Module 4: Act II, scenes ii, iii, iv
If you were directing the play, what tone would you have Jessica use when she gives her first soliloquy? Why? What do you think her primary motive is for marrying Lorenzo? What is his motive for marrying her? How does their relationship compare to that of Portia and Bassanio?
Answer some or all of these questions (use some direct quotes and close reading!) in 4-5 sentences,
and make sure you sign your name at the bottom since occasionally the name doesn't appear with
the post and you want to get credit. You should also respond to 2-3 of your classmates' posts with
2-3 sentences: go beyond "good job!" and "nice point!" Be specific and treat it as a response in
a discussion.
and make sure you sign your name at the bottom since occasionally the name doesn't appear with
the post and you want to get credit. You should also respond to 2-3 of your classmates' posts with
2-3 sentences: go beyond "good job!" and "nice point!" Be specific and treat it as a response in
a discussion.
In Jessica's soliloquy the tone would be lustful and desiring, I think it'd sound like that because she clearly desires freedom from her father and sees Lorenzo as her dream guy and an opportunity to escape Shylock. I would say her primary reason is, again, the freedom she gets by becoming a christian and getting as far away from her father as possible. Compared to Portia and Bassanio they are closer and more passionate, the fact that Lorenzo can picture her and recognize her handwriting says it all. Lorenzo seems to have better intentions by marrying Jessica as well, he seems to truly love her beyond her beauty by convincing his friends of her worth seperate from her father's name.
ReplyDelete-Avery E
I totally agree about her desire to escape her father and her ties! I think that she is going to be let down because I do not think that she will be as "freed" when (if) she marries Lorenzo. Also, Lorenzo is willing to tie his name to Shylock, which shows true love.
Delete--Meredith
Ha I literally said the same thing. Do you actually think Jessica loves Lorenzo? or just sees him as an "escape" from her household and Shylock?
DeleteI completely agree with her wanting to marry Lorenzo to be freed from her father. I like how you mention that Lorenzo truly loves her, but I wonder if Jessica really feels the same or if the main motive is freedom.
Delete-Bradley
I agree with how Jessica is using Lorenzo as an escape from her father. I also agree with how their relationship is closer and more passionate than the one of Portia and Bassanio since they have actually communicated with each other.
Delete-fernando
I agree! Jessica's motives are more conflicted, but I want to believe that she loves Lorenzo as much as he loves her...Meredith is right: he's taking a big risk in tying his name to Shylock in any way, so he must really care about her.
DeleteIf I was directing the play I would have Jessica's tone be direct and purposeful because she is self aware and knows that she needs to separate herself from Shylock by marrying Lorenzo and converting to Christianity. In her soliloquy she says, "But though I am a daughter to his blood I am not to his manners" revealing that she doesn't agree with the way Shylock acts and wants to distance herself from him (ll. 18-19). The word blood refers to family and bloodline and that's the only thing she has in common with Shylock. Jessica's primary motive for marrying Lorenzo is ending the disagreement with her father and escaping him. She says "I shall end this strife, Become a loyal Christian and thy loving wife" showing that by becoming a Christian wife to Lorenzo she will end the conflict and have a better life (ll. 20-21). The rhyming of "strife" and "wife" might indicate that the first problem is the strife and the solution is becoming a wife.
ReplyDelete-Bradley
Do you think she will actually have a better life? I wonder if she is almost "bringing Lorenzo down" the totem pole rather than going up.
DeleteI love the words you used to describe the tone. I also think you did a great job comparing wife and strife, as strife coming first. Could this FS a strife coming quickly?
DeleteYah like how Jessica knows what she wants in Lorenzo, while Porsia has no idea what to do with herself, let alone who to marry.
DeleteI think one of the reasons Jessica is marrying Lorenzo is because she wants the end the strife, but I also believe that she does love him. I like the comparison between the words wife and strife!
Delete-Zoe
I love the concluding idea with the rhyme! also wondering, with the mention of blood if its not just figurative but that blood will be shed...?
