Closing Thought

Initially, I intended to read A Midsummer Night’s Dream, but I am glad that I chose The Merchant of Venice instead. Reading the summary online, I did not expect what seemed to be a simply story to be so good. However, there is often beauty in simplicity. The beauty of this work was that it not only created realistic characters, but it portrayed the relationships between these characters and a situation with an underlying topic. The tension between the Jews and Christians at this time was presented very well in this piece. While Shakespeare was most likely appealing to a mostly Christian audience, he always did a good job of putting in small parts to make the audience sympathize with, or at least understand the antagonist a little more. He also showed each side with their faults, and allowed for the unexpected hero to salvage the situation.

An interesting point of this play, and Shakespeare’s other plays such as Macbeth, is his representation of strong, clever women. Likely he was trying to appeal to Queen Elizabeth, a female monarch in a “man’s world.” However, it does seem that he has an affection for the female characters that can stand strong for themselves and really take control even in the “man/s world.” I find this interesting, and likely connected to his preference in women, as well as him looking to please the Queen.