Appearance Vs Reality 2

made by my friend, permission was given to be uploaded

1. Appearance vs. reality
Merchant of Venice

2. Appearance vs. reality
How a character present his/herself vs.
who he/she really is.
Appearance is a visual outward form as to
what is being perceived whereas reality is
what is real, existent, or underlies
appearances.
Appearance and reality become dominant
oppositions during the play
In MOV, Appearance versus Reality comes
in the form of lies, deception and
disguise.

3. Significance of the theme
The Merchant of Venice depends
heavily on deception to thicken the
plot and create the general
atmosphere and mood of suspense
shrouding the story line. Trickery
involving appearance and reality is
present throughout the majority of
the play

4. Significance of the theme
Shakespeare uses deception to enhance
the unfolding drama and involve his
audience more fully in the play – the
audience are party to deceptions which
the characters themselves are unaware
of, thus creating a dramatic irony.
The theme also displays the rounded
personalities of the characters.

5. From the play…
During the discussion of the bond,
Shylock appears to be friendly to Antonio,
but he actually had an ulterior motive,
which is to take a pound of Antonio’s flesh
from whatever part of his body he
pleases. The underlying meaning is to kill
him.
Portia appears to be friendly in front of
the Prince of Morocco, but in fact, she
prejudices him against her complexion.

6. From the play…
Launcelot deceives his blind father, pretending
that he is not his son and tried “confusions with
him”
Jessica pretends to be meek and submissive in
front of her father when in reality, she is
rebellious.
she dressed up as a boy in order to elope with
Lorenzo.
Jessica’s disguise is more than just physical, it is
also meant to hide her identity and to hide her
shame of running away from her father with his
money, and also denouncing her Jewish religion.

7. From the play…
The choosing of caskets look simple and
dependent on “Fortune”, but it actually tests the
love, mettle and character of the suitor.
Prince of Morocco chose the gold casket, showing
that he is superficial, greedy and materialistic.
Prince of Arragon chose the silver casket and thus
revealing that he too is superficial, but trying to
be someone he is not. As for those who choose the
lead casket, it shows that they are intellectual,
and not easily deceived by false values.
This idea is enhanced by the phrase, “ all that
glitters is not gold”

8. From the play…
Portia and Nerissa disguise themselves as
Balthazar and his clerk in order to attend
the trial.
They then develop the deceit so that they
can test their husbands
The 'appearance' of the Venetians is also
questionable - they call themselves
Christians (and so ought to follow the
teachings of the New Testament, loving
their neighbours), but the reality is that
they own slaves and persecute the Jews.

9. Implications and
consequences
In MOV, the theme gets us more
engaged as we would always be eager
to know whether the disguises,
deceits that we are aware of would
be known to the other characters on
stage.

10. Viewing our world
We should learn to take things with a
pinch of salt and not judge things by
their outer appearances. Looks are
deceiving.
We should get to know others well
before giving our trust. (e.g. Shylock,
Antonio and the pound of flesh)

11. What should we base our
decisions on?
We should base our decisions on what
we know about certain people,
understanding their perspective,
motive, and external factors that
might be influencing them.

12. THANK YOU!