SHAKESPEARE'S A FAMOUS COMEDY,THE MERCHANT OF VENICE CAPTIVATED MY MIND 'WHO IS THE REAL MERCHANT TO THE PLAY':RESPECT ALL VIEWS - CRITICISMS, MY WAY OF UNDERSTANDING METAPHOR OF THE PLAY BEGINS IN A TEMPEST TOO - SO CALM-FURY, 'SO WINTRY, SO SPRING'- !

WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE’S,THEMERCHANTOFVENICE-THEWAYI HAVEADMIRED
MYSELFTOTHINK AT‘WHOTHEMERCHANT ON REGARD TOTHEPLAY IS’ -
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(I TRIED TO COMBINE THE NATIVE WORK WITH A-CONTEXTUAL METAPHOR TO
PORTRAIT THE LOCAL COLOUR OF THE DRAMA: ON BASIS OF‘TWO
LEGENDS RESPECTIVELY’)
“AFTER ONLY MEMORIZING THE DETAIL OF ORIGINAL SHAKESPEARIAN DRAMA, THE
MERCHANT OF VENICE”-
BASED ON THE PLAY THAT ONLY, UPHELD ‘’MY, PERSONAL- DETAIL- SETTING OF
THOUGHTS WITH OWN ANALYSIS, ALONG WITH AFEW CHANGES ON REFERENTIAL-
TRUTH” -
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SHYLOCK
“My daughter! O my ducats! O my daughter!
Fled with a Christian ! O my Christian ducats!”
Portia in the Trial Scene, gives Shylock every chance to escape from the punishment to which he
would become liable if she feels compelled to pronounce the judgement which she has already
decided upon and planned for the rescue of Antonio from his clutches. She tempts Shylock with
offer of money, but fails in her effort. She appeals to him to show mercy to Antonio; but here too
she fails. Indeed her “Quality of Mercy” speech would have moved the stoniest of hearts that
she gives a strictly literal interpretation of the bond in order to save an innocent man. It is her
ingenuity that saves Antonio’s life, we cannot help feeling that she allows the Christians to
impose upon Shylock the maximum punishment which is permissible under the law though they
certainly spare his life. We would have admired her even more if she had allowed Shylock to
withdraw from the court when he says that he is willing to wash his hands of the whole affair,
and would no longer stay to discuss the matter. But of, she stops him, saying that the law has yet
another hold upon him, and it is at this point that Christians treat the Jew with nearly the same
cruelty with which he had wanted to treat Antonio.
ANTONIO, the merchant of the play’s title. He is good and generous man, who promises to pay
Shylock the money, borrowed by Bassanio or else allow Shylock to cut off a pound of his flesh.

His part in the play is rather a passive one, and he reveals his character mainly in his generousity
to his friend and in his hatred of the Jew. (Oxford Edition: Shakespeare)
Grieve not that I am fallen to this for you;
For herein Fortune shows herself more kind
Than is her custom: it is still her use
To let the wretched man outlive his wealth,
To view with hollow eye and wrinkled brow
An age of poverty;
Portia is one character who, at the beginning of the play, resents the situation in which she
is placed. Her father, who is now dead, devised a test for selecting the man that his
daughter should marry; in Portia’s words, ‘the will of a living daughter [is] curbed by the
will of a dead father.’ Fortunately for Portia, the right man makes the right choice, and she
is given to the man she loves. Portia does not think to question a man’s right to the
ownership of all his wife’s possessions; in fact, she seems glad when she tells Bassanio,
‘But now I was the lord
Of this fair mansion, master of my servants,
Queen o’er myself ; and even now, but now,
This house, these servants, and this same myself
Are yours, my lord’s.’
One of the most characteristic features of Shakespeare’s use of the English language is
BOLDNESS. It is a predominant feature of his art as a poet. Another trait in Shakespeare’s
language is the proximity of his poetical diction to his ordinary prose. He uses very few
poetical diction to his ordinary prose. He uses very few poetical words or forms, and he
achieves his finest poetical effect without stepping outside his ordinary vocabulary and
grammar. “The greatness of Shakespeare’s influence does not consist in the number of new
words which he added to the literary vocabulary… but in the multitude of phrases derived
from his writings which have entered into the texture of the diction of literature and daily
conversation. If, therefore, Shakespeare has not enriched the language with many new
words, he has certainly enriched it with a very large number of significant phrases and
almost proverbial expressions” which have become household words. “It is in a multitude
of phrases, above all else, that Shakespeare’s language may be said to live in the full sense
of the word.” We use these words almost daily without the slightest knowledge that they
have come from the immortal pen of Shakespeare.

SCENE AT A GLANCE IN ACT I SCENE 1:
Antonio, Salarino and Salenio and his other friends discuss the cause of Antonio’s sadness but
fail to understand it. > Dangers of the sea, love, concern for public opinion and need to
appear wise are suggested as causes; all of which Antonio rejects.> After the other friends
leave, Bassanio discloses to Antonio his need for money to marry Portia.> Antonio declares
that he has no money at hand because all of it is being used for trading. > Antonio offers his
name or reputation to raise money for Bassanio.
All the theatres of London during the Elizabethan era had individual differences; yet their
common function necessitated a similar general plan. The public theatres were three
stories high, and built around an open space at the centre. Usually polygonal in plan to
give an overall rounded effect, the three levels of inward- facing galleries overlooked the
open centre, into which jutted the stage- essentially a platform surrounded on three sides
by the audience, only the rear being restricted for the entry and exit of the actors and
seating for the musicians. The upper level behind the stage was used as a balcony.
Portia and Nerissa discuss Portia’s father’s will according to which her suitors must choose
one of the three caskets in order to win her. > Some of the suitors have already come in the
hope of marrying her; but Portia makes fun of them and shows her dislike. > Nerissa reminds
her of Bassanio whom she had found quite attractive.
Shakespeare’s boldness in sentence-structure is also an obvious characteristic. Language is
not merely a matter of words and inflections. There are many conventional features which
form an essential part of the language-matters of idiom and usage that defy explanation or
logical classification. There are some bold features with regard to sentence-structure
which we often meet with in Shakespeare. There are a few phrases reminiscent of
Shakespeare whose use in Modern English has been based on misunderstanding. Such
phrases have remained in currency and are now found with a meaning other than that
which Shakespeare had intended. These phrases are misapplied in Modern English.
Shakespeare is the greatest master of English poetry and as such has wielded a great
influence over the English language as well as over poetic and archaic language generally.
No other individual writer has exercised so much influence on the English language as
Shakespeare has done. His influence on the language is very much akin to that of the Bible
translations. When, in the Trial Scene, the Duke asks Shylock to relent and show pity on
Antonio, Shylock replies:
-And by our holy Sabbath have I sword

“My writing on the subject of ‘The Merchant of Venice’ with a more analytical view would
never been possible without the ‘tremendous’ curiosity and ecstasy in knowing of and at
listening to the play happened to majority of my students. They had a keen interest in
knowing from me whom do, I only, think after the play as Real Merchant of Venice:
therefore, the real hero only accords to the play..…!”-
Rituparna Ray Chaudhuri.
Date and Text
1596 is the most likely date for The Merchant of Venice, for in that year a wealthy Spanish
ship was much in the news. The ship had run aground in the harbor at Cadiz, where it was
captured and brought to England. It is this event that Salerio is referring to in Act 1, Scene
1, lines 25-9:
I should not see the sandy hour-glass run,
But I should think of shallows and of flats,
And see my wealthy Andrew dock'd in sand,
Vailing her high-top lower than her ribs
To kiss her burial.
The earliest text of the play was the Quarto published in 1600, and this is followed in the
present edition- Oxford Shakespeare.
Shylock is one of Shakespeare’s most interesting creations from the point of view of
language. Even though there were Jews in England during Shakespeare’s time their number
was not large enough to enable the hearers to be familiar with the Jewish type of language
or any Anglo-Jewish dialect that might have developed. If that were so then this dialect
could have been put into Shylock’s mouth. But of, there is not a single trait in Shylock’s
language which can be called distinctly Jewish. And yet Shakespeare has successful in
creating for Shylock a language different from that of anybody else. This creation of a new
language only for Shylock which was not the Jewish type and which was not regular in the
Shakespearean language has stamped the character with a peculiar mark of individuality
not to be found in any other character. Shylock has his Old Testament at his finger’s ends:
When Antonio comes to Shylock for the loan, Shylock begins his reference to Jacob’s (in the
Old Testament) way of making profits and starts citing Scripture for his purpose (M.V.
I.III.67-68) He defends his own way of making money breed like Jacob’s thrift in breeding
lambs: On being asked by Antonio if Jacob charged interest as Shylock did, Shylock tries to

defend his charging interest no doubt, but not exactly in the way in which Jacob made his
profits(M.V. I.III.71-82) He swears by Jacob’s staff and the holy Sabbath: When dining out
Shylock says to Jessica:-
“By Jacob’s staff, I swear,
I have no mind of feasting forth tonight;
But I will go”.
(The reference is to Genesis XXXII, 10 where Jacob says-“With my staff I passed over the
Jordan”)
Antonio is forced to borrow money from Shylock whom he has insulted for years.> After initial
hesitation, Shylock agrees to loan Antonio. > Not for interest, but under a special agreement, a
‘bond’.> According to the bond, if Antonio fails to repay his debt in time, Shylock will have the
right to remove one pound in weight of Antonio’s flesh.
Shylock, the money-lender who is hated because he is a Jew, explains how prejudice works.
He calls it ‘affection’, and shows the relationship between prejudice and the emotions:
“affection, Master of passion, sways it to the mood
Of what it likes and loathes.’’ Certain words like thou, thee, ‘tis, mine eyes, morrow ,etc.,
now form parts of the conventional language of poetry; but Shakespeare uses them in
poetry not because they are parts of the conventional language of poetry, but because they
are parts of the conventional language of poetry, but because these were everyday
colloquialisms during his time.
ANTONIO
Believe me, no: I thank my fortune for it,
My ventures are not in one bottom trusted,
Nor to one place; nor is my whole estate
Upon the fortune of this present year:
Therefore my merchandise makes me not sad.
To have the due and forfeit of my bond. - (M.V. IV. I., 36-38) (To Note: Swearing by holy
Sabbath is a characteristically Jewish oath); He again tauntingly addresses his servant
Launcelot by calling him: “Hagar’s (servant of Sarah, Abraham’s wife) offspring.”He is
afraid of violating an oath which is an offence according to the Jewish Scriptures: When
Portia offers Shylock three thousand ducats, he bluntly declines the offer, saying:“An oath,
an oath, I have an oath in heaven; Shall I lay perjury upon my soul?” (M.V. IV. I., 231-

