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Essays on Merchant of Venice

The importance of writing an essay on merchant of venice.

Writing an essay on Merchant of Venice is important as it allows students to critically analyze the themes, characters, and messages portrayed in the play. It also helps in developing critical thinking and analytical skills, as well as improving writing abilities.

When writing an essay on Merchant of Venice, it is important to carefully analyze the characters and their motivations. For example, Shylock’s character can be explored in depth to understand the themes of prejudice, justice, and revenge. Additionally, the themes of love, friendship, and loyalty can be examined through the relationships between the characters.

Furthermore, it is crucial to consider the historical and social context of the play, as it provides a deeper understanding of the themes and messages conveyed by Shakespeare. For instance, the portrayal of anti-Semitism in the play reflects the societal attitudes of the time, and this can be analyzed in the essay.

When writing the essay, it is important to provide evidence from the text to support the arguments and analysis. This can include direct quotes, references to specific scenes, and interpretations of the characters’ actions and dialogue. Additionally, it is essential to structure the essay in a coherent and logical manner, with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and a strong conclusion.

In conclusion, writing an essay on Merchant of Venice is important for students to develop critical thinking, analytical, and writing skills. By carefully analyzing the characters, themes, and historical context of the play, students can gain a deeper understanding of the text and its significance.

Best Merchant of Venice Essay Topics

• The portrayal of Shylock as a villain or victim
• The role of women in The Merchant of Venice
• The theme of mercy and justice in the play
• The symbolism of the bond and the caskets
• The use of language and imagery in The Merchant of Venice
• The significance of the title in relation to the themes of the play
• The role of friendship and loyalty in The Merchant of Venice
• The portrayal of prejudice and discrimination in the play
• The relationship between Antonio and Bassanio
• The concept of appearance vs reality in The Merchant of Venice
• The motif of money and wealth in the play
• The portrayal of love and romance in The Merchant of Venice
• The role of religion in the play
• The use of comedy and tragedy in The Merchant of Venice
• The significance of the courtroom scene
• The portrayal of power and authority in the play
• The role of fate and destiny in The Merchant of Venice
• The theme of deception and manipulation
• The portrayal of outsiders and insiders in the play
• The relevance of The Merchant of Venice in today's society

Merchant of Venice Essay Topics Prompts

• Imagine you are Shylock's defense attorney. Write a closing argument that challenges the court's decision.
• Write a letter from Portia to Bassanio, expressing her feelings about the outcome of the bond and the caskets.
• Create a modern-day adaptation of The Merchant of Venice, set in a different cultural or social context.
• Write a dialogue between Antonio and Shylock, exploring their conflicting views on money and morality.
• Imagine you are a journalist interviewing Jessica after she elopes with Lorenzo. Write a series of questions and answers that reveal her motivations and feelings.

How Shakespeare Presents The Character of Shylock in The Merchant of Venice

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Juxtaposition of Love and Wealth in The Merchant of Venice

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The Theme of Inequality in Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice

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Shylock's Personality in Shakespeare's "The Merchant of Venice"

Depiction of religious and racial prejudice in the merchant of venice, racial and religious issues in the merchant of venice, anti-semitism as a major controversy in the merchant of venice, a study of the theme of mercy in the merchant of venice, questioning anti-semitic ideas in the merchant of venice, being human as a profound paradox in the merchant of venice, the meaning behind portia's trick in merchant of venice, the question of anti-semitism in the merchant of venice, the relationship between father and daughter in the merchant of venice, the merchant of venice and modern connotations of the play, depiction of false love and marriage in the merchant of venice, a theme of deception in the merchant of venice by william shakespeare, shylock’s character and anti-semitism of elizabethan era in the merchant of venice, portia and the three caskets game in the merchant of venice, socisl dilemma in the merchant of venice, others as a mirror: anti-semitism in the merchant of venice and jew of malta, the trial of the rings as a climax of the conflict in the merchant of venice, the fluidity of justice in shakespearean comedy, the contrast of two cities in the merchant of venice.

1596-1599, William Shakespeare

Shakespearean comedy

Antonio, an antisemitic merchant, takes a loan from the Jew Shylock to help his friend to court Portia. Antonio can't repay the loan, and without mercy, Shylock demands a pound of his flesh. The heiress Portia, now the wife of Antonio's friend, dresses as a lawyer and saves Antonio.

The Merchant of Venice is structured partly on the contrast between idealistic and realistic opinions about society and relationships. On the one hand, the play tells us that love is more important than money, mercy is preferable to revenge, and love lasts forever

Antonio, Bassanio, Gratiano, Lorenzo, Portia, Nerissa, Balthazar, Stephano, Shylock, Jessica, Tubal, Launcelot Gobbo, Old Gobbo, Leonardo, Duke of Venice, Prince of Morocco, Prince of Arragon, Salarino and Salanio

The forfeit of a merchant's deadly bond after standing surety for a friend's loan was a common tale in England in the late 16th century. In addition, the test of the suitors at Belmont, the merchant's rescue from the "pound of flesh" penalty by his friend's new wife disguised as a lawyer, and her demand for the betrothal ring in payment are all elements present in the 14th-century tale Il Pecorone by Giovanni Fiorentino, which was published in Milan in 1558.

The Merchant of Venice is one of the most famous plays of Shakespeare. The play is frequently staged today, but is potentially troubling to modern audiences because of its central themes, which can easily appear antisemitic. Critics today still continue to argue over the play's stance on the Jews and Judaism.

