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GCSE English Literature · key term
An additional payment charged for borrowing money.
Used by AQA, Edexcel, OCR and Eduqas
Paper 1
An additional charge paid by a borrower to a lender for borrowing money.
Revise: ContextKnowing that Christians traditionally condemned interest, for example, helps explain Antonio’s hostility towards Shylock’s business. Knowing that Jewish people faced restrictions helps us question whether Antonio’s behaviour deserves the praise he receives from his friends. Context informs a reading; it does not replace textual evidence.
Link context to particular words or actions, such as Christian opposition to usury and Antonio’s interest-free lending.
Part (b): connect brief context to your argument, such as Christian opposition to interest when explaining Antonio and Shylock’s conflict.
Part (b): connect context to the point it explains—for example, Christian condemnation of interest helps explain Antonio’s lending practices and his conflict with Shylock.
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Paper 1
An additional payment charged by a lender for the use of borrowed money.
Revise: ContextUsury historically meant lending money at interest: requiring the borrower to repay more than the original loan. Traditional Christian teaching condemned it because lending should express charity rather than exploit another person’s need. Another argument held that money was sterile: unlike animals, it could not naturally reproduce, so making money breed more money was considered unnatural.
Money charged for the use of borrowed money. Shylock uses ‘usance’ to mean interest.
Paper 2
An additional charge paid by a borrower for the use of someone else’s money.
Revise: ContextUsury meant lending money at interest. Christian teaching traditionally condemned it because lending should help someone in need rather than become a way of profiting from them. Biblical teachings about generosity supported this view.
Component 1
An additional amount paid to a lender for borrowing money, beyond the sum originally borrowed.
Revise: ContextInterest is the extra money a borrower pays beyond the amount borrowed. In the religious debate behind the play, usury could mean charging any interest, not merely demanding an unusually high rate.
An extra payment charged for borrowing money, beyond the amount originally lent.
