who dressed up as the lawyer in merchant of venice

Why does Portia dress as a lawyer in the Merchant of Venice?

Antonio can't repay the loan, and without mercy, Shylock demands a pound of his flesh. The heiress Portia, now the wife of Antonio's friend, dresses as a lawyer and saves Antonio. In Venice, a merchant named Antonio worries that his ships are overdue. As his colleagues offer comfort, his young friends—Bassanio, Graziano, and Lorenzo—arrive.

What are the legal aspects in merchant of Venice?

We will write a “Legal Aspects in Merchant of Venice” specifically for you! One aspect we can see is the lack of Independence of Judiciary in particular to Shylock’s trial. One basic natural justice principle “Nemo judex in sua causa” is violated as we can see Portia is appearing as an” independent” “impartial” expert in Law to assist the court.

What is the first instance of cross-dressing in merchant of Venice?

Her donning of a young page’s outfit in order to elope with Lorenzo is the first instance of cross-dressing within Merchant of Venice. In her act of transformation, Jessica indicates her shame in converting from female to male: “I am glad ‘tis night, you do not look on me, /For I am much ashamed of my exchange” (2.

Why did the Duke write to a famous lawyer in Venice?

The Duke had already written to a famous lawyer asking him to come to Venice to advise him about this difficult problem. The man to whom he had written was Dr. Ballarino Portia’s cousin, who had shown her how Antonio could be defended.

Who is disguised as a lawyer in The Merchant of Venice?

PortiaPortia and Nerissa go to Venice disguised as a lawyer and clerk. In the courtroom, the Duke asks Shylock to show some compassion and Bassanio offers 6000 ducats to repay Antonio's loan. Portia appears, disguised as Balthazar.

Who is Antonio's lawyer in Merchant of Venice?

PortiaThe Duke, presiding over the court, seeks legal advice from the lawyer "Balthazar," who is Portia in disguise. Portia pleads for Shylock to have mercy on Antonio.

Who cross dressed in The Merchant of Venice?

PortiaThis very sentiment is the primary motivation for the cross dressing of Portia and Nerissa in The Merchant of Venice. Portia understands that in order to help her husband's friend Antonio, she must dress like a man in order to escape the strict limitations placed on women at the time (Belsey 639).

How does Portia disguise as Balthazar?

In the courtroom, the Duke asks Shylock to show some compassion and Bassanio offers 6000 ducats to repay Antonio's loan. Portia appears, disguised as Balthazar. He (she) speaks about mercy and tries to persuade Shylock to drop the case but he refuses.

Was Portia a lawyer in Merchant of Venice?

Portia is a strong character in the great story of Merchant of Venice by Shakespeare. she wanted to save Antonio at any cost and so she dressed up a lawyer and pleaded his case in the court. it was the case against the Jewish moneylender Shylock to whom Antonio failed to pay his liability.

Why did Portia disguise herself as a lawyer?

Portia dressed herself up as a lawyer so she could help Antonio in court. She did not want him to know who she was as that might influence the choices he might make. Explanation: The Merchant of Venice is an interesting story written by the extraordinary William Shakespeare.

Why is Jessica dressed as a boy?

Her cross-dressing is a device typical of women in Shakespeare's comedies. Indeed, the play has already shown Jessica dressed as a boy in her escape from Shylock's house. Dressing as a man is necessary since Portia is about to play a man's part, appearing as member of a male profession.

Why does Rosalind cross dress?

By performing the last role, Rosalind plays out the masculine constructions of femininity. cross-dressing enables her to demonstrate femininity in a man's disguise.

Who is Balthazar in Merchant of Venice?

Balthazar is one of Portia's servants. She sends him to bring her letters to Bellario, and to meet her and Nerissa on the way to Venice with the law-clerk clothes Bellario will give him. Portia steals his name for her disguise as a boy.

What was Portia's name as a lawyer?

Portia is portrayed as a clever and self-assured character in the famous play " The Merchant of Venice" by William Shakespeare. Portia was also called "Balthazar" in trial scene. She was sent by an esteemed doctor of laws, Bellario, to defend Antonio.

What does Portia brag about as a lawyer?

She plans to disguise as Bellario the lawyer and Nerissa will be dressed as a clerk. She bets that when they are dressed as men, she'll be the prettier of the two. Portia describes how bravely she'll wear her dagger and brag of manly conquests so that she'll be taken for a boy barely one year out of school.

Who has disguised himself herself in the form of a lawyer?

Portia was disguised as a lawyer who came to defend Antonio during his trial in Venice.