“You speak an infinite deal of nothing.” “With mirth and laughter let old wrinkles come.” “The devil can cite Scripture for his purpose.” “All that glisters is not gold.”

1. Shakespeare, W., Shakespeare, W., & Kaplan, M. L. (2002). The merchant of Venice (pp. 25-120). Palgrave Macmillan US. (https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-1-137-07784-4_2) 2. Lewalski, B. K. (1962). Biblical Allusion and Allegory in" The Merchant of Venice". Shakespeare Quarterly, 13(3), 327-343. (https://www.jstor.org/stable/2866826) 3. Halio, J. L. (2006). The Merchant of Venice. Shakespeare Bulletin, 24(2), 63-68. (https://muse.jhu.edu/pub/1/article/199046/summary) 4. Ferber, M. (1990). The Ideology of The Merchant of Venice. English Literary Renaissance, 20(3), 431-464. (https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1475-6757.1990.tb01442.x?journalCode=elr) 5. Willson, M. J. (1994). View of Justice in Shakespeare's the Merchant of Venice and Measure for Measure. Notre Dame L. Rev., 70, 695. (https://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?handle=hein.journals/tndl70&div=24&id=&page=) 6. Metzger, M. J. (1998). “Now by my hood, a gentle and no Jew”: Jessica, The Merchant of Venice, and the discourse of early modern English identity. PMLA, 113(1), 52-63. (https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/pmla/article/abs/now-by-my-hood-a-gentle-and-no-jew-jessica-the-merchant-of-venice-and-the-discourse-of-early-modern-english-identity/51E9B840D2AB9DB0ABAB356C6FBC0B20) 7. Moisan, T. (2013). " Which is the merchant here? and which the Jew?": subversion and recuperation in The Merchant of Venice. In Shakespeare Reproduced (pp. 196-214). Routledge. (https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9781315018584-15/merchant-jew-subversion-recuperation-merchant-venice-thomas-moisan-188) 8. Sokol, B. J., & Sokol, M. (1999). Shakespeare and the English Equity Jurisdiction The Merchant of Venice and the Two Texts of King Lear. The Review of English Studies, 50(200), 417-439. (https://academic.oup.com/res/article-abstract/50/200/417/1531451)

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A Summary and Analysis of William Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice

By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)

The Merchant of Venice is one of Shakespeare’s most popular comedies, and is widely studied and has been subject to considerable analysis. Contrary to what many people think, the ‘merchant’ of the title isn’t Shylock (of whom more below) but the far less famous character, Antonio. So how well do we know The Merchant of Venice ? Below, we offer some words of analysis, but first, it might be worth recapping the plot of the play.

Plot summary

There are two main plot strands to The Merchant of Venice , both closely intertwined. The first involves Portia, the wealthy heiress of Belmont, who decides that she will marry whichever suitor picks the right casket when faced with a choice of three (made of gold, silver, and lead).

The second involves a loan the Jewish moneylender, Shylock, makes to Antonio, the merchant of the play’s title. These two plot lines are connected because Antonio borrows money from Shylock in order to help out his friend, Bassanio, who wishes to finance a trip to Belmont to try his hand at Portia’s ‘three caskets’ trial. (The princes of Morocco and Aragon both choose the wrong caskets, but Bassanio correctly guesses that the lead casket, and the two are engaged.)

The terms of the loan are as follows: Antonio will repay the money to Shylock when his ships return from their voyage; if he fails to pay up then, Shylock will be entitled to a pound of Antonio’s flesh. When Antonio’s ships are declared lost at sea, he cannot repay the debt to Shylock, who promptly demands his pound of flesh.

These two threads run through the play, becoming united towards the end of the play, when Portia disguises herself as a male lawyer in order to defend Antonio against Shylock’s knife. She is aided by her maid, Nerissa, who is engaged to Bassanio’s friend, Gratiano; Nerissa is also disguised as a man (Portia’s clerk).

After trying, unsuccessfully, to appeal to Shylock’s ‘quality of mercy’ (a famous speech which we have analysed here ), Portia changes tack, and saves Antonio on a legal technicality: whilst his agreement with Shylock allows the Jewish moneylender a pound of Antonio’s flesh, it does not entitle him to a drop of the merchant’s blood – and if he tries to remove a pound of his flesh and makes him bleed, he will be liable. Shylock is defeated, and Antonio saved.

And Shylock is well and truly defeated: he has to pay ‘damages’ to Antonio – half of his entire wealth – and is also forced to convert from Judaism to Christianity. However, Antonio gives the money he gets from Shylock immediately to Jessica, Shylock’s daughter, who had earlier eloped with Lorenzo, against her father’s wishes.

There is one last, romantic, twist to the plot: before the trial, Portia and Nerissa had made gifts of rings to their betrotheds, Antonio and Gratiano. After the trial is over, to express their gratitude to the lawyer and clerk for saving Antonio’s skin (literally), they both give their rings to the lawyer and ‘his’ clerk as tokens of thanks.

To test (and have a bit of fun with) the two men, Portia and Nerissa, back in Belmont and out of their male disguises, ask the returning Antonio and Gratiano where the rings are which they gave them. The two men say they have lost them, and the two women produce new ones – which are really, of course, the originals. As a final piece of good luck, Antonio learns that not all of his ships were lost at sea, and the two couples celebrate their upcoming wedding.

