MERCHANT OF VENICE Paper Topic

1. Though Shylock and Portia are very different characters, both have their liberty and choices “curbed” by the Venetian aristocrats. How do Shylock and Portia resist these restrictions? On what privileges or expectations does each rely in resisting the limits placed on his liberty? How do their strategies differ, or are they unexpectedly similar?

2. To what extent are deception and trickery represented as central components in the social economies of Venice? Which characters use deception and why? Are their motives good or ill? Is deception peculiar to the behavior of marginalized characters or does official culture employ it as well?

Remember to cite your quotations using the act, scene and line number, not the page number.

4 pp. Due 11/19

Workshoppers: Bryan, Andrew, Kerri Anne. Workshoppers ONLY need to email their drafts to epearson@stonehill.edu with the header “Paper for Peek.” Make sure they are emailed by 8AM Thursday morning.