32)(N.B. Violation of an oath was severely condemned by the Jewish Scriptures)He uses
some Biblical words which do not occur elsewhere in Shakespeare: Synagogue (place of
worship) (III. 1. 115) Nazarite (inhabitant of Nazareth) (1. III.32) Publican (Roman tax-
collector, an object of contempt to the Jews) (1. III.38).He uses some words or
constructions a little different from the accepted use of his time: Advantage (in place of
‘interest’ which was the accepted use).
SCENE AT A GLANCE IN ACT 2 SCENE 2:
Launcelot is taunted by his conscience to leave Shylock’s service and join the service of
Bassanio. > Launcelot decides to do it. > He meets his own father and taunts him by
pretending to br dead for fun. >Launcelot meets Bassanio and enters his service. > Gratiano
persuades Bassanio to let him go with him to Belmont, to which Bassanio agrees.
“The setting of a play is significant as it provides the necessary back drop for the events to
occur and provides the mood and meaning to the work of art. The action of The Merchant
of Venice takes place in Venice and in Belmont, away from the Elizabethan audience of
England. Both the places are remote to London and their remoteness gives the play a
romantic colouring. Adventurous merchants like Antonio were highly honoured in the
Elizabethan Age, an Age known for travel and discovery. Bassanio, represents such a young
spendthrift who used to live a splendid and extravagant life which many a times, perhaps,
were much beyond the means. On the other hand, we see Shylock as a traditional figure of
the Jewish moneylender. He is shown not merely as a Jew in the play, but a Jew in the
Christian society who is oppressed and hated as Shylock himself mentions in the course of
the play.”- Self, Edited from Workbook.
Shylock tells Jessica to lock up ther house while he goes to sup with Bassanio. > Shylock fears
that something is wrong.> But of, he is pleased that Launcelot has left his service and joined
the service of Bassanio. > Shylock leaves to dine, Left alone, Jessica bids farewell to her
father.> Jessica is at home and her father absolutely trusts her, which serves to heighten her
betrayal.
Usance (in place of ‘usuary’, ‘interest on loan’ which was the accepted use).Moneys (plural)
(in place of ‘money’)Equal (in place of ‘exact which was the accepted use).Estimable (in
place of ‘exact which was the accepted use).Rheum (in place of ‘saliva’ which was the
accepted use).Fulsome (in pace of ‘lustful’ which was the accepted use).He alone uses some
words not used by anybody else:Eanling (young lamb) (I.III.76);Misbeliever (unbeliever)
((I.III.100);Bane (rare use of the word as verb meaning ‘to kill by poison) (IV.I. 46)his

syntax is peculiar: Rent out(where the mind should only be ‘rend’) ; (II, V. 5)So following
(where ‘and so forth’ is the regular Shakespearian phrase) (I.III.34)I have no mind of
feasting forth tonight (where it should be ‘no mind to’) (II.V. 37)
SALARINO
My wind cooling my broth
Would blow me to an ague, when I thought
What harm a wind too great at sea might do.
Jespersen explains the position of English held a few centuries ago by quoting a few
extracts from different writers of old. Only two or three centuries ago, he says, English
was spoken by so few people that no one could dream of its ever becoming a world
language. It was observed by one English writer in 1582 that “the English tongue is of
small reach, stretching no further than this land of ours.” An Italian comment was that “it
was worthless beyond Dover.” There were various other observations about the English
language at that time or even later which pointed to the fact that no one abroad could read
the writings of the English authors and even those who “learned English by necessity forgot
it”, and there were a “small number of scholars on the continent able to read English.” In
the early part of the eighteenth century was published a dictionary of four chief languages
of Europe in which English had no place. These were Italian, French, German and Latin. But
of, the position has now changed and English today finds a place in the lost of the chief
languages because political, social and literary importance it is second to none and because
it is the mother tongue of a greater number of human beings than any of its competitors.
SCENE AT A GLANCE IN ACT 2 SCENE 6
Gratiano and Salarino wait outside Shylock’s house in a street in Venice, waiting for Lorenzo.
> Lorenzo is supposed to meet Jessica and elope.> Lorenzo arrives late and apologizes to his
friends. > Jessica arrives cross-dressed as a boy with some of Shylock’s money and wealth.
Jessica and Lorenzo elope.> Antonio meet Gratiano and informs him that the party is called
off and Bassanio and Gratiano are sail to Belmont as soon as possible as the wind has
changed and it is the right time to sail.
The reason for this boldness of syntax is that Shakespeare did not write his plays to be read
and dwelt on by the eye but to be heard by a sympathetic audience. Shakespeare’s syntax,
therefore is unfettered by bookish impositions. The drama represents the unstudied
utterance of people under all kinds and degrees of emotion, pain and passion. Its syntax, to
be truly representative, must be familiar, conversational, spontaneous; hot studied and
formal. Thus we find that in Shylock’s language there are many deviations from
Shakespeare’s ordinary language, many expressions used by Shylock alone and by none

other of his characters. It shows, therefore, that Shakespeare made Shylock’s language
peculiar on purpose to stamp him as a being out of the common sort and in order to mark
him off as a Jew from the common Christian. The Prince of Morocco confronts Portia with a
powerful argument against prejudice. Find a fair skinned northern prince, he urges her, and
let the two of them ‘make incision’ in their flesh. From both bodies, the blood that flows
will be re the argument is taken up in a later scene by Shylock, and the opening lines of
Shylock’s speech are often quoted to demonstrate Shakespeare’s lack of prejudice and
refusal to discriminate against individuals on grounds of race or religion.
The Prince of Morocco arrives at Portia’s household to make his choice of casket.> He ponders
over the inscriptions on each of the casket aloud. > He chooses the gold casket and finds a
skull in it. > Being unsuccessful, the Prince of Morocco leaves the place. > Portia sees it as a
‘gentle’ riddance.
SHYLOCK, a money-lender, who is hated for his greed and because he is a Jew. He is
Antonio’s enemy, and when Bassanio’s money is not repaid he demands the pound of flesh that
Antonio promised as a forfeit… (Oxford Edition: Shakespeare)
When it is paid according to the tenor.
It doth appear you are a worthy judge;
You know the law, your exposition
Hath been most sound:
In The Merchant of Venice Shakespeare acknowledges the existence of prejudice, and he
makes use of it to suit his dramatic ends. He was an entertainer, not a reformer. His play
cannot be read as propaganda for the abolition of prejudice; at most, it recommends that
we should sometimes remember there is a human being inside the skin. The different
social classes are clearly indicated in The Merchant of Venice, but the linguistic ‘markers’
that Shakespeare uses are not as familiar to a twentieth-century audience as they were to
Shakespeare’s contemporaries. The pronouns ‘you’ and ‘thou’ are very significant, and
almost imperceptibly define the relationships between the characters. ‘You’ is neutral,
formal and polite, whilst ‘thou’ is affectionate, condescending, or contemptuous. Bassanio
always speaks to Antonio as ‘you’, but to Gratiano as ‘thou’; Antonio mostly uses the formal
word, but with Bassanio he allows himself the occasional ‘thou’ of affection, and with
Shylock the dismissive ‘thou’ of contempt. As long as Old Gobbo believes that he is speaking
to a young gentleman, he adopts the ‘you’ which is appropriate when addressing a
superior; but when he knows he is speaking to his son, his recognition is expressed through

the pronoun: ‘I’ll be sworn if thou be Launcelot…’is by such small details that English social
status is revealed.
Salarino and Salanio reveal that Bassanio has left for Belmont. > Lorenzo and Jessica havenot
accompanied them. > Shylock comes to know of the elopement and goes to the Duke of Venice
to get the ship searched. > Antonio at the dock assures the Jew of the elopers’ absence in the
ship. >Shylock is confounded by the loss of his wealth and the elopement of his daughter. >
Salarino reports that he has come to know that a Venetian ship has sunk in the English
Channel. > Salanio asks Salarino to convey the news to Antonio carefully.
“This fastidiousness, this hatred of excess, did much to shape his common-sense and
middle-of-the-road politics. The qualities he most disliked were pretentiousness and
hypocrisy. His central belief was in the natural discipline of an ordered hypocrisy. His
central belief was in the natural discipline of an ordered society, that order being
proclaimed by the nature of the universe, the monarchy stood to the nation as the heavens
to the earth, while the stars in their courses proclaimed the scared necessity of a stable
regimen.” Ivor Brown: Belief in Order and Discipline.
The Prince of Arragon comes with his servants to Belmont, to Portia’s household. > The Prince
of Arragon tries his luck and chooses the silver casket which contains an idiot’s head.> He has
chosen wrong casket and leaves immediately.> A servant brings the news that a young
Venetian has come to Belmont.
The Merchant of Venice confirms Shylock as a villain, as monstrous a creature as any in the
drama of Shakespeare’s time. Indeed, English drama since the seventeenth century has
failed to produce Shylock’s equal. The Jew was a figure hated and feared by the
Elizabethans, but the reasons for their hatred are not at all simple. Superstitions was a
main one, arising out of medieval legends such as that of St. Hugh of Lincoln, a little boy
who was rare, but religion gave the English Christians a good excuse for persecuting the
foreigners who had come to live amongst them. Dislike of the aliens was intensified by the
prosperity of some Jews, whose success in business enterprises sometimes made the native
English dependent on the immigrants. Parallel cases of suspicion and jealousy are not hard
to find in the modern world.
Bassanio has arrived at Belmont. He is about to choose the casket. > Portia asks him to take
the necessary time, but Bassanio hastens to choose the casket. Portia also expresses her love

for Bassanio, but aside. > He chooses the correct casket (the lead) amidst a song about the
difference between appearance and reality; and wins Portia.
Clerk
[Reads]
Your grace shall understand that at the receipt of
your letter I am very sick: but in the instant that
your messenger came, in loving visitation was with
me a young doctor of Rome; his name is Balthasar.
Helpless, trapped Antonio is walking around in the streets of Venice bound by a jailor.>
Shylock takes delight at seeing him helpless. Antonio pleas for mercy, but Shylock is in no
mood to listen to Antonio’s pleas. > Shylock insists that he wants his bond and nothing else.
>Antonio does not see any prospect of escaping the Jew’s merciless aims as Venetian laws
approve of it. > Antonio only hopes that Bassanio will be there with him in his final hour.
The question which now arises as whether ‘this title is appropriate and whether Antonio is
really the hero of the play. Shylock is certainly the most towering personality in the play
even though in the court scene he is eclipsed and vanquished by Portia. Portia undoubtedly
defeats him, thwarts him, and renders him absolutely helpless; but till this point in the play
it reached it was Shylock who had impressed us as the most dynamic and the most
formidable person in the play. And yet he cannot be designated as the hero of the play
because hero must have a certain degree of moral goodness in him while Shylock is a
malicious and revengeful man. Shylock is a usurer and usuary is definitely a stigma on the
name of a man. Besides, Shylock is a fanatical Jew who is intolerant of Christians; he is a
miser in whose service Lancelot is farnished; he is a tyrannical cunning, crafty, heartless,
merciless and vindictive man. Such an individual cannot be called the hero of the play or
the novel. Antonio on the other hand does possess certain specific virtues and is morally far
superior to Shylock even though he suffers from a couple of faults and failings such as a
melancholy and sullen nature and religious fanaticism. Antonio is kind-hearted and
generous to needy persons; and he is a very devoted friend of Bassanio. He enjoys an
excellent reputation in Venice and the Duke has a high opinion about him. It was therefore
only the right course for Shakespeare to have named the play for Antonio.
Shylock took the story of Shylock’s bond from an Italian novel, but the money-lending Jew
in this source has no personality, and no daughter. Consequently, we can assume that
Shylock is Shakespeare’s own creation: all the personality traits that we find in him were
deliberately worked out by the dramatist, and not bore rowed accidentally along the plot.

