First Paper

SECOND PAPER

Subject : Shakespeare throght performance

Student´s name : Fayos Juliá, Aroa-Lara

Title of the paper : "Shylock, Egeus and Baptista´s meeting”

Author or topic : Shakespeare, William

1. - INTRODUCTION.

This is my second paper about Shakespeare and I am going to write about three of the characters that appear is some of Shakespeare’s comedies.

As I did in my first paper, I’m not going to write a narrative essay because the result can be too repetitive.

I have found some similarities and differences among Egeus, Shylock and Baptista and I want to show these kinds of thoughts in a meeting or dialogue that take place among them.

Egeus is a character of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”. Shylock appears in “The Merchant of Venice” and Baptista appears in “The Taming of the Shrew”. All of them are fathers and they have some problems with their daughters, so we can see that being father is a complicated task.

2. - EGEUS, BAPTISTA AND SHYLOCK´S MEETING.

- Egeus: Ohhhh! Ohhhhh! I have a big problem with my daughter. She is crazy!

- Baptista: Don’t worry. My problem is bigger. I have two daughters, so I have more problems than you.

- Shylock: Have both of you problems with your daughters? I am very furious with my Jessica. What is happening to these women?

- Egeus: My daughter is in love with Lysander but I don’t like Lysander. I prefer another man. I want that Hermia marries with Demetrius but she refuses him.

Act I, Scene I:

Lysander:

“You have her father's love, Demetrius;
Let me have Hermia's: do you marry him.”

Egeus:

“Scornful Lysander! true, he hath my love,
And what is mine my love shall render him.
And she is mine, and all my right of her
I do estate unto Demetrius.”

- Baptista: I have two daughters: Katharina and Bianca. Katharina is a lady of such an ungovernable spirit and fiery temper that she was known in Padua by no other name than Katharine the Shrew. Nobody wants to get married with her and my younger lady is Bianca, she is very beautiful and everyone is in love with her.

Act I, Scene I:

Gremio:

“[Aside] To cart her rather: she's too rough for me.
There, There, Hortensio, will you any wife?”

Katharina:

“I pray you, sir, is it your will
To make a stale of me amongst these mates?”

Hortensio:

“Mates, maid! how mean you that? no mates for you,
Unless you were of gentler, milder mould.”

Act I, Scene I:

Hortensio:

“Signior Baptista, will you be so strange?
Sorry am I that our good will effects
Bianca's grief.”

- Shylock: I am a Jew and my daughter called Jessica is in love with a Christian man. I can’t respect this marriage because I hate Christians, so I am going to break this relationship.

Act II, Scene III:

Jessica:

“I am sorry thou wilt leave my father so:
Our house is hell, and thou, a merry devil,
Didst rob it of some taste of tediousness.
But fare thee well, there is a ducat for thee:
And, Launcelot, soon at supper shalt thou see
Lorenzo, who is thy new master's guest:
Give him this letter; do it secretly;
And so farewell: I would not have my father
See me in talk with thee.”

- Egeus: They have to obey us! I’m a respected nobleman in Theseus´s court, so I ask for the full penalty of law to fall on Hermia´s head if she doesn’t obey me but Theseus reduces the penalty for non-compliance from death to life as a nun.

Act I, Scene I:

Egeus: “...

Turn'd her obedience, which is due to me,
To stubborn harshness: and, my gracious duke,
Be it so she; will not here before your grace
Consent to marry with Demetrius,
I beg the ancient privilege of Athens,
As she is mine, I may dispose of her:
Which shall be either to this gentleman
Or to her death, according to our law
Immediately provided in that case.”

-Baptista: I have decided that I have to find a husband for Katharina. Bianca can’t be married before Katharina, so when the eldest sister will be fairly off my hands, Bianca’s suitors should have free leave to address young Bianca.

Act I, Scene I:

Baptista:

“Gentlemen, importune me no farther,
For how I firmly am resolved you know;
That is, not bestow my youngest daughter
Before I have a husband for the elder:
If either of you both love Katharina,
Because I know you well and love you well,
Leave shall you have to court her at your pleasure.”

- Shylock: I don’t know what I am going to do because my daughter is not at home. I think that she has escaped with the stupid Lorenzo. She hates me and I hate both of them.

Act II, Scene VI:

Jessica:

“Here, catch this casket; it is worth the pains.
I am glad 'tis night, you do not look on me,
For I am much ashamed of my exchange:
But love is blind and lovers cannot see
The pretty follies that themselves commit;
For if they could, Cupid himself would blush
To see me thus transformed to a boy.”

Lorenzo:

“Descend, for you must be my torchbearer.”

- Egeus: I’m going to talk with my daughter. See you soon.

- Baptista: see you and I hope that everything goes well.

- Sylock: Good bye. Tell me something if you resolve your problems.

3. - CONCLUSION:

I have explained the problems that the three characters have with their daughters and as we know, the three plays are comedies so they have a happy ending.

All of them are against their daughters´ feelings and they want to impose their authority.

Egeus´s daughter gets married with Lysander, her love, but Egeus is happy at the end and she is not killed.

Katharina finds a husband and she changes her attitude, she is more sweeter and more obedient and Bianca finds a husband too.

Jessica is in love with Lorenzo and they receive part of Shylock´s property. Shylock is the most unhappy character of the three because he has lost his wealth and he has been made to convert to Christianity.

At that time fathers have a great power to choose the husband for their daughters and we can observe that Shakespeare was against this mentality and he shows it in his plays. Everybody has feelings and everybody is free to choose his couple.

4. – SOURCES

http://www.sparknotes.com/shakespeare.com/shakespeare/msnd/characters.html

http://nfs.sparknotes.com/msnd/character.epl

http://www.sparknotes.com/shakespeare/merchant/characters.html

- 7.01.2007. “The Taming of the Shrew”

http://shakespeare.palomar.edu/lambtales/LTSHREW.HTM

http://www.sparknotes.com/shakespeare/shrew/characters.html