The Merchant of Venice

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The Merchant of Venice, William Shakespeare

I read this play as part of Shakespeare Reading Month hosted by Allie over at A Literary Odyssey.

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Shylock and Jessica, by Maurycy Gottlieb (via)

Where do I begin? Let’s start with how The Merchant of Venice is not actually about the merchant of Venice. I saw it the events that transpired because of the aforementioned merchant’s decision.  In truth, it was just one of the events. :p

It all starts with Antonio, the merchant of Venice, deciding to put up his name as a guarantor for a loan so that his dear friend Bassanio could pursue Portia, the woman of his dreams.  Not only that, he agrees to Shylock’s terms of having a pound of his flesh if he cannot repay him.  Ahh, I could just hear Jamie Lannister say, “The things I do for love.” That’s some really deep love right there.

Long story short, Bassanio gets the woman of his dreams and Antonio ends up not being able to pay Shylock because something goes awry with his business.  The rest of the play focused on how they would be able to save Antonio from his fate.  We see this unfold through the wit and cunning of Portia.

On to characters

I found it rather harsh that Shylock would request a pound of flesh for payment but he and Antonio hate each other because one is a Jew and the other a Christian.  So, ok.  I would describe Shylock as rather relentless which is especially displayed in his unwillingness to give up taking a pound from Antonio’s flesh.

One of the events in the story involving Shylock is his daughter Jessica.  She is portrayed as silent and love struck.  She elopes with Lorenzo and they go to Belmont.   When Shylock hears of this, it did not make him happy at all.

Alack, what heinous sin is it in me
To be ashamed to be my father’s child!
But though I am a daughter to his blood,
I am not to his manners.
- Jessica, Act II Scene III

An event that was also covered was the transfer of Launcelot, a servant, from Shylock’s service to that of Bassanio’s.  His reason is that Shylock is rather evil.  Ok.  All that have transpired seemed to want us to know that Shylock is a rude man.

I found the process Portia’s suitors had to go through to gain her hand in marriage interesting.  They had to choose from three caskets made of gold, silver, and lead to see which one contained her picture.  Where her suitors failed, Bassanio succeeded.  And here is where we witness the fastest progression from lovers to husband and wife. I know it was the 16th century but damn that was fast.  I could also say the same for Portia’s maid, Nerisa, and Bassanio’s buddy, Gratiano.  I liked the scene where Portia and Nerissa discuss her numerous suitors and the reasons why she does not like them.

Females dressing as males occurred twice in this play with Jessica dressing as a page so she could escape with Lorenzo and both Portia and Nerissa dressing as men to save Antonio’s life.

The court scene in the play was also very interesting to read.  Portia’s cleverness was really displayed in those scenes.  I loved how she dared Shylock to get his pound of flesh without dripping any blood as it was not stated in writing.

Overall, I enjoyed the play.  Rather sad about Antonio’s bullying Shylock in the final Act but it is what it is.

Quotable Quotes

I know that there are a lot more out there so these are just a few:

But love is blind and lovers cannot see
The pretty follies that themselves commit;
For if they could, Cupid himself would blush
- Jessica, Act II Scene VI

You saw the mistress, I beheld the maid.
- Gratiano, Act III Scene II

All that glisters is not gold

Hath not a Jew eyes? hath not a Jew hands, organs, dimensions, senses, affections, passions? fed with the same food, hurt with the same weapons, subject to the same diseases, healed by the same means, warmed and cooled by the same winter and summer, as a Christian is? If you prick us, do we not bleed? if you tickle us, do we not laugh? if you poison us, do we not die? and if you wrong us, shall we not revenge? If we are like you in the rest, we will resemble you in that. 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.
- Shylock, Act III Scene I

The quality of mercy is not strain’d,
It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven
Upon the place beneath: it is twice blest;
It blesseth him that gives and him that takes:
’Tis mightiest in the mightiest: it becomes
The throned monarch better than his crown;
His sceptre shows the force of temporal power,
The attribute to awe and majesty,
Wherein doth sit the dread and fear of kings;
But mercy is above this sceptred sway;
It is enthroned in the hearts of kings,
It is an attribute to God himself;
And earthly power doth then show likest God’s
When mercy seasons justice.
- Portia, Act IV Scene I

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This reading also counts for the Venice in February Reading Challenge since it is set in Venice.

