Power and Control in Shakespearean Literature

Paper Summary:

This paper examines Shakespeare's "The Taming of the Shrew" and "The Merchant of Venice" to show how issues of power in 16th century Europe are played out. The paper shows the details of some of these struggles through a small portion of each of the texts. The paper describes how Shakespeare uses his masterful skill to portray these battles and how they are similar as well as different from one another. The paper explains what those differences and similarities mean for us and the characters in those struggles.

From the Paper:

"A tantalizing version of this power relationship occurs between the characters of Shylock and Antonio in "The Merchant of Venice". This relationship brings with it actually three separate conflicts that manifest themselves throughout the play and culminate with Shylock's unrealistic demand of a pound of flesh from Antonio. These conflicts include Shylock's clash with Antonio, a struggle with laws of Venice, as well as a type of war of religions, between the traditional Catholic state of Venice and his Jewish heritage. Of all these, the best place to look is his power struggle with Antonio."

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