User:Mosborne Ashs School Nz/Temp/Worksheet-money.odt

Money in The Merchant of Venice

Where\when is money valued above life? Find examples and specific evidence.

Where\when is life valued above money? Find examples and specific evidence.

In what way is money the currency of friendship?

How is money connected with the ideas of value and worth?

One of the possible reasons for disliking Jews is that people like Shylock stopped the free flow of money, and therefore people’s ability to enjoy themselves. Find evidence of the difficult relationship between the Jewish and Christian concepts of moneylending.

All of the characters are dependent on money. It is one of the great levelling factors in the play. It symbolises the interdependence of humans in society- even Christians and Jews. Find evidence of the following characters’ dependence on each other:

Gobbo and Launcelot:

Antonio and Bassanio:

Bassanio and Portia: