The Merchant Of Venice And The Covenant Of The Bible

The stipulation is the field of study of Shakespeares play, The Merchant of Venice, as well as of the Bible, although the Covenant does not appear to be the theme of the play.

        The Covenant does not appear to be the theme of The Merchant of Venice. For example, in the play, Antonio makes a verbal musical arrangement because of his friendship with Bassanio to loan him the property Antonio borrows from usurer. This verbal, informal agreement is a gesture of friendship; The agreement is not a stir from a father to son, or similarly, of God to man. Therefore, Antonio and Bassanios actions do not reflect the Covenant or parallel the books of Genesis. Secondly, Launcelot is a clown and a servant to Shylock. However, in the play, Launcelot wishes to leave Shylocks house and serve Bassanio instead. This action, like Antonios, also contradicts the thematic ideas of the Covenant of the Bible. The Covenant in the Bible is essentially a fealty. Launcelots desire to leave Shylock and forsake his duties to him shows his lack of commitment and thus does not parallel the Covenant. Lastly, and possibly the most self-contradictory of the theme of the Covenant, is Shylocks daugher, Jessicas, actions. Jessica leaves her father to marry Lorenzo. She does not ask for her fathers blessing and leaves the house covertly.



Through this, the theme of the Covenant is negated.

        In scandalise of the previous reasons the Covenant is not the theme of the play, there is much evidence in the text that supports that the Covenant is, in fact, the theme of the play. The Covenant has a great deal to do with Shylock who, in Act One, Scene Three, lines 68-71, implies a parallel among himself and Jacob in Chapters Thirty, Thirty-one, and Twenty-seven of Genesis. Shylock refers to...

If you want to get a full essay, order it on our website: Orderessay



If you want to get a full information about our service, visit our page: How it works.