The Merchant of Venice Act 1 Summary

Shakespeares The Merchant of Venice is a fantastic play and boasts one of Shakespeares most memorable villains, the Jewish moneylender, Shylock. This Merchant of Venice Act 1 summary guides you through the plays opening scenes in modern English. Here, Shakespeare takes the time to introduce his main characters - most notably Portia, one of the strongest women parts in all Shakespeares plays. Act 1 Scene 1 Antonio is speaking to his friends Salerio and Solanio. He explains that a sadness has come over him. His friends suggest that his sadness could be due to him worrying about his commercial ventures. He has ships at sea with merchandise in them and they could be vulnerable. Antonio says he is not worried about his ships because his goods are spread between them and if one went down he would still have the others. His friends suggest that he must then be in love, Antonio denies this. Bassanio, Lorenzo, and Graziano arrive as Salerio and Solanio leave. Lorenzo says that now Bassanio and Antonio have been reunited they will make their leave but arrange to meet up later for dinner. Graziano tries to cheer Antonio up but to no avail, he tells Antonio that men who try to be melancholy in order to be perceived as wise are deceived. Graziano and Lorenzo leave. Bassanio complains that Graziano has nothing to say but just will not stop talking. â€Å"Graziano speaks an infinite deal of nothing† (Act 1 Scene 1) Antonio asks Bassanio to tell him about the woman he has fallen for and intends to pursue. Bassanio acknowledges that he has borrowed a lot of money from Antonio over the years and promises to clear his debts to him: To you Antonio, I owe the most in money and in love, And from your love I have a warranty to unburden all my plots and purposes how to get clear of all the debts I owe.(Act 1 Scene 1). Bassanio explains that he has fallen in love with Portia the heiress of Belmont but that she has other richer suitors, he just wants to try to compete with them in order to win her hand. He needs money to get there. Antonio tells him that all his money is tied up in his business but that he will act as a guarantor for any loan that he can get. Act 1 Scene 2 Enter Portia with Nerissa her waiting woman. Portia complains that she is weary of the world. Her dead father stipulated, in his will, that she herself cannot choose a husband. Portia’s suitors will be given a choice of three chests; one gold, one silver, and one lead. The winning chest contains a portrait of Portia and in choosing the correct chest he will win her hand in marriage. He must agree that if he chooses the wrong chest he will not be permitted to marry anyone. Nerissa lists suitors who have come to guess including the Neopolitan Prince, County Palatine, A French Lord and an English nobleman. Portia mocks each of the gentlemen for their shortcomings. In particular, a German nobleman who was a drinker, Nerissa asks if Portia remembers him she says: Very vilely in the morning when he is sober, and most viley in the afternoon when he is drunk. When he is best he is little worse than a man, and when he is worse he is little better than a beast. An the worst fall that ever fell, I hope I shall make shift to go without him.(Act 1 Scene 2). The men listed all left before guessing for fear that they would get it wrong and face the consequences. Portia is determined to follow her father’s will and be won in the way in which he wished but she is happy that none of the men who have come have succeeded. Nerissa reminds Portia of a young gentleman, a Venetian scholar, and soldier who visited her when her father was alive. Portia remembers Bassanio fondly and believes him to be worthy of praise. It is announced that the Prince of Morocco is coming to woo her but she is not particularly happy about it.

