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Analysis of the merchant of venice
How does Shakespeare explore the theme of love
Analysis of the merchant of venice
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Guessing the cause for Antonio’s sadness, Salerio and Solanio mention the wealthy man’s business ventures, and the possibility that Antonio is in love. However, Antonio denies both queries. In this incident, Antonio does not seem to perk up until his cousin, Bassanio, arrives. Therefore, according to the text, Antonio is melancholy due to the absence of his friend. Yet the older man maintains that he is ignorant of the causes of his depression. Perhaps Antonio does not know the cause of his sorrow because the man has not pursued enough avenues of thought.
Determined and hopeful, Bassanio meets Antonio to tell him of his mission. To win the heart of his true love Portia is all Bassanio desires. Upon prompting, Bassanio begins his tale of woe; the young man simply does not have the finances to pursue the wealthy Portia. As promised, Bassanio divulges everything to his older cousin- including a request; “O my Antonio, had I but the means/ To hold a rival place
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Strong and intimate, the cousins’ relationship is a paradigm example of Renaissance male friendships. Despite Bassanio’s irresponsibility and naivety, Antonio continues to indulge him. One main reason for Antonio’s /indulgence/ is their friendship. Undoubtedly, I would not lend money to Bassanio.
Wisely, Bassanio has a plan in mind before approaching Bassanio. Previously to asking the older man for a loan, Bassanio already knows how to pay back his friend. In this incident, Bassanio urges Antonio to shoot another arrow his direction, as Bassanio had done in his childhood. In doing so, the younger man states that “by adventuring both,/ I oft found both” (I.i.143-144). In essence, if Antonio would risk once more, the man would find both returns back in his pocket. After winning the wealthy heiress, Bassanio will make use of her affluence and compensate his
“I’ll be out of here and away from all you knaves for one time anyway, as not a month will pass before you’ll see whether I’m nobody or a somebody.” The story of Bianco Alfani reflected the nature of 14th century Florentine society where, as Alfani remarked, the election to public office could make or destroy a person. In late 14th century and early 15th century Florence, decreased population and expanding commerce provided a favorable environment for ambitious individuals. The real life examples of Buonaccorso Pitti and Gregorio Dati demonstrated the positive role of ambition in Florence. Pitti, a nobleman had an extremely successful career, partaking in military campaigns, holding public office in Florence and being an ambassador to foreign courts. Gregorio Dati, the grandson of purse venders, engaged in commerce, rising in social standing which culminated with his election to public office. Holding office was a definitive sign of success and recognition in Florence. In contrast was the tale Bianco Alfani, a deemed man unworthy of office. As told by Piero Veneziano, Alfani was the chief jailor in Florence who was duped into believing he had been named captain of the town of Norcia. Alfani publicly made a fool of himself, spending all his money and creating a great fanfare over his supposed appointment. Comparing the lives of Pitti and Dati to the story of Bianco Alfani illustrates how economic and social change in 14th century Florence produced a culture centered on reputation and commerce. For men like Pitti and Dati, who flourished within the constraints of Florentine society, their reward was election to office, a public mark of acceptance and social standing. Those who were ambitious but failed to abide by the values o...
In essence, Antonio shows that he is unsure if he truly believes in his religion because of his acceptance of other beliefs, the new ideas that he learns, and the deaths of Narciso and Lupito. Antonio’s experiences lead him to believe that he is in charge of his destiny and he has the ability to choose what he wants, not what his parents want. In the end, Antonio determines his religious values based on what he believes in, so he tells himself to “[t]ake the Ilano and the river valley, the moon and the sea, God and the golden carp and make something new” (247). Antonio’s encounters with religion represent those who follow their religion but are not content with it. All in all, the story suggests that sometimes people want to learn other ideas to discover what fits them best.
Antonio sees Lupito being hunted like an animal, and how he was “hurled backwards by the bullets”(22). These acts of violence make him realize that people are capable of killing a possibly innocent person, and starts his painful journey towards manhood. Another quote that supports this statement, is when Ultima said, "You leave Antonio alone, please. Last night was hard for many men"(30).
Marriage and love are two important components that contribute to the plot of William Shakespeare’s “Much Ado About Nothing”. In Scene 1 Act 1, Claudio happily intends on proposing to Hero who later accepts in return. As the story progresses, scheming is involved to marry Beatrice and Benedick and to end the flourishing relationship of Claudio and Hero. Shakespeare portrays young love and old love through the relationships of Claudio and Benedick.
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 ...
Othello has a beneficial quality to him; a quality that he uses time and time again. He uses his foreign and exotic nature to his advantage. Othello’s mystique and masculinity captivates his young Venetian wife Desdemona and sets him apart from her other uninteresting Venetian suitors, and Othello’s stories about the dangerous and exciting outside world and warfare provide marvelous entertainment and wonderment for her. After Brabantio, the father of Desdemona and a powerful senator, learns about the marriage of his daughter and Othello, he is outraged and accuses him of “looting” his daughter. For he sees her as property and doesn’t account for her free will and desire to marry the middle aged Othello, different in race and class. In the courtroom Othello gives a speech, “What conjuration and what mighty magic, for such proceeding I am charged withal, I won his daughter”. (Act i Scene iii) Othello denies the use of witchcraft or ma...
This sets things up for the wedding scene at the end of the play. It also sets things up for Bassiano to make his choice later in the game. So in closing I would just like to remind you again that the soliloquies in any play or novel are really important because they explore the character more deeply than normal speeches, and they also reveal the character’s truest and deepest feelings. In other words, it reveals the true colors of the person. So just remember that you can’t judge a book by it’s cover, nor a character from what they say when there with other people.
The relationship between Antonio and Bassanio exemplifies the business nature of friendship portrayed throughout The Merchant of Venice.
Complications also arose when viola fell in love with her master, duke orsino, while at the same time had the love interest of orsino, the countess Olivia, trying to woo her. This placed viola in an extremely difficult and complex situation on one hand, she loved the duke and would have liked to do all she could to win his heart. But because she was his servant, she was obliged to serve him and help him win the hand of Olivia. What was a poor girl to do ?
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
In response to Sebastian’s question about whether his conscience would bother him after committing fratricide, Antonio replies, “Ay, sir, where lies that? If `twere a kibe / `Twould put me to my slipper…” meaning that if his conscience was a small sore on the heel of his foot (a kibe), it would drive him to wear comfortable shoes but it would certainly not disrupt his life or stop him from doing what he’s doing. This shows Antonio to be a cold-hearted man, one who is able to quiet that little voice inside his head and push it to the back of his brain and continue with his terrible acts. In the next thought, he says, “…but I feel not this deity in my bosom,” admitting he doesn’t feel the tug of a conscience in his heart.
...own heaven upon me then may feed in quiet." (IV ii 208-215) In this her final address, the Duchess reinforces herself as the opposite of Antonio, who wavers and makes several missteps throughout the play. By contrasting these two honest and good hearted lovers only brings further confirmation even honest male characters have faults and weaknesses that lead to the further empowerment of the female character.
Bosola's inconsistency makes him different to some of the other characters in the play; the Cardinal is always cold and calculating, Antonio is honorable and benevolent and Ferdinand is fierce and aggressive, even in his mad state. There is no change in their characters, yet Bosola reaches beyond the confinements of the stereotypical role of `black malcontent', as Antonio describes him, altering his opinion of the Duchess as a prostitute, `this precise fellow is the Duchess' bawd', to seeing her as a noble woman and feeling compassion for her in her last moments of life, `Return fair soul from darkness, and lead mine out of this sensible hell!' Bosola's capricious nature makes him more convincing and realistic as a character. At the beginning of the play, the audience will probably dislike Bosola's cruel, pessimistic look on life. His change in opinion t...
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.
“If a Jew wrongs a Christian, what is his humility? 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.