Tuesday

Projects for The Merchant of Venice. Writing projects should be between 300-500 words and go through the complete writing process. This limit means they must be well-written, efficient, and concise. Essays will be assessed for organization, content, and voice. Process will assure good conventions.
Provide the evidence of
 First draft
 Peer feedback
 Feedback given
 Typed revision
 Peer edit
 Editing provided
 Typed revision
 My edit
 Typed final

1. Write a character sketch for one character in the play. Provide context and quotes to show how you reach your conclusions. Consider the following about your character:
 gender, age and name
 appearance
 physical and personal strengths and weaknesses
 likes and dislikes
 feelings and behaviors towards other characters
 feelings of other characters towards the character
 feelings of character towards himself/herself
 personality at the beginning of the novel
 changes in personality as story progresses
 you opinion about the character
 It is important to include proof from the story to support what you are writing in the character sketch. If you can’t support it with something from the story, then it doesn’t belong.

2. Compare the oaths of at least two Christian characters other than Antonio to the oaths of Shylock. (Provide a little context and quote the most pertinent lines.) What can you infer about each character's attitude toward promise-making and promise- breaking? What comment do you think Shakespeare makes about each culture?

3. Explain, with clearly contextualized quotes from the play, how The Merchant of Venice is a Christian allegory. Describe the play's view of human nature; then identify the demonic elements, the redemptive elements, and the heavenly elements. (That would be the devil, the Christ-figure, the Everyman, and the God-figure. This presumes you have some knowledge, or are willing to find out, about Christian views of the Trinity -- Father/Son/Holy Ghost).

4. In a well-written essay, examine the themes of law and passion in Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice. Be sure to use precise quotes and contextualize them adequately. Explain fully what you are showing with each one.

5. Find another motif of the play, such as music, wealth and penury, flesh and meat, deceptive appearances, male/female roles, male/female love, second-hand knowledge (concerning the way we learn of certain events: Shylock's raging heard from the mouth of Solanio, for instance). In a well-written essay, examine this motif and the purpose it serves in developing key themes of the play.

6. Choose one of the following ideas and write a great essay that proves Shakespeare was or was not
a. a typical English anti-Semite of the Elizabethan Age
b. tolerant or supportive of same-sex love
c. more critical of Christian behavior than of Jewish behavior

7. For three people: Perform a scene from the play with an alternative interpretation. Find a passage that is rich with ambiguity and possibility and interpret it in an very unusual way, say with extreme sympathy for Shylock and antipathy for Antonio. The language should be unchanged; the scene should have few characters, be intense, and last for five minutes or so. Write a 300-500 word statement of intent delineating exactly what you intend to do, what your interpretation will be, and what ONE IDEA -- a coherent sentence! -- your interpretation will clearly communicate. Costuming should not be a factor; read or memorize. One small group only.

8. For four people: Debate the character of Portia. Is she good, or is she a manipulative hypocrite, worse even than Shylock? Use the cx debate format.

9. Do an investigative 60 Minutes-style report on the trial that looks into the deceptions and betrayals and miscarriages of justice in the trial of Shylock. Script it, tape it, edit it, and show it. The spot should be exactly five minutes long (with maybe a single 30-second ad) and full of exciting, revealing, supported, and true reportage.

So, get started. All work is due, stapled in order and formatted correctly, on OR BEFORE March 18. I then proofread it and return for finalizing.