Portia decides to assist Antonio and makes a plan. > She asks Lorenzo and Jessica to be the in
charge of her house, which they accept. > Portia sends her servant Balthazar to Padua for
information from the legal expert, Doctor Bellario, and asks him to be quick. > Portia tells
Nerissa that both of them will cross dress, and on the way to Venice she will disclose the future
plans to her.
“A dramatist is no more able than anybody else to bestow upon his characters talents
which he does not himself possess. If – as critics are agreed- Shakespeare’s characters show
humour, Shakespeare must have a sense of humour himself. But a man’s humour and fancy
are functions of his character as well as of his reason. To appreciate them clearly is to know
how he feels as well as how he argues: what are the aspects of life which especially impress
him, and what morals are most congenial. I do not see how the critic can claim an
instructive perception of the Shakespearean mode of thought without a perception of some
sides of his character. You distinguish Shakespeare’s work from his rivals’ as confidently as
any expert judging of hand-writing. You admit, too, that you can give a very fair account of
the characteristics of the other writer. Then surely you can tell me-or at least you know
“implicitly”- what is the quality in which they are defective and Shakespeare pre-eminent.”
(Leslie Stephen: Self – Revelation)
The action of the play takes place in Venice and in Belmont. Belmont is imaginary, but
Venice is real. The city is located on the sea coast in the north of Italy, and is in fact built
over a lagoon. Its main streets are canals, and the only vehicles are boats. In the sixteenth
century, Venice was the centre for international trade, importing goods from all corners of
the earth, and exporting them in the same way. We are told that Antonio, the greatest of the
merchants, is waiting for his ships to return-
From Tripolis, from Mexico, and England,
From Lisbon, Barbary and India.
To be successful, a merchant had to invest his money wisely-and have luck on his side.
Trading by sea was hazardous, and a sudden storm, or unseen rocks, could easily wreck a
ship and drown the merchant’s gopes along with the cargo. (Oxford -Shakespeare).
NERISSA, Portia’s lady-in-waiting, who falls in love with Gratiano. When Portia goes to
Venice as a lawyer, Nerissa accompanies her, dressed as a lawyer’s clerk. (Oxford Edition:
Shakespeare)
If he should offer to choose, and choose the right
casket, you should refuse to perform your father's
will, if you should refuse to accept him.

Shylock starts from a double disadvantage, as far as an Elizabethan audience was
concerned. He is a Jew, and he is a money lender. There were not many Jews in England,
but in Middle Ages English Christians hated Jews, and this feeling was still strong in the
sixteenth century, the Elizabethans also hated the traditional Jewish profession of usury-
the lending of money for profit, Jews were often forbidden to own land or to engage in
trade in England; consequently the only lucrative profession open to them was money-
lending. The Christians deplored this-in theory. In practice, the expanding economy of the
times demanded that money should be readily available. Shakespeare does not let us see
Shylock in his first frenzy of distress when he finds that Jessica is missing, because this
would surely arouse her sympathy. Instead, Solanio describes the scene, and the audience
is encouraged. To share in his laughter. From Solanio’s account, it seems that Shylock’s
grief over the loss of his daughter is equaled, perhaps even surpassed, by his anger at the
theft of his money. He utters ‘a passion so confused’.
Launcelot and Jessica talk humorously. > Lorenzo joins them and asks Jessica what she thinks
of Portia.> Jessica praises Bassanio’s heavenly fortune in winning Portia’s hand.
To show excessive care for position is ill-mannered, and the Prince of Arragon’s lengthy
discourse on rank shows him to be merely vulgar: he is himself the ‘blinking idiot’ that he
finds in the casket. He speaks proudly of his dark skin, the ‘shadow’d’ livery of the
burnish’d sun’, and in his dignity we can feel Shakespeare’s admiration for the character he
has created and the people whom the Prince represents. Yet he is unacceptable as a suitor
for Portia; her conversation with him leaves few doubts in our minds, and her relief when
he chooses the wrong casket is unmistakable: ‘Let all of his complexion choose me so.’
Shylock’s viciousness transcends his Jewishness, and it would be unfair to cite this
character as an example of Shakespeare’s racial prejudice. But of, we can find this
surrounding Shylock’s daughter. We are sympathetic to Jessica, yet we are never allowed to
forget that she is a Jew. The reminders are always affectionate, and some-times funny- as
when Launcelot reproaches Lorenzo for converting Jessica, ‘for in converting Jews to
Christians you raise the price of pork’. Laughter can take away the cruelty of prejudice, but
it helps to reinforce in an audience the awareness of difference. A happy ending for the
leading characters is essential for a romantic comedy such as The Merchant of Venice. But
of, one very important character is left out of the general rejoicing in Act 5. Shylock has
been defeated of his bond, robbed of his ducats, and deserted by his daughter; he is even
compelled to give up his birth right, his Jewish religion, and become one of the Christians
whom he so much hates. Does he deserve this fate? Is The Merchant of Venice a comedy for
all the other characters, but a tragedy for Shylock? The action of the play takes place in

Venice and in Belmont. Belmont is imaginary, but Venice is real. The city is located on the
sea coast in the north of Italy, and is in fact built over a lagoon. Its main streets are canals,
and the only vehicles are boats .in the sixteenth century, Venice was the centre for
international trade, importing goods from all corners of the earth, and exporting them in
the same way. We are told that Antonio, the greatest of the merchants, is waiting for his
ships to return. To be successful, a merchant had to invest his money wisely- and have luck
on his side. Trading by sea was hazardous, and a sudden storm, or unseen rocks, could
easily wreck a ship and drown the merchant’s hopes along with the cargo.
In a Venetian court presided over by the Duke, Shylock refuses to forgo his claim to a pound of
Antonio’s flesh, in spite of repeated pleas from the Duke and Antonio. > The Duke seeing that
the course of the trial is taking a harsh turn is about to dismiss the court, when cross dressed
Nerissa enters as the Lawyer’s clerk. > Portia, disguised as a doctor of law, enters the court
and makes a speech in praise of mercy, but Shylock is unmoved. > Portia then pronounces
that he is entitled to Antonio’s pound of flesh-but the exact one pound neither more nor less;
he is not entitled to shed any blood.> Shylock falls in his own trap and asks for three times
the amount which is denied by Portia saying that it is not there in the bond. > The principal
amount is also denied as Shylock has refused it in open court. > Shylock is frustrated when
Portia also declares that his own life and goods are forfeit as according to Venetian laws
when an outsider plans to kill a Venetian citizen it is the punishment. > Ultimately Shylock is
allowed to depart with half his goods for his lifetime, and the other half kept in trust on
condition that he becomes a Christian and bequeaths his possessions to Lorenzo and Jessica. >
Bassanio offers to reward the young lawyer. > Portia asks for his ring, when Bassanio first
denies, but after Antonio’s requests, gives it to Gratiano so that he can deliver it to Portia.
“The acceptance of this Tudor universe is no proof of profound political speculation on
Shakespeare’s part. He took what was going in the way of ideas and, as was his wont, gave
to it the perfect shaping that came naturally to that Hand of Glory. He saw history as a
dramatist, in terms of people and character- rightly since that was his profession- and not
as an analyst of social forces, or as a student of economic and political motive. He drew on
the chronicles of Hall and Holinshed for English history and on North Plutarch for his
classical plays.” – Ivor Brown: Conception of History.
It is quite sure that he never intended the play to be a tragedy. Interpreted in the light of
modern humanistic tendencies Shylock’s character comes to have something tragic in it,
but even this is not so marked. The whole play is romantic in its essence. Whatever we
may say in favour of Shylock, he is doubtlessly a misfit in the world he lives in. therefore it

can be said in conclusion that though Shylock does arouse pity for him, the play was never
meant to be a tragedy. The Italian atmosphere makes the play more romantic. We see in the
distance the gondola which is bearing Jessica away with her lover. Italy- the land of beauty
and romance, the mistress of so many poets, the country of enchantment- such is the
background of this play. What could be more romantic than an Italian background?
According to Stopford A. Brooke there is something romantic also in Antonio’s lavish
friendship, ready to sacrifice not only wealth by life for the sake of Bassanio. This
friendship between a grave man , bordering on old age, and a young, gay affectionate wild
fells , capable of better things and nice in honour-this friendship, says Brooke; is instinct
with the spirit of romance.
Portia and Nerissa are in a street of Venice on their way to Shylock’s house where they are to
get the deed signed from Shylock. > Gratiano overtakes them and gives Bassanio’s ring to
Portia. He also agrees to show Nerissa of Shylock’s house. > Nerissa tells Portia that she too
will try to get her own ring from Gratiano. Portia takes great delight in playing the double
ring joke on their husbands.
We find ample proof of Portia’s brilliant intellect at least on two occasions in the play. We
notice her psychological insight into human character, particularly when she expresses her
opinion about some of her suitors, and is particularly witty and ironical. She says about
Neapolitan Prince, -Ay that’s a colt indeed, for he doth nothing but talks of his horse; and he
makes it a great appropriation to his own good part that he can shoe show himself-
Like the Prodigal Son’s father, Antonio has shown the loving and forgiving generousity of
his nature, but he remains a mysterious character. Early in the scene he tells Gratiano that
he thinks of the world as -A stage where every man must play apart, And mine a sad one-
(Oxford- Shakespeare)
************************
It is his changing relationship with Bassanio that causes his melancholy. Some Elizabethans
thought- as the Greeks and Romans did- that friendship between two men was a more
spiritual bond, and should be more highly esteemed, than the love between a man and a
woman. Knowing that Bassanio is interested in a lady (lines 119-21, Act I, Scene 1),
Antonio may be secretly grieving for the inevitable end to a friendship. (Oxford-
Shakespeare)
Certainly the usurer is necessary to the world of The Merchant of Venice. Shylock’s wealth
is evidence of his professional success, which could only come from satisfying a social need.
Shylock first appears as the cautious businessman, thinking carefully before he invests his

