Merchant of Venice- Romantic Comedy or not? Essay

A wild-eyed japery is a looseness of the bowels that integrates romantic elements as fountainhead as humour. In Shakespeares romantic comedies, the protagonists live happily ever after, and more frequently than not, the play ends with the tolling of nuptials bells, with more than one couple getting married to create a joyful atmosphere. Love always commandms to triumph over adversity in his romantic comedies. Besides, evil is in any case brought to light, exhibiting enlightenment and reformation. The genre of romantic comedy depicts societies that cannot accommodate the independent woman, often indicated by the hiding of her true individuality in order to be able to function in society. Cross-dressing is often utilize to achieve this purpose and in addition provide mirthful relief.Yes. It is a romantic comedy.1. The merchant of Venice is often categorized as a romantic comedy. To well-nigh extent, the play does qualify as one. Firstly, of the three spot lines that run t hrough the play, two are related to love and marriage- the relationships of Bassanio and Portia, as well as that of Jessica and Lorenzo. The play depicts the stories of these two couples, integrating the theme of romance, at the same time showing how they overcame obstacles to be together.2. Secondly, in the final blossom out of the play, Graziano and Nerissa, and Lorenzo and Jessica, get married. Bassanio and Portia have already been married in the earlier scenes, and on the whole live happily ever after. The play ends happily with the union of the caramel browns, the return of Antonios ships and evil creation brought to light, as we can see in loan sharks conversion to Christianity.3. Thirdly, cross-dressing is also featured in merchant of Venice, as we can see in how the three females, Portia, Nerissa and Jessica dressed up as men. Portia and Nerissa were able to prove their capabilities as females, and Jessica was able to reunite with her lover this way. At the same time, the cross-dressing of Portia and Nerissa provides comic relief as we can see in the rings plot. These are completely conventions of Shakespeares romanticcomedies, therefore, the merchandiser of Venice can, to a certain extent be considered as a romantic comedy.No. It is not a romantic comedy.4. However, there are also certain features in merchandiser of Venice which do not correspond with the characteristics of a romantic comedy. The master(prenominal) themes of a romantic comedy are vatic to be bright and related to goodness (e.g. love), but in Merchant of Venice, the main themes also include evil, detestation, vengeance and discrimination. Firstly, the hatred between Antonio and shylock can be witnessed in Act 1 Scene 3, where the condition calls the latter names like a cut-throat dog. There is a furious exchange of insults, and this soon develops into a full-blown argument. The theme of hatred is displayed here, bringing forth an ominous atmosphere.5. Discrimination is al so a main theme in Merchant of Venice. Jews are a clear organize of discrimination, as we can see in the case of Shylock being discriminated by Antonio, with the latter spitting on my (his) Jewish gabardine. Besides, racial prejudice is also shown, with the Prince of Morocco as an example. Although Portia does not say any colour-sensitive remarks to him and claims that all suitors possess a fair chance of wooing her, deep conquer she still deems him unsuitable and inferior because of his racial origins, hoping that none of his colour would prefer the correct casket.6. Deception and betrayal are also involved in the play, with Antonio as an example. He is perceived in public as an beneficial and respectable character, a gentleman, but in concomitant he has some dark qualities, like the discrimination and maltreatment of the Jews. This can be inferred from the detail that he spits at, insults and kicks Shylock whenever he sees him. Besides, Jessica can also be used as an example to illustrate the theme of deception and betrayal. She dresses up as a male in order to elope with her Christian lover. iodin could see this as a pursuit of her happiness, but more salient(ip) is not only the physical disguise that she wore, but the fact that she betrayed her trust and father. It would be deemed an ungrateful act no matter how ashamed she was of the fact that she was a Jew.7. More impactful though, is the callousness and vengeance harboured by Shylock. Three molar concentration ducats are borrowed from him, with a pound of digit from Antonio as the penalty if the bills is not returned. Later in the play, Antonio receives news that his ships have been lost, stripping him of this fiscal ability to repay the debt. Shylock refuses to spare his life, and insists on having the pound of flesh. In Act 4 Scene 1, the court scene, Shylock asserts that he will still harvest Antonios flesh, even though the power was offered two times the sum of money, six thousand ducat s. In this scene, Shylocks thirst and desire for revenge are obvious, as well as his hatred for Antonio. His heartlessness and unwillingness to be merciful strikes us as evil acts. These are not truly palatable, especially in a play categorized as a romantic comedy. This could very well lead to a tragic ending of Antonio being killed, if not for the wit of Portia.ConclusionDeception, discrimination, evil, vengeance, betrayal and hatred are all shown in this play. This is a stark contrast to the pleasant atmosphere that a romantic comedy is supposed to create. In some situations even, a tragedy could result. Therefore, the Merchant of Venice is a romantic comedy only to a certain extent, at least one that makes us think about deeper themes and issues.