Introduction
The play The Merchant of Venice by Shakespeare contains distinct elements of comedy although it depicts issues of grave importance in the society today. For this reason, some scholars consider it a tragedy while others regard it as a tragic-comedy. However, the comic aspects present in the play are significant enough to warrant close scrutiny.
The play can be considered a comedy due to the portrayal of good triumphing over evil, as presented in the outcome of the protracted case between Antonio and Shylock, the Jew. The frantic passion for revenge ultimately drives Shylock into destruction, only that he fails to see it coming. On the other hand, the Christians, led by Antonio, live happily ever after thus making the play a form of comedy.
The comic forms apparent in the play contain elements of destabilization while at the same time, they evince comic energy and embrace serious issues. This is true of the various instances of comedy in the play. They include Launcelot’s straggle with his conscience (Shakespeare, p. 43-44), Lorenzo’s tongue-in-cheek jibe at Launcelot when he finds the latter in an intense conversation with the former’s love, Jessica (Shakespeare, p. 92-93) and of course the jubilation of Antonio and company at the end of the court case.
The serious issues raised in these instances of comic relief are some of the key thematic concerns in the play. They highlight such matters as anti-Semitism, love and friendship, revenge, betrayal and disguise. The essay will bring to the fore these critical issues which Shakespeare deems fit to present through comedy.
Role of comic forms
Personal battle with conscience has been highlighted through the portrayal of Launcelot, Shylock’s servant, as a buffoon. This is a critical issue that is commonplace in many people’s life. Launcelot is wondering whether to desert the Jew or not. He is about to make a very important decision in his life: he has to choose between the devil that he knows and the angel he is not very familiar with. The angel takes the person of Bassanio, though a fellow Christian, but of limited means unlike his current employer the Jew.
Launcelot’s final decision draws conflicting responses from various quarters. Most importantly, there is his old father who comes to honor his son’s employer with a gift, “a dish of doves” (Shakespeare, p. 47). He is taken aback by his son’s decision to quit working for Shylock. He quickly tries to justify his actions by appealing to the general distaste of Jews in the land but Shylock had earlier complained about the boy’s lethargy at work. It is clear that this is a serious issue but has been effectively addressed through comedy.
Shakespeare has also employed comedy in order to tactfully explore the controversial issue of anti-Semitism rampant in Venice (Tacitus, p. 321-322). It borders on racial and religious discrimination, which became a serious problem many years after the play was written. Racial discrimination, in particular, is a common malady in Europe, America, South Africa and some parts of the Asian continent. In the play, it pits native Venetians against Jews with deadly consequences. Shylock, a representative of the Jews, enters an impossible bond with his erstwhile adversary in the hope that it would give him an opportunity for the ultimate revenge. Antonio, on the other hand, relentlessly taunts Shylock, driving the latter wild with the desire for revenge.
This episode offers resistance to reductive moral meanings in that it tends to draw sympathy for Shylock even though the audience feels that such an agreement was deliberately malicious. Even when Shylock is asked to take many times the principle sum he lent to Antonio (Shakespeare, p. 98), he stubbornly refuses as he is looking forward to exacting a pound of flesh from Antonio’s body; an action that is likely to precipitate the Venetian merchant’s death. He pays dearly for it. The audience feels for Shylock especially after the heavily tilted administration of justice in the case.
Learning from this episode, people are likely to resist seeking revenge as a solution to challenges of a multi-ethnic existence. Natural justice ought to be allowed to take its own course while at the time espousing the virtue of mercy when handling adversaries.
Shakespeare also scouts the cryptic issue of love and friendship through humor. This is evident in the incident involving Launcelot, Lorenzo and Jessica. Lorenzo and Jessica have fallen in love and intend to elope since Jessica’s father would never agree to such a relationship, with Lorenzo being a Christian. Lorenzo and Launcelot are long-time friends – brought together by virtue of the fact that they are both native Venetians and Christians for that matter. When Lorenzo finds Launcelot in an earnest conversation with his love, he jokingly shows his jealous intent, which emphasizes his deep love for Jessica.
Another critical issue presented through comedy is choice. It concerns the Prince of Arragon and the three caskets (Shakespeare, p. 68). After a protracted bout of chest-thumping, the unfortunate Prince settles for the silver casket, which has the inscription: “Who chooseth me shall get as much as he deserves” (Shakespeare, p. 68). The audience definitely laughs at his folly when he settles for this casket. Owing to his haughtiness and arrogance, the outcome of his choice is exactly what he deserves. The Prince of Arragon is actually a blinking idiot!
