... Othello and The Merchant of Venice are only two examples of Shakespeare’s plays that take place in Italy. More specifically, both take place in Venice, a location that turns out to be very important in the construct of each play. Shakespeare constructs his Venice as a center of international commerce which contains very important aspects of this location which, by the very nature of this constructed Venice, sets into motion the conflicts of each play: economy, politics, and cultural diversity.
A basic background on Italy at Shakespeare’s time is important in understanding how important this location is in Othello and The Merchant of Venice. ... Venice was a northern, maritime city-state that had direct access to the Adriatic Sea. ... These were the aspects of Venice that lent it to a volatile economic and cultural setting that becomes important in these two plays.
The mercantile economy of Venice is important to the basic plots of Othello and The Merchant of Venice. ... The Merchant of Venice, as the name suggests, is centered on an economical sphere. The conflict in this play is between Antonio, the merchant of Venice, and Shylock, a Jewish moneylender. ...
For the same reasons that Venice was a great commercial empire and point of exchange of economy, Venice was also greatly diverse culturally.
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