A well organized document containing notes on The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare, for your exam
This includes:
- Background information on Venice, The Globe theatre and William Shakespeare
-A detailed character list
-Plot and Setting of each scene
- Portia's suitors and Casket test
...
{Merchant of Venice}
Venice
• Ideal trading post
• Merchant city during Elizabethan times1
• Instead of roads, there are canals on
which people travel
• People used a gondola to travel on the
canals – it is a traditional flat-bottomed
boat
• Jews were confined to the Geto Nuovo
• Venice was a dukedom
• Venice was known for upholding the law
• They speak Italian here
• It is located in Italy
• The commercial hub of Venice was called
the Realto
The globe theatre
Structure
• Shaped like an enormous ring doughnut
• Round building with a center yard that was open
to the sky
• It was made out of bricks and timber (wood =
why it burnt down)
• The Globe was built by William Shakespeare and a
group called, The Chamberlain’s Men
Basic information
• Where William Shakespeare’s plays were
performed
• The Globe could hold 3000 people
• The globe opened in 1597
• It was situated on the Southbank of the river Thames in London, since it was outside
of the city it couldn’t be controlled by the officials who disapproved of theatres as a
whole. (They were religious and managed to get the theatre shut down in 1642)
• There was no artificial lightning thus all plays had to be performed during the day.
• The globe was burnt down in 1613 during the play “Henry VIII” due to a canon blast that
set fire to the theatre’s roof. It was rebuilt on the same site.
Before the globe was built
• The first purpose-built theatre in London was built in 1576(Also known as “the theatre”,
this was not the globe btw.)
• The Rose and the Swan were also popular theatres of south bank
, Danelle Hamman
• Before theatres were built people could only see plays if there were traveling groups
who performed
The pit
• ‘The Pit’ also known as the yard is in the centre of the theatre.
• The pit offered the cheapest tickets
• The poorer folk paid one penny to stand there and watch the plays.
• The poorer folk or the “riff-raff” who stood in the pit was also known as “groundlings”.
• Groundlings often kept things lively by yelling, throwing up, arguing.
• Groundlings/Tudors often ate nuts as a snack or to throw at the stage while the plays
were being performed.
• Groundlings were aggressive and violent
Posh folk
• The posh people paid 2 pennies to stand and watch under a sheltered gallery around the
ring, if they wanted a seat they had to pay more for a cushion
• Now the super-rich people (who wanted to show off their wealth) paid to sit directly
on the stage, they had chairs to sit on and they could watch the play unfold before
their eyes
The heavens and the hell
• The painted ceiling over the stage (heavens)
• Angels or fairies “flew” around by swinging on ropes from the heavens
• The hell was located under the stage, this was where evil characters often would
appear from.
The balcony
• The gallery above the stage that sometimes required by musicians or it was used to
enact certain scenes. (Like Romeo and Juliet)
Flags
• People could figure out what kind of play was going to play by looking at these flags
• Black – terrible tragedy
• White- Chucklesome Comedy (Merchant of Venice is a comedy)
• Red – Horrible History
The law of women in plays
• In those times it was against the law for women to act thus young boys had to act
the part of them.
• Meaning even Portia, Jessica and Nerissa – who are all described as beautiful, they were
played by young boys
, Danelle Hamman
William Shakespeare
Details about Childhood
• Born in Stratford-upon-Avon in Warwickshire
• Although we do not know his exact birth date, he was
baptized on the 26th April.
• He was the son of John and Mary Shakespeare
• His Father was a glovemaker, merchant and a well-known
figure in Stratford-upon-Avon
• His Mother came from a farm in Wilmote
• John and Mary had 8 children, 3 of them died at a young age,
thus making Shakespear the eldest son
• Thanks to his local grammar school where he learnt to read
and write, he was able to write his plays.
His marriage
• He was 18 and she was 26 (8-year age difference)
• Her name was Anne Hathaway
• It was an arranges marriage (they seemed to get married in a rush)
• Their First child; Susanna was born 6 months after their wedding
• They had another 2 children; Judith and Hammet
• Hammet died in 1596
His venture to London
• He moved to London in 1580
• He worked there as an actor and a playwright
• He had written plays before 1592
• When he wasn’t busy writing new plays, he would actually act in his plays.
• He owned a share in the theatre company “Lord Chamberlain’s men”
• When Queen Elizibeth I died, King James I took over and granted the company his royal
seal of approval, they then became the king’s men
Basic Information about him
• He wrote 40 plays and 154 sonnets
• He was a part of building THE GLOBE in 1597, it was finished in 1599
• William returned back to Stradford-upon-Avon in 1613
• On the 23rd April 1616 (believed to be his birthday) he died
• He was buried in the Holy Trinity Church in Stradford-upon-Avon
, Danelle Hamman
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