three thousand ducats in Bassanio’s enterprise. His reaction to the polite invitation to
dinner is unexpected in its venom, which increases as he tells the audience of his hatred for
Antonio. Religious differences seem to be less important than professional jealousy.
BASSANIO, a younger man, who has already spent all his own money and now hopes to
restore his fortunes by marrying an heiress. He needs to borrow money so that he can
appear rich when he courts Portia, and it is for his sake that Antonio enters into the bond
with Shylock. Bassanio is made to show good judgement when he makes his choice of the
leaden casket and so wins Portia for his wife. (Oxford Edition: Shakespeare)
Most worthy gentleman, I and my friend
Have by your wisdom been this day acquitted
Of grievous penalties; in lieu whereof,
Three thousand ducats, due unto the Jew,
We freely cope your courteous pains withal.
When Shylock next appears in Act 3, Scene 1 the passion is subdued into an intense and
malevolent bitterness; yet the jesting of the two Christians is cruel. The loss of a daughter
is a real cause for sorrow, and Shylock earns some pity, from the audience, when he tells
Solanio and Salerio that ‘my daughter is my flesh my blood.’ It is with very mixed feelings,
then, that we are led up to powerful speech in which Shylock catalogues the abuses he has
had to suffer from Christians in general, and from Antonio in particular. There is only one
reason that he can see for this treatment: ‘I am a Jew’. It is easy to respond to the rhetorical
questions. Shylock appeals to our common humanity. To give a negative answer to his
questions would deny not his humanity, but our own. The speech, however, continues: “and
if you wrong us, shall we not revenge? If we are like you in the rest, we will resemble you in
that…The villainy you teach me I will execute, and it shall go hard but I will better the
instruction.”
GRATIANO, a young man with a reputation for wild behavior. He accompanies Bassanio to
Belmont, and wins the love of Portia’s lady-in-waiting, Nerissa.
(Oxford Edition: Shakespeare)
A second Daniel, a Daniel, Jew!
Now, infidel, I have you on the hip.
PORTIA
Why doth the Jew pause? take thy forfeiture.
To some extent Shylock justifies his hostility when he describes how he has been treated by
Antonio-insulted, spat upon, and kicked out of the way like ‘a stranger cur’. Because of this,
we sympathize with him. When the scene ends, we are left with two conflicting opinions of

Shylock and his ‘merry sport’. Are we to share Antonio’s surprise, ‘And say there is much
kindness in the Jew’? Or is Bassanio right to be suspicious of ‘fair terms and a villain’s
mind’? The scene with Antonio and Bassanio shows Shylock in his professional, public, life.
Next, we hear what he is like at home. His comic servant, Launcelot Gobbo, exaggerates
with a characteristic misuse of the English language, when he says that ‘the Jew is the very
devil incarnation.’ But of, this opinion is echoed by Shylock’s daughter, Jessica, when she
sighs ‘Our house is hell’. Jessica is asham’d to be [her] father’s child’, although she knows
that it is a ‘heinous sin’ for a daughter to have such feelings. We can understand Jessica’s
misery when her father gives instructions about locking up his house whist he is away.
Jessica is forbidden even to look out of the window to watch the masquers going to
Bassanio’s feast. Shylock is a kill -joy -and he has also killed his daughter’s natural affection
for him.
William Shakespeare was writing during the period of reign of Queen Elizabeth in British
throne (1558-1603) which is usually termed as the Elizabethan age or the Elizabethan Era,
though it is often used to refer to the late 16th century and early 17th century. The age is
often termed as “Renaissance”-meaning “rebirth” or ‘reawakening”; though Renaissance
happened all over Europe in the 14th century and 15th century. In case of England, the term
Renaissance applies to the 16th century when England witnessed a socio-cultural upheaval
and a change that affected the lives of all. This period witnessed a rapid growth in English
Commerce, naval power and nationalist feeling, along with it being the greatest age of
English literature, especially plays and poems. The prominent writers of the age are
William Shakespeare, Ben Jonson, Christopher Marlowe, Sir Philip Sidney, Edmund
Spenser, Francis Bacon, Walter Raleigh and others.
SCENE AT A GLANCE IN ACT 5, SCENE 1;
Lorenzo and Jessica talk lovingly, when a messenger tells them that Portia is about to arrive. >
After the arrival of Portia and Nerissa, Bassanio and Gratiano, along with Antonio appear. >
Nerissa begins a quarrel with Gratiano about the ring she has gifted. Soon Bassanio is also
accused of the same by Portia. Quarrel ensues, where Bassanio accepts his mistake and
Antonio pleads that he is ready to be surely for Bassanio’s future faithfulness. > Eventually,
Portia and Nerissa reveal the truth about their activities in Venice. The three pairs of lovers
are at last together. >Portia gives a letter to Antonio which states that his ships have return
safe. Nerissa gives the signed deed of Shylock to Lorenzo and Jessica who are also happy that
their financial luck has favoured them. > As it is about to be morning, Portia invites everyone
within the house.
Common humanity ignores all limitations of colour, race or creed; and this is strongly
asserted in the first part of Shylock’s speech. But of, the assertions of these last lines show
that the individual- Shylock- is determined to ignore the limits of humanity. He will ‘better

the instruction’, and prove himself to be not the equal of the Christians in inflicting
suffering on others, but their superior. During the trial, Shylock loses the audience’s
sympathy, by his words and by the action of sharpening the knife on the sole of his shoe,
which Gratiano observes in line 123. Neither insults nor pleading spoil the enjoyment of his
triumph, and when sentence is given against Antonio, he repeats the words of the bond
with a lingering relish. The events that follow do nothing to moderate the presentation of
Shylock in the terms used by the Duke when he warns Antonio, before the trial begins, that
his adversary is
“an inhuman wretch
Uncapable of pity, void and empty
From any dram of mercy.”
“SHYLOCK IS ONE OF SHAKESPEARE’S MOST INTERESTING CREATIONS, EVEN FROM
THE POINT OF VIEW OF LANGUAGE”.
Shylock demanded a strict observance of the law, and in poetic justice, is precisely this that
defeats him. Gratiano exults over his downfall, but the other characters in the court speak
no unnecessary words and show no satisfaction until Shylock has left the court. Even then,
conversation is formal, occupied only with thanks and payment. It does not obliterate the
memory of Shylock’s parting words. Recent English productions of The Merchant of Venice
have emphasized the suffering human being, but I do not think that this is what
Shakespeare intended (Oxford Edition).
Shylock is more complex than any of the other characters in the play: we can think of him
as a ‘real’ person, whose words and deeds are motivated by thoughts and feelings that we
can discover from the play, and that we can understand when we have discovered them.
We cannot think of Bassanio, for instance in this way. Yet in admiring Shakespeare’s
achievement in the creation of Shylock, we must beware of danger. Often, when we know a
person well, and understand why he acts as he does, we become sympathetic to him; in The
Merchant of Venice we are further encouraged to sympathize with Shylock also by the fact
that other leading characters, such as Bassanio do not compel our sympathies. Sympathy
can give rise to affection, and affection often tempts us to withhold moral judgement, or at
least be gentle in our censure. Shylock’s conduct merits condemnation. We can only refrain
from condemning it because we know that he has suffered for being a Jew; and this, surely,
is another form of prejudice?
GRATIANO
Beg that thou mayst have leave to hang thyself:
And yet, thy wealth being forfeit to the state,

Thou hast not left the value of a cord;
Therefore thou must be hang'd at the state's charge.
Then again, the news of the loss of Antonio’s ships in the sea is being conveyed slowly by
either Lorenzo or Jessica whom some messenger comes to meet at Belmont. We notice how
in the eighth scene of the second Act the news of Antonio’s loss is discussed by Solanio and
Salarino, who again in the first scene of the third Act continue to discuss further and thus
help the audience to remain in touch with the news. Of course, it is only at the end of the
Caskets Story that we come to know of the disaster of Antonio from his letter to Bassanio.
We have been told throughout the play that Shylock is extremely avaricious, and that is
why, it appears rather most improbable and strange when we find Shylock refusing of ten
times the amount of the original loan in the open court and insisting on the penalty of the
bond, namely, a pound of flesh from Antonio’s breast. This strangeness of Shylock’s
attitude towards money is made possible by the Lorenzo- Jessica story because it is
Jessica’s elopement with a Christian that intensifies his revengeful spirit against Antonio,
who is also a Christian, otherwise he would have surely accepted the offer of such a big
amount made by Bassanio on behalf of Antonio. The revengeful spirit of Shylock is further
aggravated by the fact that Jessica not only elopes with a Christian but also robs her father
of all his gold and jewels with the help of a Christian, Lorenzo.
JESSICA, Shylock’s daughter; she disguises herself as a boy in order to run away from her
father’s house, where she is unhappy. She is in love with the Christian Lorenzo. (Oxford
Edition: Shakespeare)
In such a night
Medea gather'd the enchanted herbs
That did renew old AEson.
The Merchant of Venice ends in mirth and laughter. Everything is brought to a happy close.
Everyone except Shylock gets his or her heart’s desire. In the moonlit night at Belmont the
three pairs of lovers at last come together. Antonio has reached the happy news that his
argosies have arrived in port. There is no hint of sadness in the end- all is joy, and this joy is
marred by nothing. Nothing could be more happy than the end of The Merchant of Venice.
A snarl of frustrated wrath can deliver this line: ‘ I pray you give me leave to go from
hence: I am not well’ ; or else it can be spoken with the anguish of a man who has lost
everything – his daughter, his wealth, his religious freedom, and the engagement ring given
to him by his wife. So the play has generally been classified as a romantic comedy which
means a play containing a number of romantic elements and a number of comic elements,
skillfully and artistically mixed together. However almost every romantic comedy by
Shakespeare has a number of serious elements too, and some of these serious elements
come very close to becoming tragic. The play contains a number of romantic and comic