Shakespeare seems to be expressing an important point through this episode. People make wrong choices in life due to their own personal weaknesses. Such weaknesses include arrogance and pride. The prince of Arragon avoids the gold casket because it promises what many men desire. He considers himself more special than others. He hankers for what he alone deserves. In his warped mind, he has deluded himself that he is the only one worthy of Portia’s love. It is, therefore, important that individuals rid themselves off their personal prejudices if they ever hope to make informed decisions in life. It is these prejudices that cloud our judgements and hence lead us to wrong conclusions, which may be disastrous at times.
On the other hand, the use of comic forms in a literary work may not necessarily contain elements that tend to its own destabilization, or provide a source of comic energy that may foster serious meanings. This may also be gleaned from the play The Merchant of Venice. It can be argued that sometimes meaning is lost in comedy as people may not take it seriously (Nevo, p. 16). In the play, Shakespeare seems to be pointing out the folly of anti-Semitism as practiced by Christians in Venice. However, this is not succinctly clear because it is the Christians that triumph over the openly aggressed Jew at the end of the day. Shylock loses all his wealth and religion as well because he is coerced into being a Christian.
The subversion of justice at the courtroom is also a clear pointer to the failure of comedy to drive a serious point across. Portia, disguised as Balthasar, a young Roman doctor of law, is allowed to take charge of the case in spite of the fact that she is not a judge. There is something fishy when the duke does not even bother to verify the contents of the letter given to him. This can hardly offer resistance to reductive moral meanings. The impression one gets is that one may be able to manipulate the wheels of justice to suit their own selfish needs. It should be remembered that Portia is driven by the desire to save her husband’s friend, guilty or not guilty.
In addressing the Jew, Portia raises the issue of mercy in handling the situation. She cleverly implores the Jew to have mercy on Antonio, but she allows the cruelest judgment upon Shylock the moment she gets the opening. This is hypocrisy and should not be tolerated in the halls of justice.
Conclusion
Shakespeare uses comedy as a powerful and effective tool to illustrate human nature. Some key issues like love, racism, revenge and betrayal are mentioned in a manner that impacts more strongly on the audience such that as the audience laugh, they discover that they are actually laughing at themselves. The only challenge in The Merchant of Venice is that it is not purely a comedy as it is largely considered a tragedy.
Works cited
Nevo, Ruth. Comic Transformations in Shakespeare. Routledge Library Edition. Routledge: Methuen & Co., Ltd, 1980. Print.
Shakespeare, William. The Merchant of Venice. Ed. Roderick Wilson. London: Macmillan Publishers, 1986. Print.
Tacitus, Publius Cornelius. “Book V.” History. Classics of Roman Literature. Wedeck, Harry E., ed. Trans. Anonymous. Paterson, N.J.: Littlefield, 1964. Print.
Citizens United V. Federal Election Commission: Case Brief Summary And Analysis
Citizens United (plaintiff) released the documentary about Hillary Clinton, which portrayed her from the negative perspective (Halbert & Ingulli, 2012). Furthermore, the plaintiff wanted to increase the law availability in the video-on-demand, but it will violate the principles, which are established by the Federal Election Commission (defendant). The principles imply that these types of actions interfere with the “electioneering communication” and ban the organizations from utilizing the treasury funds and other independent funding for these purposes (Halbert & Ingulli, 2012, p. 32). In this case, the court utilized the precedent case of Austin v. Chamber of Commerce, but despite having different argumentation, the case was re-evaluated and solved in favor of the plaintiff. (affirmed for plaintiff). The plaintiff wanted to avoid the consequences, as the criminal penalties for the violation of the law apply.
It could be said that the central issue lays in the interpretation of the First Amendment in the context of the electoral procedure. In this instance, the plaintiff did not agree with the federal election law, as it unreasonably limits the actions of the plaintiff by banning the release of the film due its inability to comply with the established regulations. In turn, the defendant tried to protect the logic behind the establishment of the law due to its presence for a long time. Nonetheless, the key issue was the definition of the principles of the First Amendment regarding the freedom of speech and determination the rights of individual citizens and corporations in this context.
