Illustrations of “The Merchant of Venice”

1. Illustrations of “The Merchant of Venice”

2. Richard Parkes Bonington. Bassanio and Portia, c. 1826. Although other titles have been suggested for this small picture, the source is clearly Act III, Scene ii, of The Merchant of Venice. Bassanio has wisely chosen the lead casket on the table behind them and found inside it Portia's picture. He now claims her with a kiss as he has been directed by the poem that accompanies "fair Portia's counterfeit": You that choose not by the viewChance as fair, and choose as true.Since this fortune falls to youBe content and seek no new.If you be well pleased with thisAnd hold your fortune for your bliss,Turn you where your lady is,And claim her with a loving kiss. In the background of the picture stand Portia's maid Nerissa and Bassanio's friend Gratiano, two lovers who have had no need of caskets or poems to make their choice of mates.

3. Sir Samuel Luke Fildes. Jessica, exhibited in 1888. By permission of the Folger Shakespeare Library "There will come a Christian boy, will be worth a Jewess' eye" (The Merchant of Venice, Act II, Scene v). Fildes's Jessica was shown in 1888 in an exhibition of twenty-one paintings sponsored by the newspaper Graphic. The series of pictures was entitled Shakespeare's Heroines.

4. Sir John Gilbert. Shylock After the Trial. Steel engraving, approximately 6.5 x 10.5 inches, by G. Greatbach. The engraving is from Charles Knight's two-volume Imperial Edition of The Works of Shakespere(London: Virtue and Company, 1873-76). The title of Gilbert's painting is a misidentification and is thus misnamed. After the trial (Act IV, Scene i), Shylock leaves the stage and we hear no more of him. The action Gilbert illustrates occurs in Act II, Scene vii after Shylock learns that his daughter Jessica has eloped with Lorenzo--and a sizeable portion of his money. Salerino and Salanio, friends of Antonio's, describe Shylock running madly through the streets lamenting his lost daughter and money. Salanio: The villain Jew with outcries raised the duke,Who went with him to search Bassanio's ship. Salarino: He came too late, the ship was under sail:But there the duke was given to understandThat in a gondola were seen togetherLorenzo and his amorous Jessica:Besides, Antonio certified the dukeThey were not with Bassanio in his ship. Salanio: I never heard a passion so confused,So strange, outrageous, and so variable,As the dog Jew did utter in the streets:'My daughter! O my ducats! O my daughter!Justice! the law! my ducats, and my daughter!A sealed bag, two sealed bags of ducats,Of double ducats, stolen from me by my daughter!And jewels, two stones, two rich and precious stones,Stolen by my daughter! Justice! find the girl;She hath the stones upon her, and the ducats.'

5. Frederic Leighton. Two Venetian Gentlemen, c. 1862-3. Oil on canvas, 38.5 x 28.5 inches. Private collection.

6. Thomas Sully. Portia and Shylock, 1835. By permission of the Folger Shakespeare Library Oil on canvas, 29 x 38 inches. The Folger Shakespeare Library, Washington, D. C. An inscription on the back of the canvas says it illustrates The Merchant of Venice, Act IV, Scene i, lines 230-232. The relevant passage is "Be merciful. / Take thrice thy money; bid me tear the bond." In Sully's painting Portia is poised to tear the bond in two, but Shylock, holding the scale with which he intends to weigh the pound of flesh cut from Antonio, looks harshly upon her and points to the bond. The painting seems unconcerned with fidelity to the text; Portia is not disguised effectively as a judge and Sully is more intent on depicting the merciful, feminine Portia than a "Daniel come to judgment."

7. Henry Woods. Portia, exhibited in 1888. By permission of the Folger Shakespeare Library "Tarry, Jew: The law hath yet another hold on you" (The Merchant of Venice, Act IV, Scene i). Portia was shown in 1888 in an exhibition of twenty-one paintings sponsored by the newspaper Graphic. The series of pictures was entitled Shakespeare's Heroines.

8. Welcome to Renaissance England

9. It’s Time!

10. It’s time to don your doublet!

11. Tighten your trussing!

12. Get on your galligaskins!

13. Females, fit on your farthingales!

14. Smooth your stomachers!

15. Remember your ruffs!

16. Slip on your shoes! And grab your gloves!

17. Gentlemen? Ladies?

18. Is everybody ready? We’re going to the theatre!

20. Shakespeare • 1563-1616 • Born: Stratford upon Avon, England • Wrote 37 plays and 154 sonnets • He started out as an actor

21. Stratford upon Avon • Shakespeare’s birthplace and burial place • Shakespeare’s residence outside of London • Anne Hathaway’s cottage still stands here along with other monuments • Home of the Royal Shakespeare Company • London • Shakespeare’s workplace as an actor and playwright • Home of the Globe Theatre (1599) which was built by (and for the performances of) ‘The Lord Chamberlain’s Men’ until it burnt in 1613.

