Merchant of Venice-Analysis

** Consider the play as a tragicomedy Shakespeare’s ‘The Merchant of Venice’ is a comedy with a difference. It was written almost certainly between 1596 & 1598. The play is classed as one of the 16 comedy plays but it is also a ‘problem’ play due to the tragic elements woven throughout the intricate plot. The play concludes with a harmonious ending but all through the plot, reoccurring themes of sadness and tragedy are included. In terms of dramatic …showed first 75 words of 963 total…

…showed last 75 words of 963 total…proper subject solely of comedy. The play also presents a threat of death to its main protagonist Antonio that is suddenly at the end by Portia’s ingenious casuistry in the trial scene. ‘The Merchant of Venice’ contains both tragic & comic elements. It also mingles the upper& lower class characters & there is a reversal of fortune. All these elements are typical of tragicomedy. Therefore, we can conclude that ‘The Merchant of Venice’ is a tragicomedy.