elements but it also contains a number of serious elements, some of them verging on
tragedy. In the opinion of some scholars the element of seriousness in this play is so
prominent that it seems to acquire a tragic quality. It is the character of Shylock that gives
the play a colour of tragedy, Shylock has lost all that he cherished in life; he has lost his
wealth, his religion, his revenge. He is broken like a reed. The lonely Jew totters home, but
the world does not care. In the very next Act- the final one- poetry steels gently into our
hearts in the moon-shine at Belmont. Lovers meet happily. In the fairly atmosphere of
Belmont we forget, not only Shylock, but the outside everyday world of bitter realities also.
The fifth act of the play was written expressly to remove the suspicion that the play was
intended as a Tragedy. Even if the play did not have the happy ending of Act V the play
would have been a romantic comedy because the trial itself ends happily for the hero,
Antonio, and for all the hero’s friends. If the trial ends unhappily for Shylock it does not
make the play tragic because Shylock is a villain who deserves punishment. Of course
Shylock does become a pathetic figure at this point because his punishment is too severe,
we see him as a remarkable figure. He has fire and power to move us, energy radiates from
him. He engrosses our attention by his quick and vigorous utterance and by the intensity he
displays in his speeches. As he protests against the treatment meted out to him, or
champions the course of his race, he appeals to our deepest and most lasting emotions.
When he insists on having his right of having Antonio’s flesh he has a force which excites
our admiration in spite of his moral depravity and wickedness. And as he is at last beaten at
his own game and completely crushed we begin to feel for him. But of, it seems the
dramatist is very anxious to leave no impression if the play being a tragedy. This would
have been the impression if the play had ended with Act IV. But for, it does not. So the
impression is different. The play is nothing but a tragedy, and if Shylock is something of a
tragic character it is mainly because we have come to look upon him in that light. So the
play is quite carefully balanced by the purest comedy and the dramatist is careful to leave
us in no doubt of his intention by providing us with an end which ignores Shylock
altogether, and makes us forget him in the happiness of the lovers.
SHYLOCK
Shall I not have barely my principal?
PORTIA
Thou shalt have nothing but the forfeiture,
To be so taken at thy peril, Jew.
There is a plenty of comedy in this play too. Launcelot Gobbo is a clown or a jester who was
introduced by Shakespeare only to produce laughter. Launcelot’s fooling of his own father
is comic too, though it is something crude and farcical. He is capable of making a good joke
also as for instance, when he says that the making of Christians, or the conversion of the
Jews to Christianity, would raise the price of hogs in Venice. But of, it is the sense of

humour and the wit of Portia and of Gratiano which import to the play a truly comic
quality. Portia’s wit is first brought to our notice through her comments on her suitors.
SHYLOCK
Why, then the devil give him good of it!
I'll stay no longer question.
The casket story is essentially romantic. Portia is a romantic lady despite her
intellectuality; and Bassanio is a romantic hero despite the fact that in the beginning he
strikes us as a fortune hunter. Bassanio’s success in choosing the right casket over whelms
Portia with joy; and Portia’s beauty enthralls Bassanio. The Lorenzo-Jessica love affair is
highly romantic despite the distress experienced by Shylock when he finds that his
daughter has run away with a Christian, and also taken away a lot of his money and jewels.
The romantic appeal of the play is enhanced by the moonlight scene at Belmont between
Lorenzo and Jessica with its references to the famous mythology love stories. In this play
there is a combination of the serious and the gay elements. In the classical plays of
antiquity comedy and tragedy were sharply distinguished and kept entirely separate from
each other. No comic play contained tragic elements and vice versa. But of, in Romantic
drama of Shakespeare comedy and tragedy sometimes jostle each other. The terrible
hatred of Shylock the sense of an impending disaster in the life of Antonio and Shylock’s
overwhelming ruin are tragic elements which are mingled with such comic elements as the
wit of Gratiano and Portia, the humour of Launcelot and the story of the rings. This
mingling of the comic and tragic note gives to the play a romantic character. A pair of
lovers are always to romantic subject, because wooing is the most exciting of men’s
emotional experiences. Youth in love is the most alluring theme for romantic comedy. The
Merchant of Venice is romantic, therefore, by virtue of the freshness and frankness of its
two love stories of Portia and Bassanio, of Lorenzo and Jessica. The first love story has its
romantic elements in the bold adventure of Bassanio who goes to Belmont to win a wife
and in the passionate love that exists between the two.
SHYLOCK
Why, so: and I know
not what's spent in the search: why, thou loss upon
loss! the thief gone with so much, and so much to
find the thief; and no satisfaction, no revenge:
nor no in luck stirring but what lights on my
shoulders; no sighs but of my breathing; no tears
but of my shedding.
The other love, between Jessica and Lorenzo is still more romantic because of a greater
element of adventure and because of the hazard that it involves. A Christian is in love with

a Jewess and since the Jew would never agree to such a match, the lovers elope. A masque
is arranged: Jessica slips out of her house in the guise of a boy; the masked procession is led
by torches. This is all romance. But of, the most romantic feature in this love-story is the
wonderful, moonlight scene between Jessica and Lorenzo in the beginning of Act V. Few
passages in Shakespeare have more of the “far-off magic of poetry” than this conversation
between the lovers. Their love is “decked out with imagination and thoughts.” This
“moonlight serenade of music” with its rich allusion to Greek Mythology is indeed, a delight.
She says about her English suitors that he is oddly suited; and in this context she further
says that he must have his doublet in Italy, his round hose in France, his bonnet in Germany
and his behavior everywhere. A plenty of mirth and laughter has been produced by the
comedy of rings and the playwright ends his play with mirth and laughter. Though ended
happily the play cannot be called a romantic comedy. “Shakespearean romantic comedy is
fundamentally different from classical comedy. It is an unlimited venture for happiness and
an imprinly imaginative undertaking of human welfare. It’s heroes heroines are ‘Voyagers’
in pursuit of a happiness, not yet attained- a ‘Brave New World’, wherein man’s life may be
fuller his sensations more exquisite, and his joys more wide-spread more lasting, and so
more humane. The central theme of Shakespeare’s romantic comedy rotates a round love-
an immorally inspiring love. To quote Beatrice Webb-“ The Merchant of Venice, certainly,
contains elements of romance; the elopement of Jessica, the melancholy sweet love
between these two young lovers and love-lit just meeting of Bassanio and Portia- all these
are the most sparkling elements of a romantic comedy. But we should also note that love is
not the central theme of the plot; the play a grim fight between two antagonistic religious
orthodoxies. “
BASSANIO
Dear sir, of force I must attempt you further:
Take some remembrance of us, as a tribute,
Not as a fee: grant me two things, I pray you,
Not to deny me, and to pardon me.
One thing is very striking about Jessica that when we know that Jessica is the daughter of
such miserly, orthodox, communal minded, malicious and cruel person as Shylock, how
could she be so sweet, loving, romantic, liberal, poetic in spirit? We know also in what kind
of narrow, foul and filthy atmosphere Jessica has been brought up, and yet how can she be
so beautiful, cheerful, gay, so fond of beauty and music, so good and gentle. Of course such
anomalies occur in nature sometimes. For example, lovely flowers blossoms out of cow-
dung, sweet vegetable out up from the night soil, and many saints are also born of most
wicked parents. Jessica, the daughter of the Jew Shylock, falls in love with a Christian young
man by the name of Lorenzo who is one of Antonio’s and Bassanio’s friends. Shylock
knows nothing about her love-affairs because Jessica has been keeping it a close secret.

She knows that her father hates the Christians fiercely and that he would never tolerate
the idea of her being in love with a Christian young man. At the same time, she feels a
dislike for her father for various reasons.
Enter Musicians
Come, ho! and wake Diana with a hymn!
With sweetest touches pierce your mistress' ear,
And draw her home with music.
Jessica is most unlike her father, Shylock. Jessica is impulsive, reckless, unfilial, treacherous
and even cruel. Of course every young woman when confined within the four walls of her
house, and when she is not allowed to have any communication with the outer world, and
when particularly she has no mother, no sister, no brother and none except a poor old
father, who is hatred by everybody in the world for many of his evil qualities is bound to
go mad, not to speak of being impulsive or reckless like Jessica. But then, when we
consider the father’s condition for how lonely Shylock is without his wife or without any of
his children except Jessica, we feel that it is most cruel on the part of his daughter to steal
away from home without his knowledge and permission. Being a Jewish girl, Jessica must
be a paragon of beauty; otherwise a Christian like Lorenzo would not have fallen in love
with her and eloped with her. Lorenzo remarks: “She is wise, if I can judge of her. And fair
she is, if hat mine eyes be true, And true she is, as she hath, proved.”- reveal her personal
charm and sweetness of soul. Even Portia who is far above Jessica in rank and culture, is
enamoured of her; otherwise she could not have entrusted the care of her house in her
hands during her absence from Belmont.
PORTIA, the most important character in the play. She is an heiress, and is in love with
Bassanio; but her father has devised a test with three caskets, and Portia must marry the
man who chooses the right casket. Portia is intelligent as well as beautiful; dressed as a
lawyer she goes to Venice and saves Antonio from being killed by Shylock. Her home is
Belmont, and the peace and harmony here contrast with the tense business world of
Venice. (Oxford Edition: Shakespeare)
He is well paid that is well satisfied;
And I, delivering you, am satisfied
And therein do account myself well paid:
My mind was never yet more mercenary.
I pray you, know me when we meet again:
I wish you well, and so I take my leave.
Shylock is a suspicious kind of man who is also very puritanical, therefore imposes all kinds
of restrictions on his daughter. Besides, he has never given any sign of any deep love or
affection for her. Finding no other way opened to her Jessica forms a plot to elope from

home in order to marry Lorenzo. She disguises herself as a boy on the night when a marked
procession of the Christians is to pass through the street in which Shylock’s house is
situated. She informs Lorenzo by a letter sent to him through Launcelot Gobbo, that she
would be slipping out of her father’s house in order to join him in the marked procession.
Everything goes well; and slipping out of the house she joins Lorenzo though at this time
she is feeling ashamed of her boy’s disguise. Before coming out of the house, she throws a
couple of bags full of money and precious stones. The two lovers soon afterwards leave
Venice in a gondola, and later go to Belmont to join Bassanio and Gratiano who are already
there. At Belmont they are entrusted by Portia with the charge of her house and property
because she herself is going away on a secret mission of her own in Nerissa’s company.
Towards the end of the play there is a beautiful moonlight scene in which Jessica and
Lorenzo speak to each other about some of the famous love-stories of ancient mythology,
connecting those stories with the beautiful moonlight night and with their own love- affair.
GRATIANO
Fair sir, you are well o'erta'en
My Lord Bassanio upon more advice
Hath sent you here this ring, and doth entreat
Your company at dinner.
“I am really been impressed to the thoughts of portraying such magnificent characters in a
most recriminated and magnanimous distinct ways. – My vision referred accord to the
original text.’’ (Rituparna Ray Chaudhuri.)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“Although generally considered a comedy, it has an underlying plot of considerable moral
dimension. The Merchant of Venice is one of Shakespeare’s most accessible plays. The
three main characters, Antonio the prosperous merchant, Shylock the reviled usurer and
the heiress Portia are portrayed in ways so untypical to Elizabethan norms that the play
has impressed the modern reader with its extraordinary relevance. Nothing is more
difficult than to pin a dramatist down to definite opinions and a definite point of view.
Belmont is not heaven, because there is much talk of marrying and giving in marriage, and
withal a roguish touch of Boccaccio now and again. Rather it is Elysium, a Renaissance
Elysium, a garden full of music under the soft Italian night, with a Gracious and stately
mansion in the background.” – Dr. S. Sen. (except a -few setting within the-quote.)
The Lorenzo- Jessica story has a great dramatic importance in the play. In the first place,
Jessica brings into bold relief Shylock’s miserliness, his suspicious nature, his unfatherly
attitude towards his own daughter, his mean stinginess, and his unusual greed for money.
Lorenzo on the other hand, brings out Shylock’s bitter feelings against the Christian

