Inglese: il Mercante di Venezia, Amleto, Macbeth, riassunto e caratteristiche, Sintesi del corso di Inglese

Scarica Inglese: il Mercante di Venezia, Amleto, Macbeth, riassunto e caratteristiche e più Sintesi del corso in PDF di Inglese solo su Docsity! The Merchant of Venice The plot of The Merchant of Venice is organized on two levels: the main plot is the dispute between the Venetian Antonio, a rich merchant, and the Jewish moneylender (strozzino) Shylock; the subplot regards the choice of a husband by the rich lady Portia. First Act à Bassanio, a noble but poor Venetian, asks his friend Antonio, a rich merchant, for 3000 ducats to be able to court the rich Portia in Belmont (before dying Portia's father has arranged for her suitors to choose among three chests, one gold, one of silver and one of lead (piombo). The suitor who chooses the casket with Portia's picture will marry her). Antonio is also short of money, because all his money is tied up (impegnati) in his ships, which are still at sea. But because he wants to help his friend, he borrows the necessary amount from Shylock a Jewish moneylender, who demands that if the sum is not returned, he may extract one pound (libbra) of flesh (carne) to be cut from Antonio's body. Second Act à Meanwhile Lorenzo, a close friend of Antonio and Bassanio, elopes with Shylock's daughter, Jessica, taking' a good amount of her father’s money. Three suitors chose the wrong chest. Third Act à Shylock is enraged by (furibondo per) his daughter's betrayal (tradimento) and wants revenge. Meanwhile, Bassanio, in Belmont, chooses the chest in lead with the portrait. News arrives that Antonio’s ships have been lost at sea. Fourth Act à Since Antonio can no longer pay his debt, Shylock claims his penalty. They go to the court of justice, where Portia is disguised (travestita) as a lawyer and Nerissa, her maid, is dressed as her clerk. Portia admits the validity of Shylock's claim, but warns him that he must cut off exactly one pound of flesh, without spilling one drop of blood (senza far uscire una goccia di sangue). Now Shylock is forced to ask for mercy. Shylock's life is eventually spared (risparmiata) but only on condition that he becomes a Christian. Fifth Act à The play ends with Portia giving Antonio a letter which informs him that his ships have arrived safely in port. Portia, Nerissa, Bassanio, and Antonio come to the house. SETTING: The action takes place in two main locations: Venice and Belmont. Each setting represents different aspects of the play. Venice is the symbol of greed (represented by the Jewish Shylock) and wealth (represented by the Christian Antonio), while Belmont is the symbol of ideal love and an idyllic place. While Venice thrives (prospera) on business matters (affari), Belmont is alive with music. The play's happy conclusion is played out at Belmont, away from the heavier atmosphere in Venice. CHARACTERS: Jewish were often portrayed as villains (malvagi) or marginalized. In creating the character of Shylock, Shakespeare created an anti-semitic prejudice, but at the same time, Shylock is also a complex character because he suffered in a Christian society which considers him as an outsider (straniero, diverso). Audiences feel compassion, but on the other hand, Shylock’s lack of mercy (mancanza di pietà) for Antonio is a very negative element. After the betrayal of his daughter, at the end of the trial scene, in depriving him of his identity as Jew, the Venetians complete their process of persecution and isolation from society. Merchants like Antonio lend money free of interest and take care of their love and family, whereas Shylock's greed seems to be stronger than his love for his daughter. However, Shylock's insistence that he should have a pound of flesh rather than any amount of money shows that his resentment is much stronger than his greed. THEMES: Love and hate. Various types of love à • The love of friend is shown by Antonio and Bassanio • Portia is linked to her father's will, while Jessica is less tied to her father Shylock. • Love for money Various type of hate à • The revenge, that sometimes, is replaced by mercy. • There is a Christian idea of mercy from the New Testament which says to “turn the other check” (porgi l’altra guancia). Shylock’s view of justice derived, instead, from the Old Testament, that says the opposite “an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth” (occhio per occhio, dente per dente). Hamlet First Act à When Hamlet's father, the King of Denmark, dies suddenly, Hamlet's mother, Gertrude, marries the dead king's brother, Claudius, who takes the throne. Hamlet meets his father's ghost who tells him that he was murdered by Claudius and asks him to take revenge for his death. Second Act à Hamlet pretends (fa finta di) he is mad and rejects the love of Ophelia, the daughter of the king's counsellor Polonius. In order to prove that his father was murdered, he asks a group of actors to perform a play about a similar fratricide, called The Murder of Gonzaga, in front of Claudius. This has been defined as a “play within the play” (un’opera teatrale nell’opera teatrale) Third Act àDuring the murder scene, Claudius rushes out of the room in apparent guilty fury. Hamlet then accuses his mother of having betrayed his father's memory by marrying Claudius. During this scene he hears a noise behind a curtain and kills the intruder, thinking it is Claudius, when it is in fact Polonius. Hamlet is then sent to England by the king who wants to have him executed there (per condannarlo a morte) Fourth Act à But Hamlet manages to escape and to return to Denmark. Meanwhile, during Hamlet's absence, Ophelia goes mad (impazzisce) drowns herself (si annega). Returning from France, her brother Laertes decides to avenge his father's and sister's deaths. Fifth Act àClaudius arranges a duel between the two and gives Laertes a poisoned sword (spade avvelenata), but his plan fails and both Hamlet and Laertes are fatally wounded by the same sword. At the play's tragic end, Gertrude drinks a poisoned cup intended for her san and Hamlet kills his uncle, Claudius, before he himself dies. SETTING The story of Hamlet is set in the late Middle Ages in and around the royal castle in Elsinore, a city in Denmark. Hamlet studies in Wittenberg, Germany, where Martin Luther started the Protestant Reformationà this is the reason why he is sceptical of the ghost of his father in the Purgatory (Protestant don’t’ believe in Purgatory). THE CHARACTER OF HAMLET Hamlet is the most talkative (che parla di più) of all Shakespeare's characters. His language is full of metaphor, simile and, wordplay à Hamlet’s language his very obscure and has a hidden meaning (significato nascosto). He spends much of the- play complaining about the fact that he has to play roles that he does not believe in. He is the non-revenger in a revenge play, the non-heir to the throne, the non-lover of the Heroine. He is very melancholic character and maybe he is one of the first modern characters in the literature, because he is isolated and cut of the society but strictly connected with his consciousness. THEMES • Revenge; • the relationships between father and son, mother and son, and Hamlet and his friends; • Love; • Madness • The corruption linked to power • Life and death