DeleteGreat emphasis on blood and strife, everyone! Blood is a significant symbol throughout, and I think you're correct that there might be some foreshadowing happening here.
DeleteIf I was directing the play, I would make Jessica's tone desperate since her "house is hell" and she is living with "a merry devil", so she would want to escape(sc.3 line 2). Marrying Lorenzo would give her the option to escape and climb the social hierarchy. She says it is a "heinous sin...to be ashamed to be my father's child" which shows her responsibility of being loyal to family is less important than climbing the social hierarchy(sc.4 line 16,17). Lorenzo's motive for marrying her is that he truly lovers her.
ReplyDelete-Fernando
love the word choice here, and the quotes! totally see your point about her desire to climb the social hierarchy, especially that for a woman of her time she very self aware.
DeleteI like the idea of her tone being "desperate," Fernando...that makes good sense. And Avery, you're right about her being self aware, which reinforces her parallelism with Portia.
DeleteJessica's tone would be both ashamed and wishful if I were directing. She feels as though it is a "heinous sin" be ashamed of her father and a part of her, but she is torn because she wants something better for herself. She desires to "Become a Christian and thy loving wife," which she claims will "end this strife." The "strife" she refers to is possibly her association with her father and the household she calls tedious. Escaping this part of her life is a motive for marrying Lorenzo, but she also seems in love with him, which is Lorenzo's motive. Their relationship is very similar to Portia and Bassanio, with many similarities in Portia and Jessica, and something important stopping it from being a perfect relationship in both of them.
ReplyDeleteI agree with her tone and I think the strife being her association with her father is very possible but I also think the strife could be referring to an internal struggle between her loyalty towards her father since she is his blood, and her wish for his bad reputation that has been stuck with her to go away.
Delete-Zoe
DeleteWe know lorenzo is super in love, how could you argue that she is in love too cause I frankly don't see it, I think she saw him as the way out.
DeleteI love your word choice of torn and I think it really signifies how Jessica is feeling internally. I agree Jessica and Lorenzo's relationships are very similar to Portia's and Bassanios, but do you think you have to show more commitment in Portia's and Bassanio's relationship?
DeleteYes! Great word choice..."torn" and "wistful" are so descriptive and really communicate how she could be feeling here. I love that there's so much room for interpretation in the presentation of this scene. It must be really fun for an actor/director.
DeleteIf I were directing this soliloquy Jessica's tone would be self assured. This is illustrated with the word choice of "But though I am a daughter of his blood, I am not to his manner."(sc. 3 ll.18-19) She is sure in herself, with that she is not like her father, and she is sure in her future, and she will do anything to secure that future with Lorenzo, even if that means giving up her past religion. Jessica's primary motive to marrying Lorenzo is to leave "Our house is hell and thou, a merry devil."(sc. 3 ll. 2) She wants to find light, or brightness in life, again and wants to move out of the place that brought her so much darkness. As Jessica's main focus is to find light again, Lorenzo's primary motive to marrying Jessica is so that "Fair Jessica shall be my torchbearer." (sc. 4 ll. 43) This shows how Lorenzo needs a guide to hold his light, or happiness. Compared to Portia and Bassanio's relationship, I see commitment. Jessica and Lorenzo are committed in one another, while Portia is not very much committed to Bassanio.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree about her being self assured and knowing why and how she will escape her father and house. I like how you mention that Jessica can be Lorenzo's torchbearer and guide him to light and happiness. Do you think Lorenzo plays this same role in bringing Jessica light?
DeleteI disagree with you among your claim that Jessica and Lorenzo are more committed, I would argue the opposite because their love is fabricated. Both Portia and Bassanio clearly love each other too, what do you think about Jessica and Lorenzo if it were from the standpoint of her only looking at him as the way out.
DeleteI like self assured...that gives a different perspective than one we've seen so far. I also love Bradley's question about the two characters perhaps giving each other light. I agree with Garrett that there's the question of whether or not Jessica might be using Lorenzo to escape, but I think he must really love her, and their relationship seems to be built on actual interactions rather than "fair speechless messages" of Portia and Bassanio, who have never had an actual conversation.
