/ BASSANIO: But life itself, my wife, and all the world / Are not with me esteemed above thy life;' I would lose all, ay, sacrifice them all / Here to this devil, to deliver you." (Shakespeare, n
This was the atmosphere surrounding the writing of the Merchant of Venice. Shakespeare drew upon historical themes from European and Eastern history, bringing together plots from El Pecorone (1558) by Ser Giovanni, Boccaccio and Gower's motif of the choosing of the correct casket in order to win a lady love, and an ancient Middle Ages story from the East about a merchant collecting a pound of flesh in return for a debt owed (Ephraim 475)
But until that time, the prejudice and hatred of this race of people, who were hated for both their religion (which denied Christianity) and for their bloodline, which British people assumed was tainted with evil and cruelty, was common. In Elizabethan England, Shakespeare could not have helped but notice and encounter anti-Jewish sentiments and perhaps felt some within him, having been raised on the fiction and history surrounding the vilification of that race (Kaplan 24)
The death of a young boy who drowned in a Jewish cesspool after falling into it himself, created rumors of "blood libel" all over again in 1255. Even today "secondary literature is still full of careless references to massacres which in fact never occurred" (Miller 345) The Jews in England were denied protective rights again when the Crown turned to Italian bankers for financing
These themes are then primarily set out like the parable of the Prodigal Son in Launcelot vs. his father, Old Gobbo, and, furthermore, to the "father" of Jessica, Shylock, versus his "son," Antonio (Rosenheim 156)
The image of the Jews as murderous and bloodthirsty was thus begun, giving anyone who had a case against a Jewish person ample reason to pursue it to its fatal end. This was called "blood libel" (Stirling, p
The intellectual qualities of Portia elucidated in the play was viewed by many Elizabethans as to be within the realm of men. This is the case, when Portia defends Antonio in court, thus solidifying her masculine persona (Bazzell, 2008)
" Marriage for women meant complete loss of control over personal property, including clothes and jewelry; husbands could act as they will with the effects of their wives. This contemporaneous norm is portrayed in the play when Portia capitulates her wealth to her beloved Bassanio: in her words, "Myself and what is mine to you and yours is now converted" (Joseph & Kirkland, 2003)
Of particular reference is Lady Jane Grey who challenged Mary Tudor's claim to the throne for twelve days, only to succumb to a demise on the scaffold. She was averred by notable Cambridge scholars to take an elevated position in the highest cadre of learned women in England at the time (Neale 54)
" This event displayed the independent inclinations of Portia. Furthermore, her observant and evasive attributes provides a vehicle for her into the male universe, which she must enter to get Bassanio, "when we are both accoutered like young men I have within my mind a thousand raw tricks" (Thompson, 2009)
She attracted a considerable amount of disfavor among several political groups in England because of this fact (which partly explains some of the ambiguity regarding her historical image), who believed that by not marrying she was setting the stage for turmoil in England after her demise. In actuality, Elizabeth was able to utilize her status as an available bachelorette as the basis for relationships with several of the countries represented by her noble suitors, and refrained from naming a successor ("I will never break the word of a prince spoken in a public place") (Doran 87) after she did not marry in order to reduce the possibility of an attack on her life to hurriedly give the throne to her successor
In this respect, these women received some of the best suitors to win their hands in marriage. The many foreign suitors that Elizabeth received included King Eric XIV of Sweden, Archduke Charles of Austria, Henry, Duke of Anjou, and Francis, Duke of Anjou, although in time she would come to regard her citizens as "all my husbands, my good people" (Haigh 24)
Her tendency to utilize her faith in Christianity as part of her secular efforts in England is perhaps best demonstrated by a speech she gave shortly after becoming Queen in which she stated: …the burden that is fallen upon me makes me amazed, and yet; I am God's creature, ordained to obey His appointment, I will thereto yield, desiring from the bottom of my heart that I may have assistance of His grace to be the minister of His heavenly will in this office now committed to me. (Loades 36-37)
The many foreign suitors that Elizabeth received included King Eric XIV of Sweden, Archduke Charles of Austria, Henry, Duke of Anjou, and Francis, Duke of Anjou, although in time she would come to regard her citizens as "all my husbands, my good people" (Haigh 24). Before finally deciding to marry Bassanio, Portia entertained suitors such as the Prince of Morocco, the Prince of Aragon, and "The County Palatine" (Shakespeare Act I Scene II)