Through Archetypal Criticism in Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice (Published)
This paper presents a brief overview of archetypal criticism, a literary theory that seeks to identify universal patterns and themes in literature rooted in the human psyche. It is based on the idea of archetypes, symbols and motifs in the collective unconscious of humanity, popularized by Carl Jung. As applied to literature, the theory of archetypal criticism involves exploring these universal themes and symbols in work and how they reflect the human condition. The paper aims to analyze William Shakespeare’s tragedy The Merchant of Venice through the lens of archetypal criticism to uncover deeper meanings in the literature. The play explores themes of justice, mercy, and true love through its complicated characters and dramatic plot. Through archetypal criticism, the play delves deeper into its universal meaning. It reveals psychological and emotional truths about the human condition, inviting reflection on beliefs and values that shape our experiences in the world. The paper explores the play by applying archetypal criticism. There are archetype characters of Shylock and Jessica that embody the outsider archetype as Jews in a predominantly Christian society and moneylenders. The archetypal criticism also explores different forms of love, including romantic love between Bassanio and Portia, the friendship between Antonio and Bassanio, and the complex relationship between Shylock and Jessica. The theme of revenge is embodied by Shylock and depicts an archetype. The play features archetypal symbols, including the casket challenge, the green-eyed monster, the test of worthiness, and the trickster. Some situations in the play and the play’s ending are also significant from an archetypal perspective.
Keywords: Archetypal, Character, Theme, archetype, symbol, the merchant of Venice
An Approach to Reevaluating and Understanding Chekhov in the Perspective of Theme, Motif, Symbol and Writing Style (Published)
Anthon Chekhov can strikingly be marked out for his artistic ingenuity in composing his short stories imbued with cornucopia of ideas with pinpoint accuracy. He has amassed so many cutting edge ideas which represent the matter of opinions which can be often described as a sense of sentimental, emotive, equivocal, weird, funny, and even haunting and taunting . A gushing outlet of emotional intelligence and essence of life are found in Anthon Chekhov’s writing. Chekhovian short stories do not let the reader a solid message rather it caters to the readers to give room to extract the themes of the stories from abyss of twist and turn . Russian literature owes to Chekhov by large for he got the nerves of the Russian people and their turn of mind. His delineation of the characters is enshrouded in delicate touch and his dealings with the characters has an emollient tone. His experiential learning with the social maladies bounds him to present the scenario of decadent, corroding and worked-up society of Russia. His play with the word also contributes to the creation of the characterization more sharply and nicely. His words are woven into inviting creation with a single thread polished with fine texture. His plot is pregnant with comical references resulting in presenting the malaise of Russian society. Broadly speaking, his writing has always been the showcases of human characters and complexities of the world.
Keywords: Characters, Chekhov, Motif, Symbols, Theme, Writing Style