DeleteIf I was directing the play, I would give Jessica a passionate, but also tense tone. This is because throughout the soliloquy Jessica is constantly showing her desire to leave, but also expresses her nerve for her dads reaction. She mentions: "If thou keep promise, I shall end this strife, Become a christian and thy loving wife" (11. 20-21). The "promise" is the guarantee that Lorenzo will marry her whereas "ending this strife" is referring to her arguments with her dad. Shakespeare's use of "christian" brings up the comparison of religion: Christian vs. Jewish, which is a major keypoint in the play. "Christian" is sought after for Jessica and throughout the play seen as a heavenly religion, whereas the Jewish beliefs that Shylock takes is the hell. Furthermore, these lines state how as long as Lorenzo agrees to marry Jessica, Jessica will leave her dad and her religion, along with every other sin, and convert to Christianity to become good. Jessica's primary motive from this is to leave her past in the hopes of getting rid of her father and create a new appearance for herself. This compares to Portia and Bassanio's relationship because, like Portia, Jessica dad serves as an obstacle blocking her from marriage: Portia's being her "husband roulette" trust-factor game, and Jessica's being her stubborn, evil dad.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with how Jessica has a subtle tense tone because she feels like she is betraying her dad. I like how you mention you compared Portia and Jessica's relationship's road blocks.
DeleteI think the comparison you made is great, and is something to keep your eye out for. I also like how instead of comparing the relationships between P and A, and J and L, you compared the fathers. I see the father's as potential foils as they use their wit as their strength.
DeleteYes! Great job with the parallelism with Portia (and I'm chuckling at "husband roulette")...I also like that you're emphasizing the tension that Jessica feels. She must be so stressed out!
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ReplyDeleteIf I were to direct, I would have Jessica deliver her soliloquy in an aspirating tone. Her desire to escape her father's "house of hell" could be heard in her aspirations of "ending this strife." Though Jessica is "a daughter to his blood," she still feels ashamed to be his daughter. She sees Lorenzo as a man she can marry, and as someone who could take her away from the hellish household she calls home. As for the comparison to Porsia and Bassanio, their's is clearly more wholesome. By the way he recognizes her handwriting, and solely based on the fact that they actually talk to each other! Porsia and Bassanio are yet to meet, and have no knowledge of their respective existences. It seems as though Jessica and Lorenzo already have an ongoing relationship, while Bassanio and Porsia are far from marriage.
ReplyDelete-Torin Braun
I definitely agree. Do you think Jessica aspires to mary Lorenzo more to get away from her dad, or because she loves him and can actually see a future with him. I totally agree that Porsia's and Bassanio's love for each other is more pure and real. Do you think Jessica is marrying Lorenzo as an act of impulsiveness to escape her dad and if so do you think it's the right choice?
DeleteI agree with Torin--their relationship seems to be more real and solid than that of P&B. That said, I like that you're highlighting the "aspirational" nature of her escape: she does have another motive beyond just being in love with Lorenzo, but she's also taking a huge risk.
DeleteIf I were the director, the tone I would have Jessica use would be a mixture between a sense of shame and determination. This is because she would be shameful of how she felt towards her father, but she would be determined to prove herself different to the world and build a clear separation between her father and herself. This is seen when she clearly states, “though I am a daughter to her blood, I am not to his manners” (ll.18-19). She also longs for the day where she marries Lorenzo, because not only does that mean she’s married to a christian, and she herself would be christian, her father’s reputation that has been stuck with her would be gone since, in a way, she no longer belongs to or live in her father’s household but Lorenzo’s. However, I do believe that they do truly love each other as Lorenzo had stated in line 13 that he “knows the hand,” which highlights not only their relationship but suggests that Lorenzo does care for Jessica since he paid attention to details such as how she writes. I think Portia and Jessica are very similar because they are both trapped by something their father did.
