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GCSE English Literature · key term
A system of rules enforced by an authority. In The Merchant of Venice, characters appeal to law both for protection and to pursue punishment.
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Paper 1
The rules enforced by a society’s authorities. An action can follow the law without necessarily seeming morally fair.
Revise: Crime and justiceCrime concerns wrongdoing against the law; justice concerns whether people receive fair treatment. Conan Doyle brings these ideas together through the Agra treasure: its history includes murder, theft, betrayal and suffering, yet several characters believe that they deserve it.
Paper 1
Distinguish obeying the law from acting morally: the play repeatedly tests whether they are the same.
Track verbal reversals: Shylock’s praise of a ‘Daniel’ becomes Gratiano’s taunt, while his confident demand for law becomes a question about it.
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Law means the rules an authority enforces; justice concerns what is fair and right. Mercy means showing compassion towards someone whom you have the power to punish. These ideas can work together: a punishment may be lawful, but mercy can reduce its severity.
Component 1
A system of enforceable rules. Venetian law provides the authority through which Shylock pursues his bond and Portia defeats his claim.
Revise: Mercy, justice and the lawLaw is the system of enforceable rules through which claims are decided. These ideas overlap, but they are not identical: something may be legally permitted and still be cruel. Shakespeare explores that gap through the bond, the trial and the unequal outcomes at the end.