Why Is the Narrator an Unreliable One Tell Tale Heart

Why is the narrator an unreliable one? 1. He is not a reliable narrator because he is insane. Though he repeatedly states that he is sane, the reader suspects otherwise from his bizarre reasoning, behavior, and speech. ‘‘True—nervous—very, very dreadfully nervous I had been and am; but why will you say that I am mad? The reader realizes through Poe’s description of the narrator’s extreme nervousness that the protagonist has in fact descended into madness, as anxiety is a common symptom of insanity. He apparently suffers from some form of paranoia. Besides, the narrator claims that he loves the old man and has no motive for the murder other than his growing dislike of a cloudy film over one of the old man’s eyes. His madness becomes†¦show more content†¦At first the intervals receive conventional description—an ‘‘hour,’’ or ‘‘many minutes’’—but eventually such descriptions become meaningless and dura tion can be presented only in terms of the experience itself. Thus, in the conclusion of the story, the ringing in the madman’s ears is ‘‘distinct,’’ then is discovered to be so ‘‘definite’’, and finally grows to such obsessive proportions that it drives the criminal into an emotional and physical frenzy. Throughout the story, not much objective information is given; the experience is simply way subjective. Source: http://iblog.stjschool.org/stories/files/2011/09/The_TellTale_Heart_eNotes.pdf GoogleShow MoreRelatedLiterary Devices In The Tell Tale Heart1707 Words   |  7 Pageswritings which evoked horror in readers. Seen specifically in his short story, â€Å"The Tell-Tale Heart†, readers are able to get into the mind of the mentally ill narrator who murders an elderly man, one whom he claimed to love. Poe created conflict in this story by having the narrator admit to loving the man and having him be his caretaker. Conflict, and the story line, is created because it makes readers question why he would commit such a heinous crime as killing and dismembering the man. Readers eventuallyRead MoreTheme Of Grotesque In The Tell Tale Heart987 Words   |  4 Pagesact as though they are mad. In â€Å"The Tell-Tale Heart† by Edgar Allan Poe Gothic elements are used to convey the madness of the narrator to the reader. The grotesque and an unreliable narrator appear which shows that â€Å"The Tell-Tale Heart† can be considered within the Gothic genre. First of all, the narrators use of grotesque descriptions shows how truly mad he is. His infatuation with describing the old man’s eye in such a grotesque manner shows how the narrator has dehumanized him, how he has convincedRead MoreWhen you think of the name Edgar Allan Poe, happiness is the farthest emotion from the mind. You1400 Words   |  6 Pagesto have unreliable narrators in his short stories and poems. These unreliable narrators are used to portray the effects of grief and loss, and having its readers into a sense of ultimate reality. Various works such as, The Cask of Amontillado, Ligeia, A Tell Tale Heart, The Raven, The Black Cat, and even a poem as seemingly beautiful as Annabel Lee portray unreliable narrators and obsessive and intense emotions. While reading these novels, one begins to wonder How Reliable are the Narrators and SpeakersRead MoreEdgar Allen Poe and Charlotte Perkins Are Unreliable Narrators: A Discussion1013 Words   |  4 PagesPoe and Perk ins Unreliable Narrators Edgar Allan Poe and Charlotte Perkins were two prominent American writers that explored the psychological constructs of the characters contained within their short stories. In The Tell-Tale Heart, by Poe, the unnamed narrator maintains that he is not mad despite the fact that he has murdered someone in the process of trying to destroy an Evil eye. On the other hand, in The Yellow Wallpaper, by Perkins, the unnamed narrator recognizes that her nerves haveRead MoreAnalysis Of Edgar Allan Poe s A Tell Tale Heart1289 Words   |  6 Pages Inside the Heart There are many well-known poets, but not many are as unique as Edgar Allan Poe. By the age of 13, Poe had become a creative poet (Biographies). Many of Poe s works were horrific fictional stories. His first book was published in Boston in 1827, called Tamerlane and other Poems. More of Poe s major works include Tales of the Grotesque a d Arabesque, which included his most spine tingling tales such as Ligeia and The Fall of the House of Usher. Most of Poe s works haveRead MoreThe Final Days of Edgar Allan Poe by Roger Francis 1732 Words   |  7 PagesEdgar Allan Poe is regarded as one of the most influential American writers of the nineteenth-century. Poe’s short stories posses the recurring themes of death, murder and his narrators often show signs of mental instability, like the old man in â€Å"The Tell-Tale Heart† and Montressor in â€Å"The Cask of Amontillado†. Since tragedy was prominent throughout Poe’s life, his work reflects the darkness ingrai ned by continuously being faced with adversity. Poe’s mental stability also comes into question whenRead MoreThe Tell Tale Heart By Edgar Allen Poe1427 Words   |  6 PagesMeghan Amorim ENWR 106:29 Professor Ghoshal 27 September 2015 The Tell Tale Heart In â€Å"The Tell Tale Heart†, by Edgar Allen Poe, the reader is presented with the short story of a madman who narrates his murder of an old man because, â€Å"he had the eye of a vulture --a pale blue eye, with a film over it† (Poe 105). The narrator has thought thoroughly about his plan to murder this old man, and the murderer then stashes his body underneath the floorboards. Eventually, his guilt overcomes him and he startsRead MoreA Tell Tale Heart By Edgar Allan Poe1156 Words   |  5 Pagesby Charlotte Perkins Gilman â€Å"The Tell-Tale Heart† by Edgar Allan Poe, both of the main character in these stories believe that they are perfectly wise, but their out of control behaviors proves that they’re mentally ill or to be more specific insane. In the short story â€Å"A tell-tale heart† the unknown narrator is telling us a story about his neighbor who is an old man but his of a vulture: blue pale eye is what frightens him the most. Every night the narrator would creep over to the old mans houseRead MoreThe Tell Tale Heart Essay1071 Words   |  5 PagesA person that brutally killed four people, and unaware of the very fact that he is the one that murdered all of them. â€Å"Strawberry Spring† by Stephen King is a story that takes place at New Sharon college, at the start of strawberry spring, and the narrator tells the story about how there is a killer on the college campus, and in the end we find out he is the killer. â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper† by Charlotte Perkins Gilman is a story from the perspective of a mentally ill woman, who is on a summer stayRead MoreThe Masque Of The Red Death By Edgar Allan Poe Essay1712 Words   |  7 Pagesbecause of his great works of fiction through short stories and poetry. Often times inciting fear and suspense into readers by the use of tone and subject in a various literature ways. Evidently in stories such as The Masque of the Red Death, The Tale-Tell Heart, and The Raven being that they are all well known. Poe an unforgettable writer, because of his horror stories and writing style has created stories and poems that are classical and often spoken about. As well as inducing a sense of suspense to

