The Merchant of Venice is a romantic comedy which was written between 1596 and 1597. It opens on the streets of Venice and throughout the comedy, the setting shifts between Venice and Belmont.
Bassanio (a business man) tells Antonio, (a Venetian merchant and dear friend) that he has fallen in love with Portia, (a wealthy heiress from Belmont) and plans to travel to Belmont to win her heart. Bassanio tells Antonio that he desperately needs money to court Portia; Antonio unfortunately has his money invested in merchant ships at sea and tells Bassanio that he is unable to make the loan, but suggests that Bassanio seek a moneylender and name Antonio as the loan's guarantor. In Venice, Bassanio and Antonio seek out Shylock, a Jewish money lender for a loan. Antonio openly expresses his contempt for the greedy and vengeful usurer. Shylock displays hatred toward Antonio because of the cruel and insulting treatment that Antonio has directed toward him in the past. Shylock agrees to lend Bassanio three thousand ducats for a term of three months and Bassanio assures Shylock that Antonio will act as guarantor. Shylock offers to make the loan without interest with the condition that Antonio forfeit a pound of flesh if loan is not repaid within due time. Antonio agrees to this as he feels confident of the return of his ships before the appointed date of repayment.
At Belmont Portia complains to Nerissa (lady in waiting and confidante) about the marriage arrangement set up by her deceased father. According to her father's will, suitors must correctly choose among three coffers. The man who chooses the correct one (with Portia's portrait and the correct inscription) will win her hand in marriage, but those who guess incorrectly will never marry or be able to court another woman. Princes of Morocco and Arragon fail to select the correct coffer and leave. As Bassanio prepares to travel to Belmont, his friend Lorenzo elopes with Jessica, Shylock's daughter. Bassanio is guided in correctly choosing the lead coffer, and happily agrees to marry Portia. Portia gives Bassanio a ring as a token of love and makes him swear that he will never part with it.
In contrast to this happiness, news comes to Bassanio that Antonio has lost his ships and has defaulted on the bond. Shylock begins to complain about repayment and demands his pound of flesh.
During the falling action of the play, Gratiano took the chance to jeopardize his relationship with Nerissa when he gives away the ring he sworn he would never lose. As said by Gratiano to Nerissa in the falling action of the play, “Now by this hand, I gave it to a youth.”(4.2.161) when he explains that he gives his ring to the judge’s clerk to his wife Nerissa. Although Nerissa was just joking about taking the ring which disguised as the clerk, it comes to her surprise that her husband has the audacity to break a commitment. This ring plot brings suspense and tension to the scene as the two elements anticipate Nerissa’s reaction and it also gives background information as this scene is one of the major plots in the play. Correspondingly, the role of taking chances is shown in the link between Jessica and Lorenzo. Amid the rising action, Jessica (Shylock’s daughter) escapes her father’s house to abandon him and marry Lorenzo – who her father hates since Lorenzo is a Christian. Before Jessica leaves Shylock, she tells Launcelot – the fool – during the rising action, “I am sorry thou wilt leave my father so; / Our house is hell, and thou a merry devil ... / Lorenzo, who is thy new master’s guest. / Give him this letter, do it secretly” (2.3.1-7). Jessica tells Launcelot that she is also going to leave Shylock and
Committing deceptive deeds not only hurt others, but also the ones who deceive. The Merchant of Venice, by William Shakespeare, is a romantic-comedy play about a Christian merchant named Antonio who agrees to a bond that a Jewish moneylender named Shylock, his enemy, creates to help his best friend Bassanio see Portia, an heiress whom he is in love with. Shylock warns Antonio that if he forfeits the bond, by not repaying him three thousand ducats, he must allow him to remove a pound of his flesh. Throughout the play, deceptive behaviour causes the moral values of individuals to decline. First, this is seen through wealth as it pertains to the desire to have what is valuable. Second, moral values decline when people deceive the family members that they encounter. Finally, deceiving others through love leads to a decline of moral values. In the play, The Merchant of Venice, deception, as seen through wealth, family encounters, and love, causes the moral
Venice is a busy place where all the characters are constantly worried about their income, they give loans and they borrow money to maintain their business. Here we see the first clash of love and money. Bassanio needs to impress a rich heiress from Belmont, but unfortunately, he does not have the money to win a lady from a rich family as a wife, “O my Antonio, had I but the means to hold ...
Shylock lends Antonio a sum of money, that Antonio intends to pay back when his merchant ships arrive in Venice, one month before the debt would be forfeited. When Bassarnio arranges the sum of money, Shylock befriends them, only to stand aside and utter to him self, "I hate him for he is a Christian... If I catch him once upon the hip, I will feed my ancient grudge I bear him," Act 1, Scene 3. Shortly after saying, "But ships are but boards, sailors but men... the perils of waters, winds, and rocks...Three thousand ducats; I think I may take his bond." Shylock is setting his trap here. Shylocks terms of the debt are a pound of Antonios flesh from closets his heart if it be forfeited.