Venice has a long-standing association with trade, commerce, and money. The materialistic world of this city-state regards people only in terms of their financial worth, and Shylock embodies this cold materialism in the extreme. To him, Antonio is only a debtor, so much flesh, from whom he can extract his pound if Antonio is unable to repay his loan. The great clash in The Merchant of Venice is between money and love, as both Shylock’s trial and Portia’s very different ‘trial’ – the test of the three caskets – demonstrate.

Against this heartlessly materialistic worldview is set the world of mercy and compassion, expressed in the two most famous speeches from The Merchant of Venice : Portia’s ‘The quality of mercy is not strained’ and Shylock’s own ‘Hath not a Jew eyes? If you prick us, do we not bleed?’

The valorisation of wealth and gold above all else is also famously rejected and criticised in Portia’s three caskets: gold and silver seem to promise the suitor wealth (in the form of Portia’s inheritance), but it is only by rejecting these in favour of the relatively worthless lead that Bassanio proves his worth as a potential husband to her.

However, the plot of The Merchant of Venice doesn’t entirely reject the world of money: Antonio borrows money from Shylock in an act of friendship (to help his relatively poor friend Bassanio travel to Belmont to undertake Portia’s three caskets test), but it’s also a financial reality that money is needed to be in the ‘race’.

And it’s worth noting that mercy doesn’t triumph over materialism at the trial: Shylock is deaf to Portia’s appeals, and his contract with Antonio can only be defeated on a technicality which speaks the only kind of language Shylock recognises.

And Shylock is the key to the whole play, as the confusion over him being mistaken for its title character demonstrates. For Harold Bloom, in a persuasive analysis of The Merchant of Venice in his book Shakespeare: The Invention Of The Human , The Merchant of Venice presents a number of difficult problems.

First, there’s no denying it is an anti-Semitic play; second, for Bloom, Shylock should be played as a comic villain and not a sympathetic character for the play to have ‘coherence’ and make full sense; third, to play Shylock this way would no doubt exacerbate the play’s anti-Semitic properties.

Many recent productions of The Merchant of Venice have certainly depicted Shylock more sympathetically than he was probably played when the play was first staged, in the 1590s which gave London not only Christopher Marlowe’s The Jew of Malta (whose title character, Barabbas, is a cartoon villain too exaggerated to be taken with complete seriousness) but also the execution of the Portuguese Jewish immigrant Roderigo Lopez, physician to Queen Elizabeth I, who was accused of plotting to kill the Queen (he was, almost certainly, innocent).

If the casual anti-Semitism that was widely tolerated as recently as the early twentieth century is anything to go by, Shakespeare’s original audience would probably have viewed Shylock as a money-grubbing villain.

But as is so often with Shakespeare’s characterisation, the character can be interpreted more sympathetically (his famous ‘If you prick us, do we not bleed?’ speech is one example of where we can find evidence for this interpretation), and this is the line most modern productions of the play have taken. And it must be a hard-hearted reader or spectator who can watch Shylock being forced to convert to Christianity (by Antonio) and not feel a twinge of uneasiness.

What’s more, the parallels between Antonio and Shylock arguably don’t end with that popular misconception over who the title character is. Antonio is just as money-driven as Shylock, and – as his insistence that Shylock be made to convert to Christianity shows – not exactly overflowing with Christian charity. This is the mentality that Venice seems to engender: a world of financial interests, account books, and hatred and mistrust of others.

The Merchant of Venice has become Shylock’s play, eclipsing all else, and whilst there may not be much else besides him that makes the play interesting, the one exception here is Portia, who is one of Shakespeare’s finest female roles from the 1590s.

4 thoughts on “A Summary and Analysis of William Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice”

Definitely one of Shakespeare’s problematic plays. I view it more as a tragi-comedy and believe Shakespeare provided ambiguity towards Shylock in that he did not lampoon him but gave him full characterization. Perhaps Shakespeare wanted the audience to see beyond the culture and see a person.

Problematic indeed! Thank you for your most interesting exploration of the issues.

VERY CLEAR SUMMARY AND ANALYSIS. THANK YOU FOR ALLOWING ME TO READ IT AS ONE PART OF MY READINGS

Wouldn’t thou allow such mercy to Shylock if he show an ounce of pennant thought, or would it rather be rendered he suffer the harsh justice he demanded upon Antonio that you, in your fraudulent identity, chastised him for. You ask that Shylock grant mercy, but you refuse him such the like. Surely, you present him the harshest of consequences. Perhaps, opportune his chance of recompense and change of heart. Allow the man his beliefs and as well an example to present to his like minded. Allow him at least the the humane existence, some mere portion of fortune. There must be thoughts and consistency of mercy , although through consequential reasoning, placed upon both arguments.

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Introduction & Overview of The Merchant of Venice

The Merchant of Venice Summary & Study Guide Description

The Merchant of Venice ranks with Hamlet as one of Shakespeare's most frequently performed dramas. Written sometime between 1594 and 1598, the play is primarily based on a story in Il Pecorone, a collection of tales and anecdotes by the fourteenth-century Italian writer Giovanni Fiorentino. There is considerable debate concerning the dramatist's intent in The Merchant of Venice because, although it conforms to the structure of a comedy, the play contains many tragic elements. One school of critics maintains that the drama is fundamentally allegorical, addressing such themes as the triumph of mercy over justice, New Testament forgiveness over Old Testament law, and love over material wealth. Another group of commentators, observing several ambiguities in the play's apparent endorsement of Christian values, contends that Shakespeare actually censures Antonio and the Venetians who oppose Shylock. In essence, these critics assert that the Christians' discrimination against Shylock which ultimately results in his forced conversion from Judaism, contradicts the New Testament precepts of love and mercy. Other commentators suggest that Shakespeare intentionally provided for both interpretations of the drama: although the playwright does not entirely support Shylock, they contend, neither does he endorse the actions of Antonio and the other Venetians in their punishment of the Jew.

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An Introduction to This Text: The Merchant of Venice

By Barbara Mowat and Paul Werstine Editors of the Folger Shakespeare Library Editions

The Merchant of Venice was first printed in 1600 as a quarto. Then in 1619 someone used a copy of the 1600 quarto as the basis of a second quarto-edition of the play. But whoever produced this 1619 quarto does not seem to have had access to either an author’s manuscript or one from the theater and does not seem always to have understood the play. In 1623 the play was again printed, this time as a part of the collection of Shakespeare’s plays now known as the First Folio. Like the Second Quarto of 1619, the First Folio text is based on an edited copy of the First Quarto of 1600 (Q1). Some scholars think that whoever edited The Merchant of Venice for the First Folio must have referred to a manuscript of the play that had been used in the theater, but this theory is not well founded.

Explore the First Quarto of The Merchant of Venice (1600) in the Folger’s Digital Collections .

The present edition is based directly on the 1600 quarto. 1 For the convenience of the reader, we have modernized the punctuation and the spelling of the quarto text. Sometimes we go so far as to modernize certain old forms of words; for example, usually when a means “he,” we change it to he ; we change mo to more , and ye to you . It is not our practice in editing any of the plays to modernize words that sound distinctly different from modern forms. For example, when the early printed texts read sith or apricocks or porpentine , we have not modernized to since, apricots, porcupine . When the forms an, and , or and if appear instead of the modern form if , we have reduced and to an but have not changed any of these forms to their modern equivalent, if . We also modernize and, where necessary, correct passages in foreign languages, unless an error in the early printed text can be reasonably explained as a joke.

Whenever we change the wording of the First Quarto (Q1) or add anything to its stage directions, we mark the change by enclosing it in superior half-brackets ( ⌜ ⌝ ). We want our readers to be immediately aware when we have intervened. (Only when we correct an obvious typographical error in Q1 does the change not get marked.) Whenever we change either the wording or the punctuation of Q1 so that meaning changes, we list the change in the textual notes , even if all we have done is fix an obvious error.

We correct or regularize a number of the proper names in the dialogue and stage directions, as is the usual practice in editions of the play. For example, the first time Lancelet Gobbo comes on stage, he calls himself “Launcelet Iobbe.” Then his father enters under the name “old Gobbo.” Like most editors before us, we think that the father and son had the same last name, which we spell “Gobbo.” Unlike all editors since Rowe (1709), however, we retain Q1’s name “Lancelet” rather than changing it to “Lancelot.” Editors and readers have often had trouble distinguishing among three characters with closely similar names: Salarino, Solanio, and Salerio. Ever since 1926, when John Dover Wilson argued that Shakespeare had intended Salarino and Salerio to be the same character, most editors have collapsed the three characters into two named Salerio and Solanio. We acknowledge that in one scene ( Act 3, scene 3 ) there is a confusion involving the name Salerio, but we do not think that this single confusion is enough to warrant collapsing the three roles into two. We do, however, regularize the name Salarino, which in Q1 is sometimes spelled “Salaryno” or “Salerino” as well as “Salarino.”

This edition differs from many earlier ones in its efforts to aid the reader in imagining the play as a performance. Thus stage directions and speech prefixes are written and arranged with reference to the stage. For example, at the very end of the play Nerissa says that she is giving Lorenzo “a special deed of gift” ( 5.1.313 ), and so she is in the fiction of the play. Yet on stage the actor playing Nerissa would hand over not a “deed” but simply a piece of paper. Therefore, instead of printing the traditional stage direction that reads “Handing him a deed,” we print “Handing him a paper.” Whenever it is reasonably certain, in our view, that a speech is accompanied by a particular action, we provide a stage direction describing the action. (Occasional exceptions to this rule occur when the action is so obvious that to add a stage direction would insult the reader.) Stage directions for the entrance of characters in mid-scene are, with rare exceptions, placed so that they immediately precede the characters’ participation in the scene, even though these entrances may appear somewhat earlier in the early printed texts. Whenever we move a stage direction, we record this change in the textual notes. Latin stage directions (e.g., Exeunt ) are translated into English (e.g., They exit ).

We expand the often severely abbreviated forms of names used as speech headings in early printed texts into the full names of the characters. We also regularize the speakers’ names in speech headings, using only a single designation for each character, even though the early printed texts sometimes use a variety of designations. Variations in the speech headings of the early printed texts are recorded in the textual notes.

In the present edition, as well, we mark with a dash any change of address within a speech, unless a stage direction intervenes. When the -ed ending of a word is to be pronounced, we mark it with an accent. Like editors for the last two centuries, we display metrically linked lines in the following way:

( 4.1.178 –79)

However, when there are a number of short verse-lines that can be linked in more than one way, we do not, with rare exceptions, indent any of them.

