Shakespeare- Othello and The Merchant of Venice - Essay Example

Shakespeare- Othello and the Merchant of Venice Othello The theme in the play prejudice between the Moor and the VenetiansOthello is an African Native, the Moor, residing and working in Venice. He holds a high standard in the society and earns respect for his power. Othello has a girlfriend, Desdemona of Venice native. Despite the respect from the citizens, there always appear envious people in the society. Rodrigo, a wealthy business man; is in love with Desdemona, Othello’s wife. Rodriguez feels that he can take Desdemona whenever he wants; since she is taken by Othello, who is not a native of the Venice (Shakespeare & Rāghava, Act 1).

Rodrigo decides to use Lago, one of Othello’s soldiers to spy on Othello for him. At this stage, the audience witnesses the theme of hypocrisy. Lago accepts the whopping sum of money from Rodriguez and pretends to hate Othello, his master. The two plan on reporting Othello to Brabantio, Desdemona’s father who decides to go and attack Othello on claims that he abused a fairer. The play gets engrossing as the wishes of Rodriguez to take Desdemona as her wife does not succeed. Before the set date, for the attack Lago reports the incident to Othello; faking that Rodriguez is responsible for calling Brabantio.

While handling the matter, the duke calls for Othello to go and handle the Cypress. Brabantio, annoyed of the incident, comes with Othello to the Duke and accuses him of bewitching her daughter, Desdemona. The two profess their love before the king, and the argument is dispersed (Shakespeare & Rāghava, Act 1).The merchant of VeniceThe theme of prejudice between the Christians and the JewsOn the other hand in the drama, the Merchant of Venice, the play narrowly escapes becoming a tragedy. The drama classification appears external, causes of occurrence more real than supernatural.

The play is performed, at a time where Venice city was termed the greatest. The Mediterranean sides were isolated and left in isolation. The scene then retaliates to Belmont, which means beauty. The dominant theme in the play is the value of life compared to the value of property. The play later on disintegrates into two settings: the scene at Venice and the scene at Belmont The relationship between the two scenes is that both accomplish a means to an end. The theme of prejudice is also evident when the Jews hate the Christians.

Shylock hates Antonio and determined to kill him. The opportunity presents itself, when Antonio risks his life for Bassanio, his friend, who needed the amount to help him woe Portia, a Belmont, Beauty in style. The return of the money almost turns into a tragedy as Antonio ship failed to return and the debt is still due (Shakespeare et al, Act 4).Works CitedShakespeare, William, and Rāṅgeya Rāghava. Othelo. Dillī: Rājapāla, 2009. Print.Radford, Michael, Al Pacino, and William Shakespeare.

The Merchant of Venice. S.l.: Dutch Filmworks, 2006.