Texts that withstand the test of time are those that touch on universal ideas, such as aspects of the human condition. The Merchant of Venice is one such text that undeniably remains relevant for modern audiences and can be valued with just as much importance as it was in Elizabethan England. The play's central themes are of power and control, love and friendship, and the discrimination of others. The most obvious example of bias, of course, is Venice's inherent antisemitism, but the discrimination in the play extends to anyone who isn't white, male, and Christian. It would have held, therefore, great verisimilitude to Shakespeare's England.
             The control over individuals and groups from a supreme authority is explored throughout the whole text. Such power comes from the Christian and male Venetian citizens, as anybody who is not a male and Christian in the play is seen as inferior, be they male and Jewish, female, or any other race or nationality. Ironically, this power stems from Act I of the play, where Portia is powerless in determining her own fate, as seen with her line 'I may neither choose who I would nor refuse who I dislike'. Portia's repetition of 'choose' which occurs throughout this passage, indicates her subjugation, suggesting resentment to the 'will' of her late father. Indeed, 'will' is also used as a pun in this section, in context to Portia's father's power and her lack thereof, thus accentuating the issue 'so is the will of a living daughter curbed by the will of a dead father'. Further along in the scene, Portia complains about the suitors who have come to play the lottery: "he is every man but no man." This paradox seemingly indicates Portia's unwillingness to be a participant. This indicates that Portia is in some ways an object or prize to be won. In Elizabethan England, a patriarchal society would have had little complaint about the lack of power Portia has within the play, as her wealth and Christian pri...