The Tempest

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The Tempest, William Shakespeare

I read this play as part of Shakespeare Reading Month hosted by Allie over at A Literary Odyssey.

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Miranda, by John William Waterhouse [Public domain or Public domain] (via)

I remember The Tempest vaguely back when I was in high school.  We did not discuss it for class but me and friends were playing with a tape recorder and this was the play that we were trying to record. That and the name of the main protagonist, Prospero, is the inspiration behind the name of the books, arts, and culture blog of The Economist which I read from time to time.

Anyway, the play is about how Prospero wants to gain back what is rightfully his as the Duke of Milan.  His title was usurped by his brother, Antonio who also conspired with Alonso, the Duke of Naples, to do the deed.  Prospero and his daughter Miranda, then still an infant, escaped with the help of Gonzalo, a councilor.  Both Prospero and Miranda ended up in the remote island which becomes the setting for this play.

Prospero, with the aid of his spirit servant Ariel, conjure up the tempest that brings the ship bearing Antonio, Alonso, Sebastian, Gonzalo, Ferdinand, Adrian, Francisco, Trinculo, and Stephano to be shipwrecked and the nobles to be stranded in their island.  Now, I would just like to say that Adrian and Francisco don’t actually do much. Trinculo and Stephano provide the comedic bits in this play.

There are a lot of things going on in The Tempest.  The major one is Prospero’s desire to gain back what is his.  Others include Ferdinand and Miranda’s love at first sight story, Antonio and Sebastian plotting against Alonso and Gonzalo, Ariel’s desire to be free, and Caliban’s vow for vengeance as he feels the island is his by right and was usurped by Prospero.  That and there’s also magic.

Prospero is rather mean (to me anyways).  He does not treat Caliban fairly (although that may stem from Caliban’s attempted rape of his daughter) and he chides Ariel every time for reminding him of his promise of liberty.  Plus he calls his daughter “wench.”  Well it does mean woman but I always assumed in the olden days it was a term for prostitute.

Miranda on the other hand is a rather surprising character.  She comes of as sweet but her proposal of marriage to Ferdinand shocked me.  That and her love at first sight story with Ferdinand.  Ferdinand is the first man she has ever laid her eyes on aside from her father and Caliban.  She falls for him and he for her.  It was cute but really? Plus the “virgin knot” had me giggling.  It just reminded me of Robin Hood: Men in Tights where Maid Marian has a chastity belt.

Caliban, o poor Caliban.  Everything just does not go right for this one.  He conspires with two of the most inept people to murder a very powerful magician.  Well at least he knew to get rid of the books because they were Prospero’s source of strength.

Sebastian and Antonio are vile creatures.  Imagine being shipwrecked and in the middle of nowhere with no way to get home and they still had the audacity to conspire to murder their own king.  Crazy.  But their scenes were funny though.

Alonso, the king of Naples, at least shows some remorse after the things he conspired to do in the past.  And poor Gonzalo, always being rebuked for wanting to be positive in light of their situation.

Ariel is a very obedient spirit and carries out all the tasks that Prospero asked.  I mean, wouldn’t you if it meant your freedom?

This is the second Shakespearean play I read which involved magic and sleeping.  The first being A Midsummer Night’s Dream.  In both, characters are put to sleep by magic and then woken for another scene.

All in all, I enjoyed this play and it does end happy despite being rather grim in the start.

The Comedy of Errors

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The Comedy of Errors, William Shakespeare

I read this play as part of Shakespeare Reading Month hosted by Allie over at A Literary Odyssey.

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The Comedy of Errors. _Wikimedia Commons_.

In this play, we have two sets of twins, both sets each confusingly named Antipholus and Dromio.  Egeon of Syracuse and Emilia, the parents of the two Antipholus twins, were travelling for business at that time when Emilia gave birth.  It also happened that at the inn they were staying in, a poor woman also gave birth to twins.  Egeon bought the twins to be brought up as slaves for each of his sons.