Why does Shylock ask for a pound of Antonio's flesh?

Shylock holds a grudge against Antonio for his lending practices and apparent antisemitism. Still he offers Bassanio the loan. Instead of charging interest, seemingly as a kind of joke, he asks for a pound of Antonio's flesh if the loan isn't repaid within three months.

What does Shylock hear about Jessica?

After a few days, Shylock hears that his daughter Jessica is squandering her stolen wealth in Genoa. He begins to rail bitterly against Christians. He reminds Antonio's friends that if the loan is not repaid on time, he will insist on the original agreement of one pound of flesh.

Why does Shylock leave the court?

He also demands that Shylock becomes a Christian. Broken and in submission, Shylock leaves the court.

What is Act IV in the book of Shylock?

Act IV. In the court in Venice, Shylock demands his pound of flesh. The Duke, presiding over the court, seeks legal advice from the lawyer "Balthazar," who is Portia in disguise. Portia pleads for Shylock to have mercy on Antonio.

Why does Antonio take a loan from Shylock?

Antonio, an antisemitic merchant, takes a loan from the Jew Shylock to help his friend to court Portia. Antonio can't repay the loan, and without mercy, Shylock demands a pound of his flesh. The heiress Portia, now the wife of Antonio's friend, dresses as a lawyer and saves Antonio.

What is the act in Venice?

Act I. In Venice, a merchant named Antonio worries that his ships are overdue. As his colleagues offer comfort, his young friends—Bassanio, Graziano, and Lorenzo—arrive. Bassanio asks Antonio for a loan, so that he can pursue the wealthy Portia, who lives in Belmont. Antonio cannot afford the loan.

Does Shylock accept Bassanio's money?

Bassanio offers his wife's money, which would more than pay the debt, but Shylock refuses to accept. Antonio's death is only prevented as Balthazar explains the bond is for flesh but not for a single drop of blood. So Shylock cannot collect the pound of flesh. Royal Shakespeare Company, 2008.

Why did Bassanio and Gratiano leave Venice?

Bassanio and Gratiano leave for Venice, with money from Portia, to save Antonio's life by offering the money to Shylock. Unknown to Bassanio and Gratiano, Portia sent her servant, Balthazar, to seek the counsel of Portia's cousin, Bellario, a lawyer, at Padua .

What is the plot of Gilbert's Shylock after the trial?

Plot summary. Gilbert's Shylock After the Trial, an illustration to The Merchant of Venice. Bassanio, a young Venetian of noble rank, wishes to woo the beautiful and wealthy heiress Portia of Belmont. Having squandered his estate, he needs 3,000 ducats to subsidise his expenditures as a suitor.

What was the first big screen adaptation of Shakespeare's Merchant?

2003 – In Shakespeare's Merchant, a film directed by Paul Wagar, Antonio and Bassanio have a homosexual relationship. 2004 – The Merchant of Venice, directed by Michael Radford and produced by Barry Navidi. This was the first "big-screen" adaption of the play.

What was the Nazis' use of the Shylock?

The Nazis used the usurious Shylock for their propaganda. Shortly after Kristallnacht in 1938, The Merchant of Venice was broadcast for propagandistic ends over the German airwaves. Productions of the play followed in Lübeck (1938), Berlin (1940), and elsewhere within the Nazi territory.

What was the name of the silent film that was made by Walter West?

1916 – The Merchant of Venice, an unsuccessful silent British film produced by Walter West for Broadwest. 1923 – The Merchant of Venice ( Der Kaufmann von Venedig ), also The Jew of Mestri, a silent German film directed by Peter Paul Felner .

What was the era of the Elizabethan and Jacobean era?

English society in the Elizabethan and Jacobean era has been described as "judeophobic". English Jews had been expelled under Edward I in 1290 and were not permitted to return until 1656 under the rule of Oliver Cromwell. Poet John Donne, who was Dean of St Paul's Cathedral and a contemporary of Shakespeare, gave a sermon in 1624 perpetuating the Blood Libel – the entirely unsubstantiated antisemitic lie that Jews ritually murdered Christians to drink their blood and achieve salvation. In Venice and in some other places, Jews were required to wear a red hat at all times in public to make sure that they were easily identified, and had to live in a ghetto.

What is the setting of the Merchant of Venice?

Shakespearean comedy. Setting. Venice, 16th century . The Merchant of Venice is a 16th-century play written by William Shakespeare in which a merchant in Venice named Antonio defaults on a large loan provided by a Jewish moneylender, Shylock. It is believed to have been written between 1596 and 1599.