community. It is because of the elopement of a Jewish girl with a Christian and then, it is
because of the robbery of all the jewel. Of Shylock by the girl and her lover that make
Shylock furious against Antonio in particular and against the whole Christian community
in general. Shylock’s revenge against Antonio is intensified by the behaviour of Jessica and
Lorenzo, which indirectly further intensifies the tragic tension created by the bond in the
trial scene.
LAUNCELOT
' Well, my conscience,
hanging about the neck of my heart, says very wisely
to me 'My honest friend Launcelot, being an honest
man's son,' or rather an honest woman's son; for,
indeed, my father did something smack, something
grow to, he had a kind of taste; well, my conscience
says 'Launcelot, budge not.
The Lorenzo-Jessica story is closely connected with the Bond Story and the Caskets Story.
As already pointed out, Lorenzo is a friend of Bassanio, Gratiano and Antonio while Jessica
is the daughter of the Jew, Shylock. Antonio is the hero of the Bond Story. Bassanio is the
hero of the Caskets Story; and Shylock is the villain of the Bond Story. Besides, Portia
becomes quite fond of these lovers, and entrusts them with the charge of her property
during her absence from Belmont. The inter-linking of the three strands is therefore
obvious.
Last of all, both Lorenzo and Jessica serve as a foil to Bassanio and Portia. Had there been
no Lorenzo- Jessica story, much of the romance in the play would have been lost, although
the Casket-Story is a purely Romantic Story, and it should be considered as sufficient for
the purpose of contributing the element of romance to the play. But then, is not the
elopement more romantic than the choice of marriage by the caskets? Is not the escape of
Jessica from her father’s house and even the robbery of the jewels a much more thrilling
adventure of romance than the choice of the caskets by the various suitors of Portia? Then
again, could such a beautiful scene of music and love be possible at the end of the play
without Lorenzo and Jessica? As a matter of fact, the caskets story in spite of its music and
other elements of romance could not sufficiently counter balance the tragic atmosphere of
the play, particularly at the Trial- Scene.
Bankruptcy by itself does not go against a man and is no sign of any basic defect in his
character. Because many millionaires have been known to have become bankrupts as a
consequence of unexpected turns in fortune or unexpected losses. We cannot believe that a
merchant of outstanding reputation and prestige could not have raised an amount of
three-thousand ducats to repay the Jew after he has become a bankrupt. He can foresee the

expiry of the period of the bond but he makes no effort to obtain from any source the
money to repay the loan which he had taken from the Jew. Antonio never takes any
initiative in saving himself from the Jew’s clutches. Thus when we find that Shylock
complains bitterly about the degrading treatment to which he is consistently subjected by
Antonio, we can scarcely believe our ears, and it is only when Antonio, comes on the scene
again and personally confirms all that Shylock has said, that we realize that there is another
side also of Antonio’s character. There was a specific reason for Antonio to subject the Jews
to a cruel species of mental persecution, but he seems to enjoy a sinister pre-eminence
among the Christians of Venice in the pastime of Jew baiting. Antonio’s conduct on his part
would be absolutely inexplicable if we did not soon discover that his feeling did not run
high against the Jews in general so much as against Shylock personally. His hatred of Jew is
not merely a matter of racial and religious prejudice. It proceeds from a constitutional
inability to tolerate the moral self-sufficiency of a man who under cover of religious
sanction, oppresses the poor. Thus Antonio’s persecution of the Jew may be paradoxically
regarded as an inverse expression of his noble generousity of temperament.
NERISSA
The ancient saying is no heresy,
Hanging and wiving goes by destiny.
PORTIA
Come, draw the curtain, Nerissa.
With all his fine qualities Antonio is a man who wins our respect and admiration. But of,
according to some critics there are some- deficiency in his character. His religious or racial
intolerance somewhat lowers him in our estimation. In fact Antonio goes beyond the limits
when he insults and degrades Shylock. He tells Shylock that he wants a loan from him not
as friend but as an enemy. There was certainly a general prejudice against the Jews in
those days but it cannot be expected or admitted that a nice person like Antonio even is not
free from this type of prejudice. Moreover, we find Antonio a melancholy man, he is unable
to laugh and is certainly incapable of cutting a joke. Being a serious-minded man he is also
unable to enjoy such merry making as torch-light, masked processions in which Lorenzo
and others take great pleasures. It also seems that he is indifferent of falling in love. When
at the outset it is suggested that he may be feeling melancholy because he is in love, he
promptly rejects thus the suggestion saying ,’Fie, fie!” melancholy is natural handicap, this
cannot really be called a fault. His real fault is his religious fanaticism. At the end of the
Trial Scene he demands that Shylock should become a Christian.
Antonio, the protagonist of Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice is a man of almost
unlimited kindness and generousity. In spite of his being cast down by an overpowering
melancholy, he patiently endures all the merely inquisitive cross- questioning of people of

the type of Salerio and Solanio and their ill-timed jesting at his expense. From the
beginning to the end of the play, we find Antonio asserting his personality nowhere except
while seeking a loan for his friend Bassanio. In the beginning of the play Antonio talks of
his sadness in such a manner that one feels that he is constitutionally weak or diseased and
possesses no personality, no back-bone, no independence of any kind in thought, feeling or
action. Thus he creates an unfavourable impression from the very beginning.
Gold: Who chooseth me shall gain what many men desire.
Silver: who chooseth me shall get as much as he deserves.
Lead: who chooseth me must give and hazard all he hath.
This attitude on character like Antonio who has been portrayed by Shakespeare an ideal in
all respects, constitutes a serious flaw in his character. Besides, he is too stoical and lacks
the will to fight for his survival. This is another flaw in his character. Moreover he is too
passive to take any active part. He hardly does anything except signing a bond which
almost proves fatal to him. The dynamic character which is expected from the hero of a
play is totally absent in his character. Antonio has some tendency or attitude to be
indifferent even in the moments of crisis. This is due to undue self-confidence which is not
strength but weakness in man. When Bassanio repeatedly warns Antonio not to execute the
bond of Shylock with a pound of flesh from his breast as the forfeiture, Antonio not only
signs the bond but also assures Bassanio. On another occasions previous to the discussion
when, Salarino says Antonio is sad because he has sent out to sea all his merchant ships,
Antonio was quite boastful in his reply.
PORTIA
Away, then! I am lock'd in one of them:
If you do love me, you will find me out.
Nerissa and the rest, stand all aloof.
Let music sound while he doth make his choice;
Then, if he lose, he makes a swan-like end,
Fading in music: that the comparison
May stand more proper, my eye shall be the stream
And watery death-bed for him.
Prejudice is the subject of the short episode in Belmont, where we see Portia’s reception of
the Prince of Morocco. The prince’s appearance shows that he is an exotic figure: a note,
probably written by Shakespeare himself, describes him as –a tawny [brown] Moor, all in
white- His first speech reinforces our sense that he is excitingly different from the
Europeans that we have seen so far, but it does not change Portia’s mind. She is polite, but
we understand, better than Morocco can, what she means when she tells him that, in her

eyes, he is -as fair As any comer I have looke’d on yet- We have heard what Portia thought
of her other suitors. The Prince’s reply to this ambiguous remark does not encourage our
good opinion of him. He boasts of his own valour and achievements in very exaggerated
language, and so loses some of our sympathy.
Again his capacity to hate is evident in the manner in which he has been treating Shylock.
He has been hating Shylock because Shylock is a Jew but even more Shylock is a usurer. He
has been calling Shylock a cut-throat dog, and defaming him and spitting on his Gaberdine.
At the very moment that he is seeking a loan from the Jew, he says that he would treat the
Jew in the same manner in the future in which he has been treating him in the past. Thus
Antonio not only hates Shylock but hates him fiercely.
It is then clear that Antonio does not have the strength or energy to do anything to save
himself from the clutches of Jew Shylock when he finds himself in the Jew’s grip.
Antonio in the course of the play, certainly becomes bankrupt. He proves himself to be a
true friend of Bassanio. He is ready to lend money to Bassanio without the least hesitation
and having no cash in hand, he authorizes Bassanio to take a loan from somebody else in
his name. While bidding farewell to Bassanio when the latter is leaving for Belmont,
Antonio is moved almost to tears. As a result when he has become a bankrupt, he sends the
message to Bassanio not to cut short his say at Belmont for his sake. He says in the Trial
scene to Bassanio “Grieve not that I am fallen to this for you.” From the very beginning of
the play we find Antonio as a true friend to Bassanio and ready to sacrifice his all for his
welfare. He is equally tolerant of Gratiano’s rather futile attempt at rousing his spirits by
indulging in a humerously satirical description of people who maintain an enforced silence
in order thereby to purchase for themselves the high opinion of the world. But of, it is
when he left alone with Bassanio that we realize the extent of human love and devotion of
which he is capable. His pursue, his person, and his extremest means are unreservedly
placed at Bassanio’s disposal in order that Bassanio might make his speculative love-
pilgrimage to Belmont. He gives no thought whatsoever to the money that Bassanio
already owe him. He feels impelled to watch Bassanio’s second undertaking more carefully,
not that he will be in a position either to return all that he owes or at least repay the second
loan; these are absolutely beside the point. It is his view that Bassanio must be supplied
the amount of money that he needs and it is quite irrelevant to him whether he gets the
money back or not.
Antonio wins our respect and admiration because of his fine qualities, yet he also suffers
from a serious defect. As a Christian he shows intolerance towards the Jews. He hates
Shylock because Shylock is a usurer and even more because Shylock is a Jew. This religious
or racial intolerance on his part somewhat lowers him in our estimation. In fact, Antonio
goes out of his way to insult and degrade Shylock. On many occasions he has abused

Shylock and even spit on his clothes. His reason for thus treating Shylock is that Shylock is a
usurer and a Jew. And even when he is asking Shylock for a loan, he says that in future also
he would abuse him and spit on him.
“When the tide turns, it is a long time before anything like seriousness builds on these
earlier preparations. Just as the matters of happy omen followed each other as in some
conspiracy with fortune, the reverses come in unhindered succession, ill fortune following
ill fortune until nothing is left. Here as before the fantastic improbabilities determine the
nature of our involvement in the action. Now as always almost nothing depends on the
springs of character, but it all happens according to conventions of the folk-variety. “– John
Athos: The Turning of the Tide.
Thus his strong capacity to love and hate is revealed through his character. His capacity of
love becomes clear to us when he gets ready to lend money to Bassanio for the second time
and is prepared even to borrow money from a professional money lender in order to meet
the financial needs of his friend. Salerio and Solanio bear witness to Antonio’s deep
friendship for Bassanio when they say that he loves the world only for Bassanio’s sake.
PORTIA
In terms of choice I am not solely led
By nice direction of a maiden's eyes;
Besides, the lottery of my destiny
Bars me the right of voluntary choosing:
He doesnot have the heart of a worm. He has the heart of a decent human being. The faults
and the flaws of Antonio’s character are evident to us even on a superficial view. He is by
nature a sad man. Although his melancholy here seems to have been of a recent origin, yet
subsequently we find that it is a permanent trait of his character. In the Trial Scene we find
that it is deeply embedded in his nature. In this scene he specifically says to Bassanio that
he is a trained sheep of the flock, “meetest for death”. Through an unfortunate
concentration of circumstances the signing of the bond, the elopement of Jessica, and the
reported loss of his ships- Antonio is like a sheep ready for slaughter and ready to be
sacrificed to appease the wrath and to restore the outraged dignity of the Jew.
“The Second Act begins with most stilted of Portia’s suitors undertaking what turns out to
be a fatal choice. He is stiff and formalized as the most pageant-like story could desire. We
are still in the midst of the contrived and the artificial, and now also there is the openly
grotesque-in the casket he chooses a skull that stares at him. And now the other suitors
follow in procession until finally there is the right and happy choice.” – John Arthos, The
Lottery.

