A Study Of “Venice” In The Merchant Of Venice

As one of Shakespeare's most frequently read and performed works,The Merchant of Venice has presented us with many important issues that deserve our attention and reflections.In this play,Shakespeare depicts a vivid picture of a Venetian city-state in the Renaissance.The people in Venice,Venice as a city-state,and the value philosophy of Venice,like pieces of jigsaw puzzle,scatter in this play,highlighting the distinctive features of Venice.Money seems to be a necessity for the survival of the Venetians and the operation of the entire Venetian city-state.This thesis,based on the Venetian historical background,provides a new idea for the study of The Merchant of Venice,to restore Venice in Shakespeare's writings,to explore the spiritual values and emotions that Shakespeare wants to convey to us when Venice was constructed,and to discover the humanistic connotations that Shakespeare is most concerned about.Therefore,this thesis explores Shakespeare's Venice from the images of the Venetians,the image of the Venetian city-state and the philosophy of money in Venice.The thesis is divided into three parts,namely the introduction,the main body,and the conclusion.The first part introduces the research achievements of The Merchant of Venice at home and abroad,as well as the research background,research methods,and research significance of this thesis.The second part analyzes the images of the Venetians,the image of the Venetian city-state and the philosophy of money in Venice.Christian merchant Antonio,aristocratic Bassanio,Jewish Shylock,and female Portia represent four different classes.Antonio is wealthy but melancholy,aristocratic Bassanio is actually a money slave,Jewish Shylock is both excluded and tolerated,and female Portia pursues independence but surrenders to the male world.These contradictory characters reflect that the Venetians are zealous for money,but at the same time,bears the insecurity and inner emptiness that money brings to them.Under the monetary values,money levels all values,which ? ? makes the Venetian city-state a culturally inclusive city in the era of anti-Semitism.At the same time,Venice's supreme law protects the prosperous maritime trade of the Venetian city-state and preserves the interests of the Venetians.Shakespeare showed us a complete and money-covered image of the Venetian city-state in The Merchant of Venice,andpointed out that the value of money has to some extent created the image of the Venetian and the Venetian city-state image.Shakespeare's Venetians are very fanatical about money,but also experiences the emptiness brought by money;and Shakespeare's Venetian city-state is manifested as prosperous maritime trade,supreme law and cultural diversity.