1. THE MERCHANT OF VENICE Genre of the play By Ben & Fernanda

2. WHAT SHOULD WE EXPECT TO SEE IN SHAKESPEAREAN PLAYS?  Light humorous tones  Deception and disguise  Family dramas  Multiple plots with twists and turns  Iambic pentameter

3. GENRE  Drama Shakespearean Drama Family drama Love affairs  Comedy Types of Humor: Outright Opinion on suitors Sexual “Go to dinner” connotations of “go to bed”

4. IAMBIC PENTAMETER  × / × / × / × / × / To swell the gourd, and plump the hazel shells

5. A Recipe for Comedy  2 table spoons of 2-dimensional characters  1/3 cup of stereotypes  A pinch of humorous tone  ½ cup of superficiality  A pinch of deception and a dash of disguise

6. BAKED TO DECEPTION! Shylock and Portia (masked by virtue) Obdurate Greedy Selfish Shylock: loan shark Portia: false impersonator (lawyer) Jessica: Deceives father, disguises as a boy

7. FAMILY DRAMA  Jessica – internal conflicts between her and her father  Lancelot- cruel jokes on his blind father  Bassanio- Loyal to friends (more than his wife)