Antonio

a Christian merchant of Venice, he agrees to vouch for a loan to Bassanio from Shylock by putting a pound of his flesh up as collateral.

Bassanio

the friend of Antonio who borrows three thousand ducats from him. He is also the suitor to Portia who chooses the correct casket and marries her.

Graziano

a friend of Bassanio and Antonio, he accompanies Bassanio to Belmont and marries Nerissa.

Shylock

a Jewish moneylender in Venice. He demands a pound of flesh from Antonio, but is forced to convert to Christianity by the end of the play. He loses his daughter Jessica and most of his wealth.

Lancelot

a clown, first Shylock's servant and later Bassanio's, he also plays tricks on his father Gobbo.

Portia

a wealthy Christian heiress who must marry the man who chooses the correct casket with her picture in it. She later marries Bassanio and also plays the Doctor Balthasar who saves Antonio's life.

Nerissa

the attendant or waiting-gentlewoman to Portia who also plays the clerk at the court.

Why does Bassanio ask Antonio for a loan?

Bassanio, a noble but penniless Venetian, asks his wealthy merchant friend Antonio for a loan so that Bassanio can undertake a journey to woo the heiress Portia. Antonio, whose money is invested in foreign ventures, borrows the sum from Shylock, a Jewish moneylender, on the condition that, if the loan cannot be repaid in time, ...

When was The Merchant of Venice written?

The Merchant of Venice, comedy in five acts by William Shakespeare, written about 1596–97 and printed in a quarto edition in 1600 from an authorial manuscript or copy of one.

What interpretation did Portia make to challenge the judgment itself?

The interpretation which Portia made to challenge the judgment itself is flawed. If shylock has a right to the flesh then he must have the ability to take it. Every right has a remedy to enforce the right. Here the right of shylock to flesh is being put off by the court. What is just is not given by the court.

What is the Merchant of Venice about?

Merchant of Venice critically shows many key aspects of Law throughout the play. It shows when Laws can be unjust, how words can be twisted. It shows the flaws involved in Laws. Again it shows that the pen is mightier than the sword. Literature is beautifully used here to represent the legal system of Venice. Here we will be analyzing the legal aspects of the play. We will also be focussing on how injustice was met out to Shylock throughout the trial.

What is just not given by the court?

What is just is not given by the court. It’s common sense to understand that when flesh is taken blood comes with it. A literal interpretation of rule here doesn’t serve the purpose of justice. Basic common sense is not applied by the court.

Why should interpretation of law be used?

Interpretation of law should be used to serve the purpose of the law that is to give remedies to people whose rights have been violated. And in the contract for flesh Blood is included and it’s obvious. If the court makes decisions like that the whole purpose of contracts will cease to exist.

Why did the court want to deliver justice to Shylock?

As we can see Venice at that time was a major commercial hub of Europe, the court initially wanted to deliver justice to Shylock to uphold the rule of law in the territory of Venice. Strong legal security and rule of law is important for any place to become a major commercial center.

Why does Portia have the potential for change?

In Portia’s case, however, the potential for change exists because her character actively undercuts male conceptions of female frailty and inability, unlike Jessica’s enforcement of that very claim. Shakespeare initially introduces Portia in a way that her wealth and socioeconomic status are immediately evident.

What does Shakespeare say about Portia's use of the law?

By allowing Portia to use rhetoric of law in Act 1 Scene 2, Shakespeare attests to Portia’s cunning talent. Her mention of “device of law” and “decrees” conveys her understanding of legal language and practice, foreshadowing her importance later in the play.

Why is Jessica forced to pose as a male?

The very fact that Jessica is forced to pose as a male in order to gain freedom –thus shirking the cultural norm –highlights the subjugation of women in Shakespeare’s time. Further enforcing Jessica’s lower social standing is her acceptance to be Lorenzo’s torch-bearer.

What is the gender of Merchant of Venice?

In William Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice, gender roles are explored, culminating in two distinct scenes of cross-dressing. The men of Elizabethan society enjoy a prominent status based solely on gender, to which women are clearly outsiders. This is particularly evident in Jessica’s newfound freedom when dressed as a pageboy in Act 2 and Portia’s and Nerissa’s immediate elevation in social standing when they take on male personas in Act 4. Through these two instances of cross-dressing, Shakespeare presents class not in terms of socioeconomic status but in the benefits of being male.

Why is cross dressing important in Portia?

The practice of cross-dressing becomes exceedingly important to practical applications later in the play because the women, specifically Portia, must interact with mainstream society. The resulting consequence of taking on a male facade ultimately provides empowerment for the otherwise subjugated women.