Women Are Better Manger Free Essays

Women are Better Managers? Yes The New York Times set off a minor tempest in the blogosphere with an interview a week ago with Carol Smith, senior vice president and chief brand officer for the Elle Group, publisher of the fashion magazine Elle. The headline: No Doubts: Women Are Better Managers. You can imagine the reaction. We will write a custom essay sample on Women Are Better Manger or any similar topic only for you Order Now The article was part of a regular Sunday feature, The Corner Office, in which some exec spills the secrets to their success in a question and answer format. Author Adam Bryant at one point asks Smith to share her observations on men vs women as managers. Her response: In my experience, female bosses tend to be better managers, better advisers, mentors, rational thinkers. Men love to hear themselves talk. I’m so generalizing. I know I am. But in a couple of places I’ve worked, I would often say, â€Å"Call me 15 minutes after the meeting starts and then I’ll come,† because I will have missed all the football. I will have missed all the â€Å"what I did on the golf course. † I will miss the four jokes, and I can get into the meeting when it’s starting. Have to admit, loved the part about coming into the meeting 15 minutes late so she can miss the sports talk and the four jokes. The interview was on the Times web site’s most-read list for over a week, and garnered more than 300 comments. The paper revisited the issue this past Sunday in its Room For Debate blog, asking several experts about the differences between men and women as managers. Alice Eagly, chairman of the department of social psychology at Northwestern University, warned about overgeneralizing based on gender, but then made this observation: Women are less â€Å"bossy,† probably because people dislike bossy women even more than bossy men. As a result, female managers are more collaborative and democratic than male managers. Second, compared with men, women use a more positive approach by encouraging and urging others rather than a negative approach of scolding and reprimanding them. Third, women attend more to the individuals they work with, by mentoring them and taking their particular situations into account. Finally, there is the matter of getting the job done efficiently. Most managers, male and female, get their work done in a timely way, but some do not. When you find one of those barely functioning managers — that is, someone who avoids solving problems and just doesn’t get the job done, that person is more likely to be a man than a woman. Why? Perhaps because a woman would be fired or demoted more quickly for poor managing. Over at the web site for Workforce Management, editor John Hollon laments the whole subject, saying In my long career, I’ve discovered only one clear truth about men and women as managers. It’s this: You simply can’t make a blanket judgment about the quality of managers by their gender. Anyone who tries to do so is foolish and shortsighted, and perhaps hasn’t worked for enough different kinds of managers—male or female—to figure that out. So what do you think? Do women make better managers? Or are some of them just too outspoken? How to cite Women Are Better Manger, Papers