"Merchant of Venice" Handout

What is the setting of the story? What are the people like, the culture etc.?

The setting is Venice, Italy and the people are upper class men because they are rich merchants. The way they act is in a very formal way like rich people would act.

We meet Antonio in the first scene, who exactly is he and what is his worries that he faces early on?

Antonio is a very rich and prosperous guy who is suffering from the depression in Italy he is very depressed and doesn't know what he is sad about.

We also meet Bassanio a friend of Antonio, what does he ask of Antonio? Explain.

Bassanio asks Antonio for money because he can't afford the trip to see his dream girl.

Portia worries about finding a husband, so what does she decide to do that she thinks will be best solution to her problem. Explain?

Portia realizes that she needs to give other people a chance and so she changes the way she loves someone by putting personality over money.
 

"Merchant of Venice" Anticipation Guide

• Don’t rely on outward appearances when making judgments. Agree- I agree with this because just like the saying "Don't judge a book by it's cover." You may never know what is underneath the surface, they could've experienced drama or even bullying. But, on the outside they don't show any of it. When I was little I remember seeing people getting bullied and these were people who had family troubles in the past but still they kept it in and just put up with the bulling and smack talk.
• Justice is always blind. Disagree- I feel that justice is meant to be blind but, with all the people in the world they shaped justice to not be blind. They became discriminate and segregated people based on their skin color, nationality, and so many other characteristics. In my own experiences I have witnessed people call a decision biased/unfair because of the color of a person's skin. Like in Ferguson, Missouri with the shooting of a black citizen by a white cop.
• A brotherly love between two friends can be just as strong as an intimate love between a man and a woman. Agree- Some friends in this world are way closer then a couple, showing that you indeed can have a bond just as or even stronger than one from a man and woman. In my life I have not witnessed this because I don't really know of any couple that have a weak bond and are still married. I know of friends that have strong bonds but may not be stronger than any couples that I know of.
• You can break a promise as long as you have a good excuse. Disagree- When a promise is made it is called a promise for a reason and should be treated as one. If you were to just make a promise an than back out of it by just giving an excuse than you should've even have called it that in the first place. I've seen this before when my friend said they would help me with my project and said they promise they would come and help out later but then never, and then said later that they had family problems. Although I should've let it go I was still mad because it was a promise and it should've stayed it that way.
• Love is blind. Disagree- People still judge no matter how good looking or bad looking you are. While there are people in this world who can love unconditionally there are more who judge and pick and choose who they want and who they don't. I once watched this show where there is someone who would pick and choose there wife from about ten women, and they would get rid of the ones they weren't to attracted to and keep the ones they were.
• Stereotypes are often right. Agree- Stereotypes in a way were never true form the start, in some cases the may have been partially correct but in a joking manner. They just turned somethung thatwas noticed form many people and made a joke out of it. Stereotypes aren't are just like a rumor that is about  certain group of people.
• An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth is a good motto to live by. Disagree- This means that everything alike is the same value. But, in real life all  alike things aren't created equal, you could have a phone and want to trade it for the newer phone. But, just because it is a phone and a phone doesn't make it the same value, because one is more valuable than the other. Just wanting to trade car in for another car doesn't always work, because again not everything is equal just because it is the same in general.

"Merchant of Venice" Partner Work

Partners: Bradson Serikawa, Kylan Tomita, Brianne Hoggan

1.)   The play opens with Antonio, the merchant, admitting that he is sad, but not knowing why.  Think of times when you’ve been sad.  Have you always understood exactly why, or has your sadness sometimes seemed strange to you?  Explain.

Yes sadness has seemed strange to all of us before and we don’t always understand why.  One possibility is that say your best friend is depressed and whenever you talk to them they talk back to you in a dismal or heavy-hearted tone. With them having that kind of attitude,  their negative feelings will eventually rub off on you.  Another situation is if you live in an area where the weather is always gloomy and you just automatically feel this wave of sadness wash over you whenever you look outside.  There isn’t really any reason for your sadness it is just kind of like an instinct.

2.)   In Shakespeare’s time, lending money for interest was called “usury” and was generally considered immoral.  How have attitudes changed since then?

Since Shakespeare’s time attitudes have changed drastically.  One reason being that

money back then was scarce and hard to come by. So it only makes sense to try and get

more when given the chance.  Doing this was considered immoral, but back then you did

what needed to be done, and getting more money from less was one way to do it.  But, in the present day money is so abundant that if you decide to allow money to be borrowed only for an outrageous interest rate then the person interested would probably go to a much more convenient place to get money or would just find someone else.  Also, nowadays people’s point of view of money has changed and so coming across a person who would do the same as Shakespeare would be less common, and just shows how people’s attitudes toward this has changed a ton since Shakespeare's time.

3.)   Think of the recent banking crisis and the state of today’s economy.  Do you think it’s all right to lend someone a large amount of money based on their word and reputation even though they may not have any concrete evidence of being able to pay you back?

I think in todays economy it all depends on how well you trust that person, and your relationship with he or she. In today’s economy money is pretty tight, things are a lot more expensive and in most cases the amount of money you earn isn’t the best. If you are going to lend out money you should make sure that you can still make a living based on what you have left. Therefore you should only lend out money if you trust the persons word and what they are going to do with the money. Personally if someone didn’t have concrete proof that they can pay me back I would be pretty iffy about whether I will or won’t lend out the money, because in this economy things can go downhill very quickly.

4.)   This play includes romantic love stories and also ethnic and religious conflict.  How well do you expect these elements to blend?

We expect these three topics to blend although not necessarily smoothly at all times. The fact is these topics are seen in our everyday life.  Whether it involves people falling in love, or religious wars in the Middle East, to ethnic conflicts here in the United States, these three topics blend  and make up the news of our daily lives.  These topics are relatable because we experience each everyday.