Evaluate Key Characters and Their Development in 'The Merchant of Venice'

How does Shakespeare present the characters in 'The Merchant of Venice?'

In the literature exam, you may be asked to write about how a particular character is presented by Shakespeare in an extract from 'The Merchant of Venice'.

You will also need to know the play well enough to be able to write about a character and how it is presented by Shakespeare in the wider play.

To achieve a higher mark, you will need to show that you are analysing the character.

To show this, you will need to:

- comment on some of the choices of language/structure/dramatic devices used by Shakespeare to present the character

- comment on how the presentation of the character is used to reflect the context in which Shakespeare was writing 

You should always refer to your own text when working through these examples. These quotations are for reference only.