It is precisely on this account that we cannot with-hold our sympathies from Antonio and
that, in the Trial Scene, we follow his fortunes with much more concern than we do those of
Shylock. We know that it cannot be merely because of the abuse he had at one time heaped
on the Jew’s head that Shylock is now immovable in his demand for the pound of flesh., and
we feel therefore, that Antonio is being called upon to pay for somebody else’s sins. There,
is however, an important circumstance which we must take into account and which, when
duly considered, will enable us to realize that the sympathy which is drawn to Antonio,
when the Jew persists in his demand for the pound of flesh, is not misplaced. Once the
Jew consents to lend the money that Bassanio requires, Antonio’s attitude towards him
undergoes a change. He speaks appreciatively of Shylock’s kindness and refuses to see that
there is any sinister intention in Shylock’s proposing in a merry sport the inclusion in the
bond of the terms pertaining to the pound of flesh. When, therefore, Jessica elopes with a
Christian and thereby inflames the Jew’s worst passions, we must regard the circumstance
as a most unfortunate one for Antonio especially, as he had no act or part in it, that
Shylock’s vengeance falls on his devoted head is due very; largely to the fact that it is he and
he alone among the Christian friends of Lorenzo whom the Jew has it in his power to injure
at the time.
MOROCCO
Even for that I thank you:
Therefore, I pray you, lead me to the caskets
To try my fortune.
Launcelot Gobbo amuses us considerably by describing the conflict in his mind between his
desire to quit Shylock’s service and his sense of duty which requires him to continue
serving Shylock. This conflict according to him is one which takes place between his
conscience and the fiend. His befooling of his aged, blind father is an example of farcical
humour. But of, Launcelot is capable also of making witty remarks. For instance, he says
that if all the Jews turn Christians, the price of hogs would rise greatly and it would become
difficult to get a slice of bacon at any price in Venice. Launcelot sometimes plays on words
to make jokes, and it is for this that Lorenzo calls him a “wit snapper”. The whole scene of
Launcelot Gobbo and his father produces in the audience reeling laughter. But of, Gratiano
is perfectly decent in his witty remarks at the court scene although some of his words are
ironical; and sarcastic and cannot be strictly called humours. Because of the warnings of
Bassanio before going to Belmont, Gratiano probably puts sufficient reins to his tongue,
otherwise probably he would have also descended to the same level of vulgarity in his
jokes as Launcelot descends throughout the play.
ANTONIO
Mark you this, Bassanio,
The devil can cite Scripture for his purpose.

An evil soul producing holy witness
Is like a villain with a smiling cheek,
A goodly apple rotten at the heart:
O, what a goodly outside falsehood hath!
The term “humour” is a wider one in its scope than the word “wit”. Wit involves the use of
words, and it has an intellectual quality. Humours may be found not only in words and
remarks but also in situations and therefore not to be intellectual. The term humour
includes wit, though wit is a specialized form of humour. Wit is sometimes expressed in
the form of satire and ridicule. Then there is irony which may be used for comic purposes.
Comic irony may be found in words and remarks and also in situations. Farce is an
extravagant, exaggerated, and even crude form of humour. All these kinds of humour and
wit are to be found in The Merchant of Venice in a considerable measure. The comic
elements in The Merchant of Venice include the humour provided by Launcelot Gobbo and
the witty remarks made by Portia and Gratiano.
This sense of security makes him totally unguarded. But of, his parting words to Bassanio
bring out the warmest heart of Antonio for Bassanio. Just before he bids Bassanio farewell
he speaks a few words which also bring out his sincerest love for Bassanio. It is remarkable
when Antonio says to Bassanio, ‘you cannot better be employed, Bassanio , than to live still,
and write mine epitaph.’ How many people in this world can utter such words as Antonio
speaks just at the moment when he is leaving the world! Is it not sufficient proof of
Antonio’s ideal love and friendship for Bassanio that surpasses all the deficiency in his
character?
SHYLOCK
Three thousand ducats; 'tis a good round sum.
Three months from twelve; then, let me see; the rate—
As a matter of fact except the Trial-Scene every other scene contributes to the comedy of
the whole story. But for, some critics have pointed out that even the caskets story verges on
a tragedy because of the great suspense and anxiety to which everyone of the suitors is
subjected while making the selection of the caskets. It is the Ring-Episode alone that can be
considered as contributing the real comic element to the play because it helps to reduce the
traffic gloom and sadness generated in the Court- Scene by the bond. Had there been no
ring episode, we are sure that nothing could have saved the play from being a tragedy.
Even the Lorenzo-Jessica Story adds to the gloom of the Bond-Story.
PORTIA
You must take your chance,
And either not attempt to choose at all

Or swear before you choose, if you choose wrong
Never to speak to lady afterward
In way of marriage: therefore be advised.
Launcelot Gobbo amuses us considerably by describing the conflict in his mind between his
desire to quit Shylock’s service and his sense of duty which requires him to continue
serving Shylock. This conflict according to him is one which takes place between his
conscience and the fund. His befooling of his aged, blind father is an example of farcical
humour. But of, Launcelot Gobbo is capable also of making witty remarks. For instance he
says if all the Jews turn Christian the price of hogs would rise greatly and it would become
difficult to get a slice of bacon at any price in Venice. Launcelot sometimes plays on words
to make jokes, and it is for this reason that Lorenzo calls him a “wit snapper.”
We find ample proof of Portia’s brilliant intellect at least on two occasions in the play. We
notice her psychological insight into human character, particularly, when she expresses her
opinion about some of her suitors, and is particularly witty and ironical. It is noteworthy
what she says about the Neapolitan Prince, ‘Ay that’s a colt indeed, for he doth nothing but
talk of his horse; and he makes it a great appropriation to his own good parts that he can
show himself’. She speaks in the most sarcastic tone when she describes the Scottish
Lord, that he hath a neighbourly charity in him; for he borrowed a box of the ear of the
Englishmen, and swore he would pay him again when he was able; I think, the Frenchman
became his surety , and sealed under for another.
“Personally, talking while on the other side, the present didactic drama, there I have a risen
apathy on the character of Shylock! I feel it no way should be taught that William
Shakespeare throughout, has an intension to discriminate between a Christian and a Jew. A
silent play as I motivate upon, where has shown particular-destiny of any a human being,
his psycho-pattern and feelings in the institutional-society, a cobweb of human relations,
its impacts and so on such consequences as a result of what the man faces ,whether of good
or bitter. I therefore on regard to the play, put it to prove that indeed the whole drama is A
Romantic Comedy.”
Rituparna Ray Chaudhuri
Then again we find sufficient proof of Portia’s brilliant intellect in the Trial-Scene. Mrs.
Janeson compares Portia with Rosalind, Beatrice and other heroines of Shakespeare who
belong strictly to the intellectual type. Nobody probably not even Dr. Bellario, could have
pleaded Antonio’s case in the court as successfully as Portia has done. It is also remarkable
how Portia like all intelligent lawyers defends Shylock by assuring him that the bond and
its terms are perfectly valid according to law, and that he warns Antonio in the open
court that he shall to pay as forfeiture of the bond to Shylock a pound of flesh from nearest

his heart. Portia further encourages Shylock by making an appeal to him for mercy. Lastly
she requests Shylock to get a surgeon nearby so that when the flesh would be cut out from
Antonio’s breast he may not bleed death. But of, Shylock feeling too sure of his strong legal
position does not listen to any request of Portia, little suspecting that Portia has other
weapons in her armoury to upturn all the favourable points of law against Shylock. Portia
drives Shylock slowly into a corner where only the letter of law and not its essence is
honoured; naturally Portia all of a sudden , turns the tables against Shylock and tells him
that he can surely cut out a pound of flesh from Antonio’s breast but if he cuts off the flesh
even by a grain more or less or if he sheds a single drop of blood, because these two things
are not in the bond as there is no mention of any surgeon, he will have to pay his own life
as penalty for violating the terms of the bond. Shylock is completely outwitted and is at
the mercy of the Duke. That is how Portia displays her sharpest intelligence, her quickest
presence of mind and her wonderful power of using quibbles of law to the best advantage
of her client as all shrewd lawyers do.
ANTONIO
Therefore, go:
These griefs and losses have so bated me,
That I shall hardly spare a pound of flesh
To-morrow to my bloody creditor.
Well, gaoler, on. Pray God, Bassanio come
To see me pay his debt, and then I care not!
According to a critic, Gratiano keeps up the ball of mirth and good humour by his agreeably
talk. He describes in a satirical manner the kind of man who pretends to be wise by
maintaining a deliberate silence: “I am Sir Oracle, and when I ope my lips, let no dogs bark.”
Gratiano’s promise to Bassanio to observe decorum, and not to talk too much at Belmont is
another example of his witty manner of speaking. In the Trial Scene, Gratiano’s wit takes
the form of a parody of Shylock’s praise of the judge in the course of the proceedings in
Shylock’s cause against Antonio. Here Gratiano repeats or echoes Shylock’s remark with
devastating effect: “A Daniel! A Daniel come to judgement! Thank you, Jew, for teaching me
that word!” Wit of Gratiano expressed here becomes bitter and almost fierce.
ANTONIO
Let him alone:
I'll follow him no more with bootless prayers.
He seeks my life; his reason well I know:
I oft deliver'd from his forfeitures
Many that have at times made moan to me;
Therefore he hates me.