• We have also consulted the computerized text of the 1600 quarto provided by the Text Archive of the Oxford University Computing Centre, to which we are grateful.

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Merchant of Venice

By william shakespeare, merchant of venice summary and analysis of act 1, act i, scene one.

Antonio , a merchant, is in a melancholic state of mind and unable to find a reason for his depression. His friends Salerio and Solanio attempt to cheer him up by telling him that he is only worried about his ships returning safely to port. Antonio, however, denies that he is worried about his ships and remains depressed. His two friends leave after Bassanio , Graziano and Lorenzo arrive. Graziano and Lorenzo remark that Antonio does not look well before exiting, leaving Bassanio alone with Antonio.

Bassanio informs Antonio that he has been prodigal with his money and that he currently has accumulated substantial debts. Bassanio reveals that he has come up with a plan to pay off his obligations by marrying Portia , a wealthy heiress in Belmont. However, in order to woo Portia, Bassanio needs to borrow enough money so that he can act like a true nobleman. Antonio tells him that all his money is invested in ships at sea, but offers to borrow money for him.

Act I, Scene Two

Portia, the wealthy heiress, discusses her many suitors with her noblewoman Nerissa . She points out the faults that each of them has, often stereotyping each suitor according to the country from which he has arrived. Nerissa, a gentlewoman who works for Portia, asks her if she remembers a soldier who stayed at Belmont several years before. Portia recalls the man, and says, "Yes, yes, it was Bassanio" (1.2.97). Portia's servingman then arrives with news that four of her suitors are leaving, but another, the Prince of Morocco , has arrived.

Act I, Scene Three

Bassanio in engaged in conversation with Shylock , a Jew who makes his living as a moneylender. Bassanio has asked him for a loan of three thousand ducats, a very large sum at the time, for a period of three months. He further tells Shylock that Antonio is to "be bound," meaning that Antonio will be responsible for repaying the loan.

Shylock knows Antonio's reputation well, and agrees to consider the contract. He asks Bassanio if he may speak with Antonio first, and Bassanio invites Shylock to dinner. Shylock responds that he will never eat with a Christian.

Antonio arrives at that moment and Bassanio takes him aside. Shylock addresses the audience and informs them that he despises Antonio. He bears an old grudge against Antonio which is not explained, but Shylock is further upset that Antonio lends out money without charging interest, thereby lowering the amount he is able to charge for lending out his own money. Shylock turns to Antonio and tells him why interest is allowed in the Hebrew faith by quoting a biblical passage in which Jacob receives all the striped lambs from his father-in-law. Antonio asks him if the passage was inserted into the bible to defend interest charges. He states, "Was this inserted to make interest good, / Or is your gold and silver ewes and rams?" (1.3.90-91). Shylock replies that, "I cannot tell. I make it breed as fast" (1.3.92).

Antonio is upset that Shylock is considering charging him interest on the loan, and asks Shylock to loan the money without any interest. Shylock tells him that, "I would be friends with you, and have your love" (1.3.133). He offers to seal the bond, "in a merry sport" (1.3.141) without charging interest, but as collateral for the loan demands a pound of Antonio's flesh. Antonio thinks Shylock is only joking about the pound of flesh, and is happy to seal the contract. He remarks that, "The Hebrew will turn Christian; he grows kind" (1.3.174).

The Merchant of Venice , like so many of Shakespeare's plays, opens with a depressed and melancholy character. The depression of Antonio at the beginning, for which he can give no explanation, is much like Antipholus of Syracuse in The Comedy of Errors . Portia, the wealthy Belmont heiress, is likewise a depressed and unhappy character in the opening scenes. The reasons for their melancholy, although never directly expressed, are due to their self-absorption. And as with Antipholus in The Comedy of Errors, it is only by taking a huge risk (or both) that they will be able to overcome their depression. For Portia, this risk taking can be seen in her love for Bassanio, which will require her to risk her entire inheritance in order for her to win him. For Antonio, the risk is even greater; namely a pound of flesh, representing his very life.

Bassanio represents the gambler who cannot lose. He is the sort of character that will risk everything, and having lost everything, will risk what he does not have. Thus Bassanio tells us, "In my schooldays, when I had lost one shaft, / I shot his fellow in the selfsame flight / The selfsame way, with more advised watch, / To find the other forth; and by adventuring both, / I oft found both" (1.1.140-144). He has often been compared to Jason in the Quest for the Golden Fleece, namely a risk-taker.

Portia as a character is an odd mixture of various traits. She is first presented as the ruler of Belmont, clearly in charge of both herself and those around her. However, we soon discover that she is not in charge, indeed it is "the will of a living daughter curbed by the will of a dead father" (1.2.21). Portia's reliance on the wishes of her dead father therefore contradicts the image of her as Belmont's ruler. Indeed, like many of the women in Shakespeare's plays, she will be unable to alter the plot around her as long as she is a woman. It is only later in the play, by dressing as Balthasar , a man, that she will finally be able to really command events and manipulate the play.

