The Merchant of Venice

Antonio is a generous, willing, loyal friend and an understanding devoted friend. He is willing to come to Bassanio's aid for what some might call a flimsy reason. As a businessman, he has all his...

Unlike the Prince of Morocco, who preceded him in the play, the Prince of Arragon has no introductory scene in which the audience has an opportunity to learn about his character and personality....

Shylock is one of Shakespeare's most memorable characters and can be viewed as both a victim and a villain in the play The Merchant of Venice. As a villain, Shylock is a heartless, cruel...

Act 2, scene 1 of The Merchant of Venice opens with Portia and the Prince of Morocco already in conversation. It appears that the Prince has been doing most of the talking, but Portia doesn't seem...

In Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice, the Prince of Arragon, who appears in only one scene in the play, is the second of Portia's suitors who submits to the casket test devised by Portia's...

The first of the three caskets is gold. The inscription on the outside reads: Who chooseth me shall gain what many men desire. On the inside is a skull with the following inscription: All that...

It is unclear exactly what mad Antonio sad. He himself does not know either. In sooth, I know not why I am so sad:It wearies me; you say it wearies you;But how I caught it, found it, or came by...

There are numerous allusions made throughout William Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice. The allusions made are meant to make the reader think about how the allusion makes a statement about what...

In act 3, scene 1, Solanio informs Salarino that there are rumors throughout the Rialto that confirm Antonio has lost a ship with expensive cargo in the English Channel on the Goodwin Sands, which...

Shylock is the antagonist of the play, who lends money to Antonio to finance Bassanio's trip to Belmont under the condition that he can exact a pound of flesh from Antonio if the loan is forfeited....

Antonio uses a metaphor, a comparison not using the words like or as, when he likens his sadness to an object or creature, stating, how I caught it, found it, or came by it,What stuff 'tis made...

In any religion or moral system, there is a tension between mercy and justice, since the former involves suspending or ignoring the latter. Shylock insists on strict justice. Long before the trial,...

Shylock makes the speech in Act three scene one of Merchant of Venice to defend his right to ask Antonio for a pound of his flesh. He claims, strongly, that Antonio has gone out of his way to ruin...

The ring in Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice has great significance between Portia and Bassanio because it is a symbol of their marriage. Portia gives Bassanio the ring along with her vows and...

As was mentioned in the previous post, Bassanio has squandered his money and asks Antonio for a loan in order to travel to Belmont to win Portia's hand in marriage. Portia is a wealthy heiress who...

Portia manages to save Antonio from Shylock collecting on his bond by disguising herself as a male doctor and cleverly finding a loophole in the law that prevents Shylock from harming Antonio....

Venice and Belmont are the two settings where the important events in the play occur. The significance of making them distinct settings in the play is to show how far Bassanio is in Venice from...

Lorenzo's plan is that Jessica should dress up as a boy and then be his torchbearer during a street festival. In this way, nobody would notice her and her camouflage would make others believe that...

The conflict between Antonio and Shylock arises partly from religion and partly from economic causes. Antonio wants to borrow money from Shylock, who is employed as a moneylender. While he needs...

The details of the bond signed between Antonio and Shylock are that Shylock will lend Antonio three thousand ducats for three months, and Antonio is bound to repay the loan. If Antonio fails to...

Portia is the hero of the The Merchant of Venice. Men create or get themselves into predicaments, but Portia steers them through them successfully. Her greatest triumph comes when she disguises...

A malapropism is defined as the erroneous use of a word in place of a similar sounding one. The result is often humorous or ironic. A good example is: 'The missionary was eaten by cannonballs,'...

The title of the play seems to refer specifically to Antonio, who is indeed the Venetian merchant of the story. This is odd, as Antonio is more of a secondary character, remaining offstage and...

Shylock accepts the dinner invitation because he wishes to strengthen his advantage over Antonio. He has just caught the Christian merchant at a disadvantage since Antonio had asked him for a loan....

Antonio and Bassanio are very close friends who have a great deal of loyalty to one another. They are both well-respected members of Venetian society. That being said, it is worth noting that their...

Portia is a wealthy, obedient heiress whose deceased father devised a lottery consisting of three caskets and several riddles to guarantee that she would marry a genuine, loving man. Initially,...

The test of the three caskets was set up by Portia’s late father as a way of deterring gold diggers and time wasters. The old man knew that his daughter, being both rich and good-looking, would...

In act IV, Portia initially attempts to influence Shylock to show Antonio mercy by telling Shylock he should overlook the forfeiture. Bassanio even agrees to pay Shylock three times the sum of the...

While in this politically correct contemporary time, much is made of Shylock's character, The Merchant of Venice is really Portia's play, a romantic comedy. This distinction is certainly evinced in...

Antonio is portrayed as a melancholy character from the outset of the play. In the first scene, Antonio's friends, Salarino and Solanio, insist that Antonio is upset and depressed about his ships....

The interaction between Lancelot and his father, Old Gobbo, in this scene, is based on a comic misunderstanding: Old Gobbo is nearly blind and does not even recognise his own son. Lancelot...

The passage in The Merchant of Venice is as follows: Now he goes With no less presence but with much more love Than young Alcides, when he did redeem The virgin tribute paid by howling Troy To...

Antonio helps Bassanio by allowing him to borrow money from Shylock in his own name. Anthony cannot just give Bassanio the money he needs, because all of his wealth is tied up with his merchant...

The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare approaches themes of friendship and loyalty in several different ways, some more obvious than others. Characters exemplify both loyalty and...

Portia was there to defend Antonio against Shylock's claim to a pound of his flesh for forfeiting on a bond which he had signed as a guarantee for the repayment of a loan in the amount of three...

As with the opening scene of every play ever written, the opening scene of Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice establishes "the world of the play." The scene introduces two of the major...

In The Merchant of Venice, Jessica runs away from her father Shylock in order to pursue a relationship with Lorenzo. Shylock and Jessica are Jewish and Lorenzo is Christian, so Shylock does not...

Bassanio needs three thousand ducats in order to travel to Belmont in hopes of wooing Portia. His close friend Antonio, a wealthy merchant, asks a Jewish moneylender named Shylock to loan him the...

In Act 3 Scene 2 Bassanio has to choose the right chest or lose Portia. He is struggling to pick the right chest. His love for Portia is real, and he can't imagine living without her. Bassanio has...

In act 3, scene 2, Bassanio chooses between three caskets in the hopes of picking the right casket that contains Portia's portrait. Fortunately, Bassanio is not deceived by false appearances and...

Portia, disguised as a doctor, cleverly manipulates the law to show that Shylock isn't entitled to spill any of Antonio's blood although he's entitled to Antonio's flesh. If he does, his land and...

It may seem strange that Shylock would accept a dinner invitation from Bassanio. After all, he turned down a similar invitation earlier on in the play. This was largely on religious grounds. As a...

While Portia does not seem to dislike the Prince of Morocco as she does the foolish Arragon, she certainly did not want to marry him. Her comment after he chooses the incorrect casket demonstrates...

The Merchant of Venice is a complex play with several subplots. However, the central story might be summarized as follows. Antonio is a wealthy member of Venice's ruling class of merchant princes....

Gratiano has just told Antonio that he does not look well and that he is much too serious. He tells him that those who care too much about the world tend to lose the little they have. He says that...

The relationship between Antonio and Shylock is contentious; Antonio is heroic, but Shylock is villainous. Certainly, they are rivals in their moneylending: Antonio is kind and generous while...