Key Terms

Here are some of the key terms that get used when talking about Shakespeare’s language, so you can look out for them in The Merchant of Venice. 
  • Iambic Pentameter

    Play Iambic Pentameter Video

    Iambic pentameter is the name given to the rhythm that Shakespeare uses in his plays. The rhythm of Iambic Pentameter is like a heartbeat, with one soft beat and one strong beat repeated five times.

    Where will I find it in The Merchant of Venice?

    Iambic Pentameter is used for the majority of the play. If you count the syllables in the very first line of the play, ‘In sooth I know not why I am so sad’, you can see that Antonio uses ten beats to tell his friends how he feels.
  • Prose and Verse

    Play Prose and Verse Video

    Shakespeare writes in a combination of prose and verse. Prose is a conversational way of speaking which doesn’t have a set rhythm or structure. Verse always has a set rhythm and structure.

    Where will I find it in The Merchant of Venice?

    Only 20 per cent of The Merchant of Venice is written in prose. You can identify it by looking at the page in the play text. Where it looks like a poem with capital letters at the start of each new line, Shakespeare is using verse and when it looks like writing in a book that goes the whole way across the page, prose is being used. Portia and Nerissa’s first scene together (1:2) is written entirely in prose.
  • Antithesis

    Play Antithesis Video

    Antithesis happens when two opposites are put together. For example, hot and cold or light and dark.

    Where will I find it in The Merchant of Venice?

    In Act 1, Scene 1, Gratiano declares ‘let my liver rather heat with wine / Than my heart cool with mortifying groans’, contrasting opposite temperatures.
  • Rhyming Couplets

    Play Rhyming Couplets Video

    Rhyming couplets are two lines written in Iambic Pentameter that end in the same sound, or a rhyme. They are often used to sum up the end of a character’s speech.

    Where will I find it in The Merchant of Venice?

    Rhyming couplets are often used to finish a scene or a character’s speech. Antonio closes Act 1, Scene 3 with the rhyming couplet: ‘Come on, in this there can be no dismay, My ships come home a month before the day.’

Test Yourself on language terms

Shakespeare writes in a combination of prose and verse. Verse is like poetry and it has a set structure and rhythm. The rhythm Shakespeare uses in his plays is called iambic pentameter, which is like a heartbeat, with one soft beat and one strong beat repeated five times. Sometimes it’s also interesting to look at lines that don’t match the rhythm of iambic pentameter and to think about why.
In Shakespeare’s plays, you will find examples of antithesis, which is when two opposites are put together, like hot and cold or light and dark. Characters also often end speeches with rhyming couplets, which are two lines written in iambic pentameter that end in the same sound, or a rhyme.

Prose

The style of writing you might find in a book.

Take another look at the prose & verse definitions

Structure

Another word for organise or lay out.

Take another look at Nia’s definition of verse

Iambic

This words comes from the Latin word iam meaning beat.

Take another look at the iambic pentameter definitions

heartbeat

The rhythm you feel in your chest, like a pulse.

Take another look at Nia’s definition of iambic pentameter

five

The Latin word for this number is ‘pent’.

Take another look at the definition of iambic pentameter

opposites

Another word for completely different things.

Take another look at Nia’s definition of antithesis

Dark

The total opposite of light.

Take another look at the definition of antithesis

Couplets

Another word for when two lines are coupled together.

Take another look at the definition of rhyming couplets

Iambic Pentameter

The name for the rhythm Shakespeare writes in.

Take another look at your third answer and take another look at the definitions.

Sound

Another word for something you hear.

Take another look at Nia’s definition of rhyming couplets

Teacher Notes

You can use the activities in the videos on this page with students, to explore the language in the play as you work through it.