It is necessary to focus on the conflict between the Christians and the Jews throughout this play. Although the twentieth century has altered the way western civilization portrays the Jew in The Merchant of Venice, the compelling character of Shylock still disturbs and entices his audience. Shylock has historically been portrayed as a comic character, and in Shakespeare's day would have dressed quite differently from the other characters in order to distinguish himself from the Christians. The image of Shylock changed rapidly over the years, first making him a villain in the 1700s, a man to be pitied in 1814, and finally a tragic character in 1879.

Although Shylock is accused of representing much of what the Christians hate, it is through his conflict with Antonio in particular that Shakespeare pokes holes in the accusations of the Christian men. The most common error is to assume that the merchant referred to in the title is in fact Shylock himself. This is not the case, since Shylock is only a moneylender. Indeed, the merchant indicated is Antonio. This confusion surrounding Antonio and Shylock is purposeful, for it shows the audience how the Christians are in many ways as awful as the Jews they mock. It also sets the stage for misinterpretation. For example, Shylock states, "Antonio is a good man" (1.3.11), referring to the fact that Antonio is "good" for the money which Bassanio wishes to borrow. Bassanio takes this statement at face value, and agrees that Antonio is a nice man.

The seriousness of the Christian misunderstanding can be seen when Shylock makes the bond with Antonio:

"This kindness will I show. Go with me to a notary, seal me there Your single bond, and, in a merry sport, If you repay me not on such a day, In such place, such sum or sums as are Expressed in the condition, let the forfeit Be nominated for an equal pound Of your fair flesh to be cut off and taken In what part of your body pleaseth me.

Now Antonio repeats the same mistake made by Bassanio, thinking that Shylock is being "kind" when he agrees to loan the money without interest. Antonio states "The Hebrew will turn Christian; he grows kind" (1.3.174). Antonio is so convinced that he will be able to repay his debts that Shylock's request for a pound of his flesh as collateral strikes him as a joke, and therefore is not taken at all seriously.

Shylock's willingness to waive the interest payment brings to light an entirely new set of conflicts within the play. Shakespeare draws on Francis Bacon's statement, "It is against nature, for money to beget money," when he portrays the Christians as unselfish givers of all they have. Shylock defends his taking of interest by quoting the passage where Jacob is given the striped lambs. Antonio immediately rejects this as nonsense, asking, "Was this inserted to make interest good, / Or is your gold and silver ewes and rams?" (1.3.90-91). Shylock replies that, "I cannot tell. I make it breed as fast" (1.3.92).

This scene further focuses our attention on the use of sheep imagery in connection to money and breeding. Here Shakespeare plays on the words "use", "usury", and "ewes", all of which will be punned throughout the play. All the sheep imagery is on Shylock's side throughout, for he is fleecing the Christians, breeding the ewes. He therefore mentions Jacob as his defense for taking interest, and we can note later that Shylock's wife is named Leah, the same name that Jacob's first wife had. Shylock is also able to make his money breed like sheep through the charging of interest. On the other hand, the Christians have Jason and the Golden Fleece. This image is used in connection with Bassanio, the risk-taker, who risks everything to gain everything. The same image will figure later with Antonio, who is represented as a wether, a castrated sheep. Thus the concept is reinforced that Antonio does not make his money breed because he refuses to charge interest.

Merchant of Venice Questions and Answers

The Question and Answer section for Merchant of Venice is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel.

Explain Portias tactics. Why does she appear to support Shylock at first?

When Portia arrives in court, she asks, "Which is the merchant here, and which the Jew?" (4.1.169). Indeed, given the confusion so many people have with the title, it is often this very question which is asked. Scholars have tried to attribute her...

Describe merchant of venice as romantic comedy

While the story hits upon the tragic element of despair, The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare, is a comedy because lovers are separated, characters are in disguise, and the story has a happy ending.

ACT III SCENE 3: What do you think Shylock means when he says, “it is my humour”?

This could be defined as "this is what I feel like doing".

Study Guide for Merchant of Venice

Merchant of Venice study guide contains a biography of William Shakespeare, literature essays, a complete e-text, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

• About Merchant of Venice
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Essays for Merchant of Venice

Merchant of Venice literature essays are academic essays for citation. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of Merchant of Venice.

• The Victorious Woman in Measure for Measure and The Merchant of Venice
• Father-Daughter Relationships in The Merchant of Venice
• Mercy and the Masquerade: Trial and Performance in The Merchant of Venice
• Christianity and Judaism in The Merchant of Venice: Imperfect Faith
• The Anti-Semitic Question in Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice

Lesson Plan for Merchant of Venice

• About the Author
• Study Objectives
• Common Core Standards
• Introduction to Merchant of Venice
• Relationship to Other Books
• Bringing in Technology
• Notes to the Teacher
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E-Text of Merchant of Venice

Merchant of Venice E-Text contains the full text of Merchant of Venice

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Wikipedia Entries for Merchant of Venice

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• The Merchant of Venice

Read our complete study guide on the play “The Merchant of Venice” by William Shakespeare. Our study guide covers The Merchant of Venice analysis, summary, themes, and characters..

Introduction

William Shakespeare, the world’s pre-eminent dramatist or playwright and the renowned poet, was born in 1564, in Stratford. During the Elizabethan ages of theatre, he was one of the creative writers. His plays, no doubt, are his everlasting heritage, however, plays are not the only thing he wrote; his poetry is also renowned to this day.

