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    • Abbreviated Title: Int. J. Lang. Lit. Linguist.
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    • DOI: 10.18178/IJLLL
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HOME > Archives > 2025 > Volume 11 Number 3 (2025) >
IJLLL 2025 Vol.11(3): 121-129
DOI: 10.18178/IJLLL.2025.11.3.585

Spatial Power and Identity Distortion: A Narrative Discourse Study of The Merchant of Venice

Feng Ziyang
College of Arts, Yunnan University, Kunming, China
Email: zeiyungvon@gamil.com (F.Z.Y.)

Manuscript received January 14, 2025; accepted March 27, 2025; published May 23, 2025.

Abstract—This paper delves into two antithetical spaces of Venice and Belmont which embodied an intricate interplay between early capitalist society and utopian imagination. The exchange hall and courtroom reflect commercial logic and religious discrimination, with Shylock marked as the “other” under ridicule and exclusion; the statutes of the court further expose the merciless discipline imposed by law upon marginalized groups. Belmont, on the other hand, constructs a seemingly ideal atmosphere through gardens, music, and the casket test, yet conceals exclusionary practices toward foreigners and women. Despite Portia’s resourcefulness during critical moments, she still must rely on a male persona to gain a voice; Jessica appears to integrate into the manor but in truth loses her original cultural identity amid conversion and silence. Shylock and Bassanio each traverse Venice and Belmont, yet both face precarious identity transformations: the former is successively pushed to the margins through public humiliation and legal persecution, while the latter is torn between love and friendship, wealth and fidelity. These fates interweave between the severity of Venice and the enchantment of Belmont, with narrative pace and focalization shifting accordingly: tension and confrontation on one side, gentleness and romance on the other, continuously regulating and reshaping characters in their movement and conflict. It follows that the discourses of capital, religion, and law not only propel the plot but also reflect Shakespeare’s poetic meditation on the contradictions of society.

Keywords—narrative discourse, identity, alienation, power

Cite: Feng Ziyang, "Spatial Power and Identity Distortion: A Narrative Discourse Study of The Merchant of Venice," International Journal of Languages, Literature and Linguistics, vol. 11, no. 2, pp. 121-129, 2025.

Copyright © 2025 by the authors. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited (CC BY 4.0).

 

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