CONTENT ANALYSIS: MERCHANT OF VENICE

 SCERT Standard 8- Part 2

Unit 4 - SHARE AND CARE

Theme of the unit: Human values, empathy, friendship, need of love and care. 

Merchant of Venice - William Shakespeare


Curricular Statements;

The learner:

  1. develop the skill of listening, speaking, reading and writing. The learner will be able to compare and contrast two different situations and also enriches vocabulary.                                                 
  2. genre: Play - Shakespearean comedy                    
  3. appreciation of the play "The Merchant Of Venice"                                                                                     Shakespeare's "The Merchant of Venice" is a comedy as the mistaken identities take a backseat to hypocrisy and vengeance. Bassanio seeks out his friend Antonio, the title character, to loan him money so, he may travel to Belmount to present himself as a suitor to Portia. Since, Antonio has no cash on hand, he borrows money from Shylock, a rude moneylender. If he fails to pay back, Antonio must pay with his own flesh from his body. Portia, with the help of a lawyer argued the case and Shylock is forced to give half of his fortune to Antonio. This play is often disregarded for its anti-semitism, "The Merchant of Venice" is possibly the most thought provoking of Shakespearean comedies. The defining dramatic speeches, argue, revenge and justice, while each making the case for Shylock as a villian and not. Another debate surrounding this play is the sexual preference of the title character Antonio. Bassanio's love for Antonio is met with a sarcastic remark by Portia. This play exemplifies Shakespeare's genius and the classic production does great justice to the script, characters and intentions through purposeful staging and technical crafts.                
  4.   Identifies the importance of sacrifice 
  • Antonio sacrifices his life for his friend Bassanio
  • Discourses
  • Prepares discourses like coversation, diary entry, character sketch, letter writing and so on. 
  • Students should taught to write in English meaningfully. 
Pre-requisites;
The learner: 
  • What do you know about Shakespeare? 
  • Have you read any of his plays or sonnets? 
  • What are the important themes of Shakespearean plays? 
Teaching- learning resources

Course book (8th standard Part 2 textbook), Source book (The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare),  chart, activity cards, handouts, ICT (videos/ documents), dictionary. 

Concept:

Important vocabulary

  1. Squander 
  2. Ducats
  3. Bluntly
  4. Eloquently
  5. Sagacity 
Fact

Bassanio wants to marry a woman named Portia. But he can't afford to pay for his clothes and travel to Belmount to woo her. So, he asks his friend Antonio, if he can borrow some money. Antonio has no money left to lend his friend. He asks Shylock, a money lender for a loan instead. Shylock agrees to give him  the money. He warns that if Antonio couldn't pay him back on time, he must give a 'pound of his own flesh'. Portia's father set up a 'lottery' in his will, that means anyone who wants to marry his daughter has to pass a test first. Portia and Nerissa watch as several suitors tries to win her love, through picking one of the three caskets: gold, silver or lead. But they all failed. 

Shylock's daughter Jessica, escapes from his house so that she can marry Lorenzo with the help of Lancelet Gobbo. Lorenzo is a Christian and a friend of Bassanio's. Bassanio arrives in Belmount, with his friend Gratiano and correctly chooses the lead casket, winning Portia's hand in marriage. Portia felt delighted. 

Antonio's ships are lost at sea, that means he has no way to repay Shylock and will have to face him in the court. He writes to Bassanio, who leaves Belmount with Portia's money to try and help his friend. Portia follows Bassanio to the court in disguise as a male lawyer. She asks Shylock to be merciful but, Shylock is determined to take a pound of Antonio's flesh and to have his revenge. In front of the Venetian court, Portia examines the original contract between Shylock and Antonio. She tells the court that Shylock can only take a pound of flesh from his body if he spills no blood. Shylock admits that this isn't possible. Thus, Shylock is punished by the court for attempting to kill a Venetian citizen. All of his wealth is seized and he us forced to convert to Christianity. 
Bassanio returns to Belmount, where Portia reveals that she was the lawyer in disguise. They are reunited. Antonio received a positive news that the three of his ships made it safely back to Venice. 

Principle

  1. Prejudice - on both the sides; the Christians hate Shylock because he is a Jew and Shylock too hates Christians. The play also reveals the double standard under which Shylock lives and the despicable nature of the christians. Shylock is expected to show mercy when he is never shown any by the ruling class.                                
  2. Money - to most of the Christians, money is more important than anything else. Even love is seen as a contractual agreement.                          
  3. Playing and perception - throughout the play, appearances are shown to be deceptive. In the trail of the three caskets, the outwardly ugly cask symbolise the disconnect between outward appearance and inward character. 
Learning Activities 

  • Divide the students into groups and stage various sections of the play. 
  • Arrange jumbled ordered events as a paragraph. 
  • Exercises on question tags. 
Additional knowledge 

The learner;

  • gets information about William Shakespeare as a dramatist. 
  • he is often called as the 'Bard of Avon'.
  • his work consists of 37 plays, 154 sonnets, 2 narrative poems and a few other verses. 
  • helps to understand Shakespearean comedy from this play. 

         









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