ReplyDelete-Zoe Lee
I love your perspective on this soliloquy. I didn't mention anything about shame but that is a big part of Jessica's mixed emotions. At the time, the social pressure to always respect family was a big belief. I also love how you brought in the religious side of things, especially the reputable aspect on how her dad, a Christian isn't reputable and how she wants something different. Do you think Jessica is passionate about moving away? Do you think she really sees a future with Lorenzo?
DeleteI love your word choice of determination, and I totally agree. I agree that when marrying Lorenzo she will loose her fathers reputation, but do you think her life with Shylock will stay as part of her identity?
DeleteI agree with Daniel and Caroline: I love your choice of "determination" for the tone. She's determined not just to be with someone she loves but also to escape from her father and, maybe, the challenges of being discriminated against as he has been. Nice note of the "knows the hand"--so sweet!
DeleteFrom James: If I was directing the play, I would make Jessica's tone sound more hopeful because she seems like she's found a way out to distance herself from Shylock by marrying a Christian, Lorenzo. This also shows her main motive to marrying Lorenzo. She says that she is Shylock's "daughter by blood" but she is "not to his manners" referring to Shylock's belief in the Jewish tradition(18-19). Even though Jessica is Shylock's daughter, she doesn't want to be associated with him and says she doesn't share the same "manners" or beliefs. So by marrying Lorenzo, it gives her a way out. This is shown again in line 21 where she says she will "Become a Christian" when she marries Lorenzo, which directly opposes Shylock's beliefs, widening the gap between them.
ReplyDeleteDo you think she has any doubt or regret about leaving her father? I agree with the motives you highlight here, but I wonder if she feels any tension in what she's about to do.
DeleteIf I was the director, I would make Jessica's tone urgent and desperate as currently in her household she is very straining due to Shylock's behavior. She needs to escape Shylock so she can marry Lorenzo, a Christian. She has known she wants to marry a christian in hopes this will further distance her from her father. This makes you question how pure her motive to marry Lorenzo is, and from the looks of it she's just trying to escape Shylock, Furthermore she is upmost embarrassed by her own father and feels as if she isn't his "Daughter by manner." (19) Where as Lorenzo it seems is vastly entrapped by Jessica in a state of ever pure love. Portia and Jessica both have very much in common as both have issues with their fathers, embarrassed and controlled, if that be whom they can marry or embarrassed by their father's terrible behavior. This said Portia and Bassanio's love for one another is very real and pure but in ways Jessica and Lorenzo's relationship is fabricated as she was just trying to escape but Lorenzo like earlier stated is vastly in love.
ReplyDeleteGood parallels between Jessica and Portia! And I really like that you mention her sense of urgency: this might be her only way out. I also like that you're looking at love as a potential trap...Portia feels trapped because she has no choice and no "love" option, but you're right that love can also be a trap since Lorenzo is taking a risk by being with Jessica because he loves her.
DeleteFrom Pippa: If I were directing a play, I would have Jessica speak in a desperate or distraught tone. With the use of phrases like "our house is hell" and "merry devil," she appears to describe her father and the troubles of her living situation, meaning that she is unhappy and in need of help (59). Her marriage with Lorenzo is almost her escape from the household, her father, and the reputation of being in a Jewish family. Although she respects him as a person, her main motive of this marriage is to escape and become a Christian. Lorenzo does care for her greatly, as he expresses that she "shall be my torchbearer," meaning she is his light, and he recognizes her handwriting on page 61 (63). However, it is implied that Lorenzo also seeks the "gold and jewels" that she has attained, as they are the first thing he mentions when speaking of her plan (63). Lorenzo and Jessica's relationship is similar to Bassanio and Portia's in that both Jessica and Portia need to escape or get something out of the marriage. They also both have difficult relationships with their fathers. Bassanio and Lorenzo both favor jewels and riches slightly over love as well, making the motives of the relationships very similar.
ReplyDelete-Pippa Sims
Good point about the gold and jewels, Pippa! I also like your word choice for the tone: "desperate and distraught" are great choices. Do you think she feels at all conflicted about leaving her father? Is that part of why she feels distraught?
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