Several laws and cases were involved in this lawsuit. One of them is the precedent case Austin v. Chamber of Commerce, as the case implies that banning of the involvement of the corporations in the election protects the society from “corrosive and distorting effects of immense aggregations of wealth” (Halbert & Ingulli, 2012, p. 33). The precedent made a clear difference between the individuals and corporations. Additionally, the First Amendment was also involved, as it was the primary cause of the lawsuit. It protects the freedom of expression by using the means of the press, speech, and assembly (Legal information institute: First Amendment, 2014). In this instance, these law aspects were in the center of discussion in this case.
As for the legal reasoning, the court refers to the fact that the precedent case, which was actively utilized to find the solutions to the similar situations, did not provide the profound analysis of the fundamental aspects of the First Amendment. Firstly, the Court states that the First Amendment “protects the rights of corporations to petition legislative and administrative bodies”, each corporation has individual perspective about the matter, and their actions do not cause the increase in corruption rates during elections (Halbert & Ingulli, 2012, p. 33). This conclusion is reasonable due to the absence of causing harm to the other legal entities. In turn, it reveals that the Austin v. Chamber of Commerce precedent case lacks logical and legal reasoning behind its decision-making.
Lastly, my opinion about the matter and future implications of the case have to be discussed. It could be said that the primary benefit of this case is bringing the understanding of the principles of the First Amendment, as with the development of technology the rights of corporations and individuals can be easily violated. In turn, it highly expands the rights of the corporations and grants them the right to express freely and clearly their opinions while participating in elections. It remains evident that this case has a beneficial influence on the corporate world and development of the economic and political relations.
References
Anderson, M. (2013). Emails (and other pure information) are not property. Journal of Intellectual Property Law & Practice, 8(5), 357-358.
Eggertson, L. (2013). Quality control. Canadian Medical Association Journal, 185(10), 467.
Halbert, T., & Ingulli, E. (2012). Law and ethics in the business environment. Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage Learning.
Holtzhausen, L., & Fourie, L. (2009). Employees’ perceptions of company values and objectives and employer-employee relationships: Theoretical model. Corporate Communications, 14(3), 333-344.
Legal information institute: First Amendment. (2014). Web.
Legal information institute: Products liability. (2014). Web.
Spector, M. (2009). GM broadens product-liability pact. The Wall Street Journal. Eastern Edition, p. B2.
Millennials And The Business World
The rapid development of modern technologies has utterly transformed the corporate world and traditional business practices. Although it would be reasonable to admit that the generation accustomed to these novelties should be better suited for the new operations, it often turns out differently. Many experts indicate the critical problems faced by Millennials entering the business world. Although certain aspects are somewhat debatable, I agree that the overall issue requires significant consideration.
The primary problems faced by the younger generation are related to the lack of patience and the ability to work hard for future achievements. Simon Sinek correctly identifies today’s world as the one with “instant gratification” (Crossman, 2016, 00:07:20-00:07:35). Even at school, I can see numerous examples when students prefer obtaining homework answers from others without understanding the questions and expanding their knowledge. The same happens with personal interactions when people pursue short-term goals instead of building long-lasting relations. Moreover, the rising popularity of social media adds to the problem. As Sinek notes that social media users are taught to “put filters on things,” replacing their actual life with the desired image (Crossman, 2016, 00:02:30-00:02:40). However, this approach is not suitable for the business world, where tangible results and professionalism are required. Finally, addiction to cellphones is a real issue preventing many Millennials from interacting or working properly. Unfortunately, it has become standard practice for many of my friends to check their devices and communicate on social networks, even during our parties. Therefore, the increasing level of distraction and inability to pursue long-term goals prevent Millennials from succeeding at their jobs.
Although the problems mentioned above are serious, certain aspects noted in the video remain doubtful. To begin with, I cannot fully agree with the idea that Millennials have a lack of upbringing. Indeed, in some cases, children do not receive sufficient attention or grow up entitled. However, this depends on the family, and my parents are an example of the opposite. Moreover, the influence of corporate culture on individuals is debatable. Companies’ intent to gain profits and avoid thinking much about employees’ future is not a new factor. The individuals’ task is to demonstrate the benefits they bring and persuade the employer to invest in them. Finally, Millennials are still best suited to work in a fully computerized environment. Therefore, adapting to the business world rigors is a genuinely complicated but achievable goal for the new generation.
Reference
Crossman, D. (2016). Simon Sinek on millennials in the workplace [Video]. YouTube. Web.