The Ring-Episode is wholly comic. It contributes the greatest fun to the play. The fun which
is available from the Launcelot-Gobbo scene is no better than buffoonery and this kind of
fun can be enjoyed only by groundlings or the lowest class of the audience, whereas the
fun of the Ring-episode can be enjoyed by the decent section of the audience because it
has more of decent humour than of buffoonery or vulgar humour like the trick or disguise
, the exchange and presentation of rings is an interesting device to delight the audience
particularly at the end of the play. Portia and Nerissa take their husbands to task for
having given away the rings which they had sworn never to part with. The husbands try to
convince the two wives that they had given the rings to the judge and to the judge’s clerk
respectively, but the wives refuse to believe the husbands-version of the fact.
Shylock is regarded as the sternest, the crudest, the most reserve character in the whole
play, and yet the readers can find some comic element in him. Shylock is so self-centered
and self-conscious that he is not even aware when he excites laughter in the audience by
his unguarded words, gestures and behavior. It is particularly in his moments of
discomfiture that Shylock is most unguarded and when we are tempted to laugh at his
expense. When Launcelot leaves Shylock’s service and goes to Antonio, Shylock says to him
that he shall have no occasion to eat like a pig or sleep like a wild cat or tear off his clothes
by constantly rolling in bed, every syllable of his words excites laughter in us. Then again
when he goes to attend the dinner at Bassanio’s place, he says that he is not going there out
of any love but out of hatred, and only to feed upon the extravagant Christian so that he
may be ruined, we are tempted to laugh because the very idea of running a man of
Bassanio’s position by eating only one dinner at his place is really absurd. Then again we
recollect the words of Shylock which he had spoken to Antonio formerly that he would do
everything with a Christian but not dine with him or pray with him in the same church, we
begin to laugh in ourselves.
We cannot really resist our laughter when Shylock is in fits of anger against Jessica and of
his hatred for Lorenzo being a Christian, and also when his acute grief due to the loss of his
gold and jewels bursts out.
SHYLOCK
Signior Antonio, many a time and oft
In the Rialto you have rated me
About my moneys and my usances:
Still have I borne it with a patient shrug,
For sufferance is the badge of all our tribe.
In the Court Scene also Shylock arouses laughter when he appreciates the legal wisdom of
Portia and says, ‘A Daniel has come to judgment, a Daniel’. A survey of Portia’s character

will help us to enjoy her portrayal as drawn by Shakespeare and provide entertainment to
the readers as well as the spectators. But in, while Portia’s role is passive in the first part of
the play, enough is revealed of her in her conversation in this part of the play, to excile our
interest in her and to make her an object of admiration. There cannot be any doubt about
the personal charms of Portia because otherwise so many suitors would not have come
from different countries of the world for winning her as their bride. The Prince of Morocco
not being a cultured man, must have been impressed by the bodily charms of Portia; he had
probably no idea of Portia’s intellectual charms which we shall notice particularly in the
Trial Scene. Even Bassanio, who is himself a handsome person and with whom Portia falls
in love before his choosing of the caskets, remarks about her personal charms just after
discovering Portia’s portrait in the leaden caskets.
In Twelfth Night, Viola boldly assumes the direction of her own affairs almost from the very
moment that she is introduced to us. But of, it is only when the climax of the play is reached
with Bassanio’s successful choice of the lead casket that Portia seems to come into her own.
There is irony in the situation in which Portia appears in the Venetian court in the disguise
of a man wearing a lawyer’s clothes. The audience in the theatre knows that the judge is a
woman and Bassanio’s wife. But of, nobody in the court not even Bassanio knows the
judge’s real identity. It is in this male disguise that Portia manages to get her ring from
Bassanio. Nerissa follows her mistress in getting her rig from Gratiano. The very disguise
adopted by the two women and everybody else’ ignorance of their real identity give rise to
comic irony which is very amusing.
When the play The Merchant of Venice is mentioned anywhere, people think of two
persons namely Shylock and Portia; and these two persons are inseparable from each other
in our minds because we remember Shylock chiefly as a villain wanting to take the life of
his enemy, Antonio’s and we think of Portia as the person who defeats Shylock’s evil
design. Portia occupies a high position among the heroines created by Shakespeare. She
produces a powerful impression on our minds with her personal charms, brilliant, intellect,
sense of humour, and sparkling wit, her modesty, humility and feminity, generous
disposition, her self-confidence and sense of duty and honour. Above all, she has a true
concept of love as consisting in an ardous desire to seek and promote the happiness of all
around her. She differs from the other heroines of Shakespearian comedy. Rosalind in As
You Like It takes her fortune into her own hands from the time that she is banished from
his court by the usurping Duke.
Again we find sufficient proof of Portia’s brilliant in the Trial Scene. Mrs. Jameson compares
Portia with Rosalind, Beatrice and other heroines of Shakespeare who belong strictly to the
intellectual type. Nobody probably not even Dr. Bellario could have pleaded Antonio’s case
in the court as successfully as Portia has done. Portia, like all intellectual lawyers defend
Shylock by assuring him that the bond and its terms are perfectly valid according to law,

and that he warns Antonio in the open court s that he shall have to pay as forfeiture of the
bond to Shylock a pound of flesh from nearest his heart. Portia further encourages
Shylock by making an appeal to him for mercy. Lastly she requests Shylock to get a
surgeon nearby so that when the flesh would be cut out from Antonio’s breast he may not
bleed to death. But of, Shylock feeling too sure of his strong legal position does not listen
to any request of Portia, little suspecting that Portia has other weapons in her armoury
to upturn all favourable points of law against Shylock. Portia drives Shylock slowly into
n a corner where only the letter of law and not its essence is honored; naturally Portia all
of a sudden turns the tables against Shylock and tells him that he can surely cut out a
pound of flesh from Antonio’s breast but if he cuts the flesh even by grain more or less,
or if he sheds single drop of blood, because these two things , are not in the bond as there
is no mention of any surgeon he will have to pay his own life as penalty for violating the
terms of the bond. Shylock is completely outwitted and is at the mercy of the Duke. That is
how Portia displays her sharpest intelligence, her quickest presence of mind and her
wonderful power of using quibbles of law to the best advantage of her client as all shrewd
lawyers do.
It is only Shylock in the whole play who can match Portia in her strength of character, in
her determination, in her courage, in her self-reliance and in her sharp intelligence, in her
ready mind and in all other mainly qualities. But of, then even Shylock is completely
defeated by her in the open court. When Portia gets the news of Antonio’s misfortune she at
once sends Bassanio with money to Venice and she too prepares herself to defend Antonio.
In the court against Shylock. How quickly she decides and also acts accordingly. All this is
nothing but a positive proof of her readiness of mind, her firmness in resolve and her self-
confidence; otherwise no other in the world could have performed all these tasks and the
manner in which Portia defends Antonio and saves him finally from the clutches of
Shylock or rather from the jaws of death is indeed marvelous.
Shylock, who considers money as God, at first expresses his unwillingness to lend any
money to Bassanio in Antonio’s name on the ground that Antonio has always ill-treated
him and always defamed him. Antonio, who happens to join his friend Bassanio at this
time, tells Shylock that in future also he would treat him in the same manner and would
still spurn him and spit on him. Shylock then changes his tune and says that he wants to
befriend Antonio while Antonio is unduly losing his temper. Shylock agrees to lend the
required amount of three thousand ducats to Antonio if Antonio signs a bond containing
the condition that, in the event of Antonio signs a bond containing the condition that, in the
event of Antonio failing to repay the loan within a period of three months, Shylock would
be entitled to cut off a pound of flesh from nearest Antonio’s heart. Shylock says that this
dangerous clause about the pound of flesh is intended by him merely as a joke. All his talk
about putting in the condition “in a merry sport” was merely intended to deceive. But at, it

is another matter if by this he meant more than to ensure that he would have respite from
Antonio’s mental persecution of himself during the period that the bond was current. It is
the elopement of his daughter Jessica with Lorenzo, the Christian friend of Antonio, which
inflames his worst passion of hatred and vindictiveness to such an extent that when the
opportunity, offers to wreck a terrible revenge on the Christian in the person of Antonio, he
is determined to take it. Bassanio opposes the proposed bond which seems dangerous to
him , but Antonio signs the bond, telling Bassanio that his ships would soon return, and
that he would then be in a position to repay the loan much before the expiry period of
three months.
“Aspects of Shylock’s Personality: In spite of his negative attributes, Shylock is not a totally
black character. He has some redeeming traits of character. Firstly, his revengeful attitude
is the result of the insults hurled upon him by Antonio. The betrayal by his daughter, who
elopes with Lorenzo and takes along with her money and jewels, further invokes his fury
against Antonio. Secondly, he shows his intellectual strength by the force of his arguments.
He is outwitted in the Trial Scene by Portia only by a legal quibble. Thirdly, Shylock has
tender memories of his dead wife, Leah. He feels shocked to know that his daughter gave
away his dead wife’s ring for a monkey. Fourthly, he speaks eloquently and convincingly of
the injustices suffered by the Jews. Fifthly, he arouses sympathy for the suffering he has
undergone. He bears all the insults and humiliation because of his Jewish race. The betrayal
of his daughter also evokes sympathy for him.
Thus, Shylock emerges as a powerful character, who inspite of his hateful nature, wins
sympathy of the audience.” – (Workbook of the Drama)
“My pictorial visions of the theatrical performance dazzle in front of my eyes. I need to play
different roles. Here I mean, my Teaching on the wooden-stage is also I am learning.
Whether it is Macbeth, or As you Like it or The Merchant of Venice, I return myself partially
on the then Elizabethan playhouse with the original text in my hand; to enhance the climax
along with beauties of thoughts to my audience, i.e. my students through my dialogues, my
lectures.”-
Rituparna Ray Chaudhuri.
ANTONIO
Mark you this, Bassanio,
The devil can cite Scripture for his purpose.
An evil soul producing holy witness
Is like a villain with a smiling cheek,
A goodly apple rotten at the heart:
O, what a goodly outside falsehood hath!

SHAKESPEARE'S A FAMOUS COMEDY,THE MERCHANT OF VENICE CAPTIVATED MY MIND 'WHO IS THE REAL MERCHANT TO THE PLAY':RESPECT ALL VIEWS - CRITICISMS, MY WAY OF UNDERSTANDING METAPHOR OF THE PLAY BEGINS IN A TEMPEST TOO - SO CALM-FURY, 'SO WINTRY, SO SPRING'- !

SHAKESPEARE'S A FAMOUS COMEDY,THE MERCHANT OF VENICE CAPTIVATED MY MIND 'WHO IS THE REAL MERCHANT TO THE PLAY':RESPECT ALL VIEWS - CRITICISMS, MY WAY OF UNDERSTANDING METAPHOR OF THE PLAY BEGINS IN A TEMPEST TOO - SO CALM-FURY, 'SO WINTRY, SO SPRING'- !

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SHAKESPEARE'S A FAMOUS COMEDY,THE MERCHANT OF VENICE CAPTIVATED MY MIND 'WHO IS THE REAL MERCHANT TO THE PLAY':RESPECT ALL VIEWS - CRITICISMS, MY WAY OF UNDERSTANDING METAPHOR OF THE PLAY BEGINS IN A TEMPEST TOO - SO CALM-FURY, 'SO WINTRY, SO SPRING'- !