Then there is the innocent and rich “Antonio” (Merchant), who is a Christian, and is a complete Anti-Semitec. Antonio’s character is wrong, he hates Jews, he loves being regarded as rich, and would do anything to make Shylock’s life a misery. Antonio hates Jews; this is proved in Act 1 Scene 3 where Antonio says, “The Hebrew will turn Christian, he grows kind”, this is blatant racism shown against the Jews. The story progresses, a new character is introduced, Portia.
The Merchant of Venice is a play set in a very male and Christian dominated society where other religions and women rights weren’t very well accepted by the community. However Portia, a rich woman who had previously been controlled by men, triumphs as she manipulates tricks and saves the lives of the men.
He makes his choice and picks the lead casket, which we find out later was the right choice. Then Gratiano reveals his own plans to marry Nerissa, and this all happens from the first speech in this scene which is made by Portia. This soliloquy creates the mood that Portia really likes Bassiano and that he should wait a couple of more days just to make sure he is happy about his choice. She must really want Bassiano if she is going through all the trouble for Bassiano to get the sudle hints that Portia is giving him. It also shows that Bassiano must really like her since he is so eager to make his decision.
The relationship between Antonio and Bassanio exemplifies the business nature of friendship portrayed throughout The Merchant of Venice.
Throughout the Merchant of Venice, while Portia is being courted. the reader can see that she does not like any of the suitors, except Bassanio. She finds a flaw in all the suitors and readers, as well, can see. the flaws in each as they present themselves to her. Her true love however, is for Bassanio
...f flesh, and thereby Antonio's life. One might argue that it is Shylock's honesty that becomes his downfall. In the end there is no doubt in anyone's mind that he, as an alien, did "seek the life of a citizen" (IV, i, 347), and that he therefore is liable to persecution.
Bassanio was so grateful towards Balthazar that he was able to place Balthazar of above importance to Portia his wife. Portia then compares Bassanio giving up her beloved ring to if she were to give her body to the doctor as a parallel. Prior to the men being made aware of Portia and Nerissa’s disguises, they explain their reasoning’s as a necessity. Once Bassanio and Gratiano know the truth, they apologize with fear as they now know the power these two women posses. Gratiano ends the play by stating “I’ll fear no other thing so sore as keeping safe Nerissa’s ring” (V, I, 324-325). Gender roles are now reversed as the play concludes which shows that gender itself is a social construct and is not
This is the time that Portia traps Shylock into a corner and saves the life of Antonio at the same instance. Portia builds up her defences as Shylock lets his down as he believes that he is going to gain his pound of flesh from Antonio's breast nearest the heart.
Antonio and Shylock are both successful entrepreneurs in Venice but they both have different attitudes and experiences. When Antonio is asking Shylock for the loan he says, “Within these two months – that’s a month before this bond expires – I do expect, return of thrice times the value of this bond.” (1.3.169-170). Antonio and Shylock both are well off and successful businessmen. Antonio, being a man who is treats everyone nicely, lends his good name to Bassanio to woo Portia. Shylock on the other hand, could never do that and is a very greedy man who asks for three times the value of the loan. Also, Antonio is a risk taker and thinks things will always go the right way for him and his success will continue, which is shown when he accepts the high interest rate and the bizarre payment if the money isn’t received. Shylock handles his business straightforward and charges interest because it is his job, although being a very high amount and if it isn’t carried out, Shylock gets his payment of one pound of flesh. Shylock is depicted as the greedy businessman while Antonio is the nice man who tries his luck.
She demands to pay twice or even three times the amount owed, for she loves Bassanio and anyone he calls friend. Shakespeare shows here that money doesn’t have the same effect on love as it does with the caskets or with the evil in Shylock and that it can be used for good love in Portia’s donation. In Venice Bassanio brings fourth the 6000 ducats to repay Shylock, but he doesn’t accept it. Once Portia, disguised as the doctor, entered the court, she pleads with Shylock to show mercy, but he refuses. Shylock makes known that he would rather have law than his money and mercy. The doctor approves the pound of flesh to be taken from Antonio under the condition that Shylock must cut exactly one pound while shedding no blood, or he will lose all his lands and goods. Now faced with the impossible, Shylock requests that he take his 6000 ducats and let Antonio go. However, the doctor has already made the call and demands Shylock take the flesh or he will suffer death. Shylock has been so adamant that the law be upheld, but now that it has turned in loves favor, he becomes the victim. Venetian law states that any man who wrongfully attempts to take another man’s life will be subject to lose his own decided by the Duke and will lose all of his possessions. The Duke spares his life, but takes all his goods. Shylock cries out
Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice contains many themes and elements that are considered timeless or universal. Samuel Taylor Coleridge defines a timeless or universal element as a “representation of men in all ages and all times.” A universal element is relevant to the life of every human being – it is universal. The first major theme that plays an important role in the play is the Christians’ prejudice against the Jews. A second important theme is the attitude toward money. Perhaps the most important theme of the play is the love between people. This love can occur between the same sex, or the opposite sex, platonic or romantic. In Merchant of Venice, the three timeless elements are prejudice, money, and love.