Shylock and The Merchant of Venice

• Famous Character:
  Shylock – a Jewish moneylender, is a central character in William Shakespeare’s play The Merchant of Venice.

• The Merchant of Venice:

  • Genre: Comedy (Tragi-comedy)

  • Written: 1596–1597

  • First Published: 1600 (Quarto edition)

  • Plot: Focuses on the contract between Antonio, a Venetian merchant, and Shylock, the Jewish moneylender, and its consequences. The play explores themes of mercy, justice, revenge, and the complexities of human relationships.

• Important Characters:

  • Antonio (merchant)

  • Shylock (Jewish moneylender)

  • Portia (heroine)

  • Bassanio

  • Jessica (Shylock’s daughter)

  • Gratiano

  • Prince of Morocco

  • Salarino

• Famous Quotations from the Play:

  • “All that glisters is not gold.”

  • “The devil can cite Scripture for his purpose.”

  • “It is a wise father that knows his own child.”

  • “Love is blind, and lovers cannot see the pretty follies that themselves commit.”

• William Shakespeare (1564–1616):

  • Birthplace: Stratford-upon-Avon, England → called Bard of Avon or Swan of Avon.

  • Renowned as English national poet, dramatist, and actor.

  • Wrote 154 sonnets and 37 plays.

  • Co-founded the Globe Theatre in London in 1599.

• Notable Comedies/Tragi-comedies by Shakespeare:

  • All’s Well That Ends Well

  • As You Like It

  • Twelfth Night

  • The Merchant of Venice

  • A Midsummer Night's Dream

  • The Tempest

Shylock remains one of Shakespeare’s most complex and debated characters, embodying themes of justice, prejudice, and human vulnerability.

• The Revolt of Islam:
- এটি P.B. Shelley রচিত একটি Poem.
- It is a poem in twelve cantos.
- যা 1817 সালে প্রকাশিত হয়।

• P.B. Shelley:
- তিনি একজন English Romantic poet.
- Her passionate search for personal love and social justice was gradually channeled from overt actions into poems that rank with the greatest in the English language.
 
Best works:
Poem:
- Ode to the West Wind,
- Queen Mab,
- Alastor,
- Adonais,
- Ozymandias,
- To a Skylark.
 
Drama:
- Prometheus Unbound,
- The Cenci.

Moby Dick

• লেখক: Herman Melville

• প্রথম প্রকাশ: 1851, মূলত The Whale নামে

• উৎসর্গ: Nathaniel Hawthorne

• বিষয়: তিমি শিকার ও মানুষের আবেগ, প্রতিশোধ ও অবসেশন

Summary:

• প্রধান চরিত্র:

  • Captain Ahab – এক-পা হারানো জাহাজের অধিনায়ক, Moby Dick তিমি শিকার করতে বদ্ধপরিকর

  • Ishmael – ন্যারেটর

  • Queequeg, Starbuck, Peleg, Bildad (Pequod জাহাজের মালিক)

• গল্পের কেন্দ্র: Moby Dick নামক white giant whale

• Ahab-এর আবেগপ্রবণ শিকার তার নিজস্ব মৃত্যু এবং প্রায় সব ক্রুদের মৃত্যুর কারণ হয়

• শেষমেশ, white whale মারা যায় না

Herman Melville

• American novelist, short story writer, poet

• সমুদ্রভিত্তিক উপন্যাসের জন্য পরিচিত

Famous Novels:

• Moby Dick

• White Jacket

• Bartleby, the Scrivener