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GCSE English Literature · key term
Patient endurance of suffering or mistreatment.
Used by AQA, Edexcel, OCR and Eduqas
Paper 1
Suffering or patient endurance. Shylock uses the word to describe the mistreatment endured by Jewish people.
Revise: ShylockHis statement ‘For sufferance is the badge of all our tribe’ makes his personal experience collective (Act 1 Scene 3). ‘Sufferance’ means patient endurance. The metaphor ‘badge’ presents suffering as a visible identifying mark, while ‘our tribe’ connects him to other Jewish people.
Paper 1
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He explains that ‘sufferance is the badge of all our tribe’ in Act 1 Scene 3. ‘Sufferance’ means patient endurance; the metaphor of a ‘badge’ makes persecution a defining mark of collective identity. ‘Our’ extends the experience beyond one man to the Jewish community.
Paper 2
Revise: ShylockIn the same speech, Shylock says, “For sufferance is the badge of all our tribe.” Sufferance means patient endurance. The metaphor of a “badge” makes suffering a public mark of collective identity: Shylock presents persecution as something endured by Jewish people, not merely a private quarrel.
Component 1
Suffering or patient endurance of mistreatment.
Revise: ShylockShylock explains his endurance through the metaphor “For sufferance is the badge of all our tribe.” in Act 1 Scene 3. A “badge” identifies its wearer: suffering becomes the shared identifying mark of his Jewish community. “Our” makes his grievance collective rather than purely personal.