On their return journey, they were unfortunate victims of a shipwreck.  Egeon was able to take one Antipholus and one Dromio while his wife also did the same.  They were both saved by different ships, one bound for Corinth and the other for Epidaurus.  When Antipholus of Syracuse grew up, he took his slave Dromios with him to find his brother and mother.  Egeon followed suit and unbeknownst to both father and son, they were both in Ephesus which also happens to be the location of the other set of twins.  And here begins the many set of errors described in the play.

My thoughts on the play?

It was okay.  I did not hate it but I did not love it that much either.  But it was definitely funny.  It was really funny to read the scenes where friends and family mistake one for the other.  This play also had a very happy ending, which was nice.

Another thing about this play is that it is a very physical comedy.  It involved slapping around both of the Dromios.  Both Antipholus twins had that in common, hurting their slaves.  One exception was that Antipholus of Ephesus was married to Adriana.  The wife also inflicts pain on the slave.

Adriana also has a sister, Luciana.  They are very different as Adriana is rather shrewish while Luciana thinks that wives should be servants to their husbands.  Here are a few of Luciana’s statements:

A man is master of liberty
Time is their master; and when they see time
They’ll go or come

and

Why, headstrong liberty is lash’d with woe.
There’s nothing situate under heaven’s eye
But hath his bound, in earth, in sea, in sky:
The beasts, the fishes, and the winged fowls,
Are their males’ subjects and at their controls:
Men, more divine, the masters of all these,
Lords of the wide world and wild watery seas,
Indued with intellectual sense and souls,
Of more preeminence than fish and fowls,
Are masters to their females, and their lords:
Then let your will attend on their accords.

Its also funny that Antipholus of Syracuse would somehow just go have dinner with his alleged wife when he in fact knows that he has no wife.  I also found the discussion between Antipholus and Dromio of Syracuse of the features of the cook of Antipholus of Ephesus in geographical locations to be funny.

While reading the play, I couldn’t help but think about why the people around them couldn’t tell them apart? Well, they had the same physical traits but what about their clothes? But whatever, it wouldn’t be a comedy otherwise.

Some of my favorite passages

Antipholus of Syracuse:
I to the world am like a drop of water
That in the ocean seeks another drop,
Who, falling there to find his fellow forth,
Unseen, inquisitive, confounds himself

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Dromio of Ephesus:
She is so hot because the meat is cold;
The meat is cold because you come not home;
You come not home because you have no stomach;
You have no stomach having broke your fast;

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Antipholus of Syracuse
Thank me, sir, for what?

Dromio of Syracuse
Marry, sir, for this something that you gave me for nothing.

Antipholus of Syracuse
I’ll make you amends next, to give you nothing for something.

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Dromio of Ephesus
Say what you will, sir, but I know what I know;
That you beat me at the mart, I have your hand to show:
If the skin were parchment, and the blows you gave were ink,
Your own handwriting would tell you what I think.

[January] Shakespeare Reading Month

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Reading Challenge, Shakespeare, William Shakespeare

I’ve now officially gone insane! I’ve been contemplating whether or not I would join the Shakespeare Reading Month event for this coming January 2012 over at A Literary Odyssey. I’ve finally decided to suck it in and join. It would be a good way to keep a steady stream of books to read.

Risa of Breadcrumb Reads is hosting a similar challenge but it lasts for the entire year (a play a month). What I intend to do for this challenge is to read around four plays by Shakespeare that is not on the reading list in the challenge that Risa is hosting. This would mean that I have to read a play a week. I’m already laughing at the situation I’ve put myself into because I really hope to be able to read those plays I intend to read.

The plays I plan to read are:

• The Tempest
• Hamlet
• The Merchant of Venice
• The Comedy of Errors

Or I might read two books on Shakespeare that are gathering dust on my shelves: Shakespeare Unbound, by Rene Weis which didn’t get good reviews and The Life and Times of William Shakespeare, by Peter Levi which garnered some good reviews. We’ll see.