He wrote 38 plays, 154 sonnets and 2 narrative poems along with some other poems. His plays were published by his colleagues after his death and that too was not original manuscripts. Shakespeare’s heritage is as amusing and varied as his work; his dramas have deposited numerous alterations through several genres and ethos; moreover, his plays have had an everlasting manifestation on stage and big screen. He died in 1616.

Shakespeare’s play “The Merchant of Venice” is supposed to be written in between 1596 to 1599. This play is classified as a comedy in the 1st Folio. It also shares certain aspect with Shakespeare’s romantic comedy. The plot of the play centered on love, money, biases, and social injustices. The main characters of the play are Antonio (the merchant of Venice), Portia, Shylock, and Jessica. Other characters include Bassanio, Gratiano, Lorenzo, Nerissa, and so on.

The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare Summary

The play starts with the Bassanio, a young, nobleman, who wishes to marry a wealthy and beautiful lady Portia, the heiress of Belmont. Bassanio needs a loan of 3000 ducats to sponsor his marriage. He approaches a friend Antonio, a rich merchant of Venice. Antonia promises to give him a loan, however, he was short of money since all his ships and merchandise are invested at the sea to Tripolis. Bassanio, on the advice of Antonia, finds a Jewish moneylender Shylock and mention Antonia as money’s guarantor.

Antonia had already upset Shylock by outspoken prejudice to Jews while on the other hand, Shylock was also familiar with Antonia’s habit to lend money without interest that may force him (Shylock) to charge low rates. At first, Shylock refuses to grant the money to Bassanio, mentioning the mistreatment he suffered from Antonia’s hand.

However, he agrees to lend the loan without interest with a condition that is if Antonia doesn’t repay or is not able to repay his loan with a fixed duration, Shylock will exact a pound of Antonia’s flesh. Antonio, being confident that his ships will return at the time, accepts the offer.

Bassanio, with his friend Gratiano, leaves for Belmont with money in his hands. Gratiano is a young man often over talkative and thoughtless. In the meantime, in the Belmont, Portia is provided with the suitors from her father. Her father left a will for the suitors to choose correct basket from the three baskets- gold, silver, and lead. Each basket has a slogan with hidden meaning. If anyone of them picks the right basket, he would marry Portia.

The Prince of Morocco, the 1st suitor, decides on the gold basket while the Prince of Aragon, the second suitor, decides on the silver basket. Both of them leave unsuccessful. The last suitor was Bassanio, whom the Portia also wishes to succeed. Bassanio decides on the lead basket and succeeds in marrying Portia.

At Venice, Antonio is reported about the lost ships in the sea. In such circumstances, Antonio is unable to repay the debt. While on the other side, Shylock turns out to be more determined to avenge the Christians since his daughter Jessica escaped with a Christian man Lorenzo and converted to Christianity. After the completion of fixed time, Shylock brings Antonio before the court.

Shortly after the marriage of Bassanio with Portia and his friend Gratiano with Portia’s handmaid Nerrisa, Bassanio receives a letter that Antonio is unable to repay the Shylock’s loan. Bassanio immediately leaves for Venice to save Antonio’s life with the money from Portia. Portia follows Bassanio with her maid Nerrisa and disguised as the male lawyer and the clerk.

In the court of Duke of Venice, Shylock declines Bassanio’s offer of double payment of loan i.e. 6000 ducats and demanded the pound of Antonio’s flesh. The Duke wishes to save Antonio’s life but was unable to do so, he handover the case to the visitors- the visitors are Portia, the lawyer in disguised and maid Nerrisa, the clerk in disguised. As the wise lawyer, Portia recurrently asks Shylock to have mercy on Antonio but shylock declines her requests and insists on the demand of pound of flesh.

Finally, the court bequests the Shylock his words and Antonia prepares himself for Shylock knife. However, the twist in the story comes when Portia asks Shylock for the “specific performance”. She mentions that the bond only permits Shylock to remove Antonio’s flesh, not the blood. Therefore, if Shylock stayed to shed a single drop of blood, he will have to surrender his “lands and goods” under Venetian laws.

Moreover, Portia also tells Shylock to cut precisely one pound of flesh and also advises if he cuts more flesh even of the estimate of a single hair, they will confiscate all his goods and wealth.

Helpless to the conditions imposed, Shylock compromises to accept Bassanio’s offer for the evaded bond. However, Portia mentions that he has refused this offer in the open court and now he is unable to avail it. Furthermore, she quotes the law, under which Shylock property has been confiscated in an attempt to murder a citizen. Half of his property is fortified to the government while half to Antonia, leaving Shylock’s life on the mercy of the Duke. The Duke forgives the Shylock.

Antonia gives half of the property back to the Shylock upon condition that the principle share will be given to his Shylock’s daughter, Jessica, by him and shylock should also covert himself to Christianity. At the end of the story, another good news arrives the all of Antonia’s ships have returned safely. The happy ending of the play was celebrated by all except Shylock.

Themes in the Merchant of Venice

Love versus self-interest.

The Christian Characters in the play represents the love and value for human relationships more than money and business, whereas, The Jewish Character, Shylock, represents a character who always think of his self-interest. The merchant Antonia in the play is the best representation of love as he lends money without self-interest.

Secondly, he gets ready to surrender his life for Bassanio. Whereas Shylock value money more than any human relationship which is shown through the scene when his daughter escaped with a Christian man and took his money along with her and Shylock run in streets crying about his money.

