselves". The lead casket, which has the least monetary value, contains
the greatest prize.