22. The Globe! Shakespeare’s theatre is located just outside of London, England.

23. The Globe Theater 1599 Burned in 1613

24. The Theatre • Plays produced for the general public • Roofless- open air • No artificial lighting • Courtyard surrounded by 3 levels of galleries

25. The New Globe Theater 1999

26. Spectators • Wealthy got benches • “Groundlings”- poorer people stood and watched from the courtyard (“pit”) • All but wealthy were uneducated/illiterate • Much more interaction than today

27. Staging Areas • Stage>platform that extended into the pit • Dressing & storage rooms in galleries behind & above stage • Second-level gallery> upper stage> famous balcony scene in R & J • Trap door>ghosts • “Heavens”> angelic beings

28. Differences • No scenery • Settings > references in dialogue • Elaborate costumes • Plenty of props • Fast-paced, colorful- 2 hours!

29. Actors • Only men and boys • Young boys whose voices had not changed play women’s roles • Would have been considered indecent for a woman to appear on stage

30. A white flag is flying. There’s a play today! The groundlings have paid their penny and are standing to watch the play. It’s afternoon, time for the play to start. The stage is a lower class profession, and no women will appear there. The young men are dressing up to take the female roles. Poetry is a higher class of art than play writing is.

31. The wealthy are in the upper decks. We’re in for a real treat! It’s good the plague is over and the theaters are open again. The play is about to begin! It’s one of Shakespeare’s tragedies!

32. William Shakespeare

33. What do we know about Shakespeare? When he retired he went back to Stratford-on-Avon and bought the best house in town. His vocabulary was huge: 17,000 to 34,000 words! He purchased a coat of arms to make his family upper class. He married Anne Hathaway when he was 18 years old. He has a monument in Westminster Abbey though he’s buried in Stratford-on-Avon. He died in 1616. They had three children, including a set of twins. His acting company was called “The Lord Chamberlain’s Men.” He wrote 37 very successful plays. His hometown is Stratford-on-Avon. His father was a middle class butcher, mayor, & glovemaker. He was born in 1564. She was 26! Even Queen Elizabeth enjoyed his plays! He moved to London and became an actor, playwright, and theater owner. Later it became “The King’s Men.”

34. What do we know about Shakespeare? He has had an amazing influence on our English language.

35. Shakespeare wrote: • Comedies • Histories • Tragedies

36. Have you heard these phrases? • I couldn’t sleep a wink. • He was dead as a doornail. • She’s a tower of strength. • They hoodwinked us. • I’m green-eyed with jealousy. • We’d better lie low for awhile. • Keep a civil tongue in your head.

37. They are just some of the many expressions coined by that master of language, William Shakespeare.

38. Now, let the show begin!

39. Shakespeare’s Language Using the handout provided, write the following definitions on your sheet.

40. Elizabethan (QE1) Words • An,and: If • Anon: Soon • Aye: Yes • But: Except for • E’en: Even • E’er: Ever

41. Haply: Perhaps • Happy: Fortunate • Hence: Away, from her • Hie: Hurry • Marry: Indeed

42. Whence: Where • Wilt: Will, will you • Withal: In addition to • Would: Wish

43. Blank Verse • unrhymed verse • iambic (unstressed, stressed) • pentameter( 5 “feet” to a line) • ends up to be 10 syllable lines

44. Prose • Ordinary writing that is not poetry, drama, or song • Only characters in the lower social classes speak this way in Shakespeare’s plays • Why do you suppose that is?

45. Plot • The sequence of events in a literary work

46. Exposition • The plot usually begins with this: • introduces>>>> • setting • characters • basic situation

47. Inciting Moment • Often called “initial incident” • the first bit of action that occurs which begins the plot • What is the inciting moment in ‘The Merchant of Venice’?

48. Conflict • The struggle that develops • man vs. man • man vs. himself • man vs. society • man vs. nature

49. Crisis • The point where the protagonist’s situation will either get better or worse • protagonist>good guy • antagonist>bad guy

50. Climax • The turning point of the story>everything begins to unravel from here • Thus begins the falling action