However, we cannot merely associate the self-interest to Shylock’s Character. He, too, to some extend disvalue money over human relationships. He got hurt when his daughter Jessica sold the ring that he gifted to his wife. Moreover, he values his resentment more than the money that Bassanio offers.

Bassanio and Portia are also the representation of love in the play.

The plot of the story represents a conflict between Shylock, a Jewish Character, and Antonia, a Christian character. Although, the law is on the Shylock’s side because of the contract that was signed between both, however, he is reluctant to show mercy on Christian character. Shylock, in the play, is the best representation of a Jewish character who is merciless and are of a rigid nature. While on the other hand, Christian characters, strictly adhering to the New Testament is expected to show mercy which is the divine manifestation.

At the climax of the plot, when the story takes the turn and everything goes in favor of Antonia and against Shylock: Antonia, being Christian, shows mercy over Shylock and requests the Duke to return his property upon a certain condition. Mercy, represented in this play, sweet and selfless.

Hatred and Prejudice

At the start of the play, we come to about Antonia’s hatred towards Shylock for being Jewish. Shylock time and again faces Christian’s hatred for one reason or other. This results in developing his inner hatred towards them. This hatred was more polished when his daughter Jessica escaped with a Christian man Lorenzo taking his wealth along. Through the bond, Shylock finds the way to avenge Christians. But the love of Christians overwhelmed shylock’s hate towards them.

The Merchant of Venice Characters Analysis

Antonia is a rich Christian merchant in Venice. His love for his friend Bassanio prompts him to sign a contract of one pound of his flesh. He is a character who possess both the characteristics of the protagonist and antagonists. He shows great love and affection towards his Christian friends but is harsher towards Jews and abuse them with his outspoken Anti-Semitism. However, at the end of the story, being representative of Christian’s New Testament, he shows great mercy towards Shylock, A Jewish Character, too.

He is a rich Jewish moneylender in Venice who is highly angered by the ill-treatment he receives on behalf of Christians, particularly Antonia. Shylock is presented as a villain in the story, who schemes to eke out his revenge by demanding a pound of Antonia’s flesh. He is seen by the audience as an inhuman monster; however, all this reaction is because of the inner hatred that developed slowly and gradually because of the mistreatment he received from Christians. The complex nature of his character earned him a place as the most memorable character in Shakespearean plays.

He is a kind and dear friend of Antonia. Bassanio is a gentleman who falls in love with a wealthy heiress Portia of Belmont and wishes to marry her. His wish to marry Portia leads him to lend 3000 ducats from Shylock with Antonia’s as money guarantor. He, according to the will of Portia’s father, shows himself as the praiseworthy suitor by choosing the right basket.

A beautiful and wealthy heiress of Belmont, whose beauty only matches with her intelligence. She marries Bassanio according to her father’s will. She is the wisest and intelligent character in the play who saves Antonia life by her profound wisdom and acting as the lawyer in disguise.

He is a kind friend of Bassanio who accompanies him to Belmont. He is overly talkative and flippant representing the flat character of the play. He marries Portia’s maid Nerrisa.

She is the handmaid of Portia and marries Portia’s husband friend Gratiano. She accompanies Portia to Venice and acts as lawyer’s clerk in disguise.

She is Shylock’s daughter who is tired of her life at her father’s home and escaped with a Christian man Lorenzo.

He is a friend of Bassanio and Antonia and loves Shylock’s daughter Jessica. He schemed to escape with Jessica and marry her in Belmont.

Duke of Venice:

A kind and merciful ruler of Venice who presides over the trial. Despite powerful man, he is unable to save Antonia’s life and is helpless in front of the law.

The Merchant of Venice Literary Analysis

The play, The Merchant of Venice, is categorized as the comedy, also refers to “problem comedy”. Shakespearean comedy has a light, humorous tone with clever dialogue and witty banter. Mistaken identity, deception plus disguise are the central features of this comedy. Love, marriage, family drama, multiple plots with twists and turns along with the reunification of families are characteristics of Shakespeare comedies that are best represented in this play.

There is no narrator in the play. All the story is presented through dialogues of the characters on the stage.

Shakespeare well-crafted the plot of the play. There are several appropriate instances of witty comedy in the play. The play has a fascinating and speedy scheme that arouses a tranquil, uncontaminated world resonant of fairytale and romance. The play has a complex plot only because of the complex evil nature of Shylock that is disposed at the end of the play. Shakespeare makes critical points about love, justice, mercy, and friendship, the typical Renaissance Virtues.

There are two stories in one play- the casket plot of Portia and the bond story of Shylock. Shakespeare intelligently combines the two plots. The play has uniqueness in its lack of true hero and villain. Apparently, Antonia is seen as the hero by the audience, he also has some antagonistic characteristics like hate for the Jews. While Shylock is presented as the villain of the play who bears hate for Antonia, however, this hate is the consequence of ill-treatment he receives from the Christians.

The play has two setting: the Venice- where bond was made between Shylock and Antonia and the Belmont- where the casket plot of Portia occurs.

Shakespearean comedies are characterized with light and humorous tone, however, this play has a heavier tone that one wouldn’t expect. The story is focused on biases and oppression of minorities that resulted in the heavy tone of the play.

More From William Shakespeare

• A Midsummer Night’s Dream
• Twelfth Night
• The Taming of the Shrew
• As You Like It
• Much Ado About Nothing
• The Comedy of Errors

The Merchant of Venice

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