Identify Key Themes in 'The Merchant of Venice'

'The Merchant of Venice': Key Themes

What do you already know about the themes in 'The Merchant of Venice'?

Some of the main themes in the play are:

Prejudice and intolerance

Revenge

Wealth

Love and marriage

Friendship and loyalty

Justice, the law and mercy

In the exam, you may be asked to write about how a particular theme is presented by Shakespeare in an extract from the play.

You will also need to be able to write about the theme and how it is presented by Shakespeare in the wider play.

This activity will help you to revise some of the most important features of the themes from 'The Merchant of Venice'.

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