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Satire
Definition of Setting
Setting is where and when a story or scene takes place. The where can be a real place like the city of New York, or it can be an imagined... read full definition
Setting is where and when a story or scene takes place. The where can be a real place like the city of New York, or... read full definition
Setting is where and when a story or scene takes place. The where can be a real place like the... read full definition
Setting
Explanation and Analysis:
The Merchant of Venice is believed to have been written between 1596 and 1598, and it likely takes place around then. The play is primarily set in Venice, which was, at the time, an independent city-state, a center of naval trade (in which Antonio engages), and among the only European cities with a significant Jewish population. Despite their numbers, Venetian Jews faced prejudice and persecution, including being barred from engaging in most professions. One of the few ways that Jewish people could make money was by practicing usury: lending out money and charging high interest rates on the loans. Shylock is a usurer and has built his livelihood through the practice; this makes his ultimate fate all the more tragic, as, when Portia (disguised as the lawyer Balthazar) rules against him in court and strips him of his wealth, he states, "you take my life / When you do take the means whereby I live."
Related Themes:
