The Merchant of Venice by William Shakepeare

THE MERCHANT OF VENICE

 

BY

WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE

 

CONTENT ANALYSIS FOR EASY UNDERSTANDING OF THE TEXT

 

PLOT

The Merchant of Venice opens with the merchant himself, Antonio, sober and sad, and being worked upon by his friend: Solonio and Gratiano for more cheerful countenance. The reason for Antonio’s mien is not known, his friends, despite their efforts, could not change his deposition.  

  

Bassanio, Antonio’s best friend comes up the scene to solicit the latter’s financial assistance to his love advance to Portia, a virtuous lady of Belmont.  Many suitors are competing for the beautiful lady and so he needs to display as much financial power as any of them. Antonio has no money presently since all his merchandise are abroad but tells Bassanio to go and borrow in his name.

 

Shylock, finding an opportunity to hurt his mortal enemy, he agrees to loan Bassanio three thousand ducats on the condition that when Bassanio defaults payment, Antonio would be made to lose a pound of his flesh. Shylock hates Antonio for his Christian faith, humility and liberalism. Often a time, Antonia has spoil business for him by giving out loan without interest, thus endangering his credit business.

 

Portia, whose late father designed three caskets of gold, silver and lead for her would-be suitors, was visited by the princess of Morocco and Arragon. By the lottery, anyone that chooses box the containing Portia’s portrait wins her for a wife. Neither of them could choose the box containing Portia’s portrait Bassanio chooses the right one but his joy is cut short by the bad news from Shylock with his life. Bassanio rushes home to stay by his friend Antonio whom Shylock has dragged to the court.

 

Before the case takes off, Shylock is visited by some misfortunes. His daughter Jessica elopes with Lorenzo with a good proportion of his treasure. Launcelot, Shylock’s servant leaves his service to serve Bassanio, Shylock’s enemy. Meanwhile, Antonio’s predicament strikes a chord in Portia and she prepares to appear in court disguised as a lawyer in favor of Antonio. Bellario, her kinsman blesses her plans and gives her the paraphernalia of office. Portia at first appeals to Shylock to show mercy even though in law he stands a good chance when the latter persists in the execution of his desire, Shylock senses defeat opts to have his money. The law denies him and goes on to charge him of plotting to kill a citizen of Venice. He is convicted.

 

Portia returns home to Jessical and Lorenzo whose she had given charged of her home. Antonio’s merchandise is reported to have sailed through all the alleged hitches. Bassanio, Antonio and Gratiano return to Belmont to meet their new brides. Portia and Verrissa who unknown to them were the brilliant counsels at the courtroom. The wedding rings Bassanio and Gratiano give to the lawyer is interpreted by their spouse as betrayal of trust. The matter is explained and every one laughs out of the stage.

CHARACTERIZATION

Antonio: Antonio is the chief character or the protagonist in this drama. The play is a demonstration of the sane values of existence which Antonio parades as opposed to the healthy and brazen materialism of the emerging mercantile class in Venice. In order to appreciate the person and character of Antonio Shakespeare created the villain, Shylock, whose every move is contrary to the public spirited merchant of Venice.

 

Antonio is a man of the people, much loved and respected. He gives aids cheerfully to the people and advances loan to the needy without taking interest as against what the new mercantile class represented by Shylock engages in Shylock begrudges Antonio for carrying his generosity into the business world of Venice thereby becoming a  clog in the wheel of credit business. Antonio’s love and affection for the masses makes him hate Shylock who deals hardly with the masses of Venice. He does spare any opportunity to rebuke Shylock in whom he sees nothing good.

 

Antonio is the merchant of Venice, one whom the title of the book revolves. At the beginning of the play, he is introduced as a young wealthy merchant whose merchandise were reported to be abroad and some of his ships on the high sea. Antonio is a simple, humble and responsible man whom wealth does not intoxicate him. He does not regulate the poor but moves among them and shares their worries and desires. No wonder they are in love with him and would sacrifice their comfort to make him happy.

 

Antonio is a study in human patience and stock acceptance of what life offers. Earlier in the play, he is seen as driven by some forces beyond his control. He is sad and somber but would not worry himself over such matters but carries the loneliness and sobriety all through the play so much so that at the resolution of the dramatic conflict, he remains a lonely outsider to the happiness he helps to create. The death penalty for a loan he guarantees for Bassanio elicit no anxiety or vile comment from him.

 

Antonio is a steadfast and faithful friend even at the hardest of time. He does not want to see a friend suffer lack and he may injure himself to satisfy the desires of the one be likes. Bassanio is one of his friends whose demand for financial help he cannot meet. Rather than turn a friend down, arrangement is made for Bassanio to borrow money in his name from Shylock his mortal enemy. He signed off his life in the event the loan is not paid back.

 

Antonio carries his belief and trust in people to some ridiculous end. He believes in Shylock’s merry bond, even though there has been no love lost between the two of them. Somebody else who happens to be in his position no matter his relationship with the needy. Bassanio would have remembered Shylock’s pathological hatred and turned away from the snarl. No, he feels Shylock means no evil, and mistakes his behavior for a new stroke of friendship and kindness.

Shylock: Shylock is the most memorable character and the antagonist in The Merchant of Venice. Shylock is the direct opposite of Antonio. Unlike the latter, he is many sided, enterprising, shrewd, crafty, capricious and vainglorious. Shylock is a Jew who lives in the city of Venice as a money lender. He upholds his ethnic-religious background and would not mix freely with the Christian community in Venice.

 

He hates Antonio, a representative of the liberal Christian world on ethno-religious ground. Shylock is a dye-in-the-wool businessman to whom money comes first. He holds material things above every other value. Human life is not as important to him as money. When his daughter, Jessica takes part of his treasure and flees with Lorenzo, his worry is not his runaway daughter but the money with her, he even wished Jessical were dead and his money found.

 

Shylock is a tactician, shrewd, sadistic and calculative individual. He pretends to be friendly with Antonio and Bassanio and lures them into a bond. Few days later, as Antonio’s ship is reported wrecked, Shylock is happy.

 

In the court scene, Shylock uses baseless sentiment to curry the favor of the counsel. Shylock is lone ranger and lacks people’s affection. He is dreaded at home and loathed outside. His servant, Launcelot deserts him to join his enemy’s camp. His only daughter is not happy with his bad reputation and runs from home to marry a Christian. Antonio and his friends keep Shylock at arm’s length. The young lawyer who alone pretends to be on his side at the beginning of the trial suddenly switches camp by a curious interpretation of bond. At the end, Shylock is alone, defeated and ruined.

 

Bassanio: Bassanio is the board on which the differences between Antonio and Shylock are boldly written. Bassanio is introduced as a friend of Antonio. Ever before the play opens, he has benefited from the affection and finances of Antonio. He wants to embark on a love mission to Belmont to woo Portia. For the fact that Antonio has no ready cash to offer, the two friends are pushed to meet the money lender, Shylock.  Bassanio borrows three thousand ducants from Shylock with Antonio as guarantor. The rest of the play tells the reader the feud this bond generated and how it was resolved.

Bassanio is a passionate and impatient lover. He loves Portia with passion. He goes on to borrow money in order to be able to visit Portia. The loan is secured impatiently and in the same impatient zeal he hurried into the choice for the rightful casket despite Portia’s appeal to the contrary. Nevertheless, he makes the right choice and wins the fair lady, Portia in marriage with all the wealth and nobility associated with the Belmont lady.

 

Bassanio is a scholar and soldier of the feudal-aristocratic tradition. Outside Portia, he is the only character who can put intelligent interpretation to events and circumstance. He refuses to accept Shylock’s terms for the loan. But Antonio wins him over with assurance of his life on account of the loan. Bassanio draws blood not offers to die first.