Meagan's Shakespeare Review

William Shakespeare is known for his talent of the written language. Shakespeare was a progressive individual who challenged the people of Elizabethan England to think about places outside of their own social circles, while providing them with something to compare their own lives to; three excellent examples of this are with his plays The Merchant of Venice, Romeo and Juliet, and Julius Caesar. In all three, Shakespeare provides issues that are on the rise in England that are reflected in the plot of his plays, such as the prejudice of race in The Merchant of Venice, the harm that can be cause by other prejudices in Romeo and Juliet, and also the political issues of England that are reflected in Julius Caesar. While it is uncertain if Shakespeare ever visited Italy, his plays are able to reflect their physical locations in a way that illustrates their true essence perfectly.

In The Merchant of Venice, the Jewish Ghetto is reflected in the way the people have been raised, such as Shylock. While standing in the Ghetto, the bystander can feel the oppressing weight of the prejudices that made the Jews retreat to the small island that was supposed to house the whole of their race, in Venice. While the Jews are represented severely in the play, it is hard to imagine the peaceful people in any harsh light as they quietly go about their lives in the Ghetto, unless they are disturbed in their rituals. While in Romeo and Juliet, the balcony that is supposed to represent the place where the two announced their passionate love, is a romantic, isolated location that gives the viewer a picturesque idea of how it may have been that night. It gives the play an irony as the silence that surrounds the balcony will follow them to their tomb.

Even though the Roman Forum is now ruins, the chaos that would’ve been occurring in the days of Julius Caesar are still evident as you look over the many important buildings that would’ve been in place. In writing Julius Caesar, Shakespeare illustrated the importance of the Roman nation and the influence one individual could make on even the most powerful nation.