The Merchant of Venice is shows the dynamics of love and to what extent humans will go to show love, they will use their wealth and even be prepared to give up their life for the people they love. Both Antonio and Portia love Bassanio differently. Portia perceives Antonio's phileo in competition with her eros, (both forms of love will be defined later) and throughout the play she is seen trying to defeat Antonio's phileo and she does this by subjugating Antonio, firstly with her wealth, she offers to pay of his debt toShylock three times more the amount he had bound himself, then she saves his life and finally teaching Bassanio that she can use her womanly powers to refuse him the consummating power in marriage, through the ring saga....show more content...
The other type of love is known as eros, it is what most people refer to when they announce with a smile, I'm in love. This type of love covers everything from queasy stomachs and warm fuzzy feelings to strong sensual passion" (A Short Handbook on Love) or in other words intimate romantic love. Eros is the love between Portia and Bassanio. The word love in this paper will be substituted by the words phileo and eros to emphasize the distinctions when addressing Antonio and Bassanio's love and the love between Portia and Antonio. Even though the love between Antonio and Bassanio and Bassanio are Portia are completely different, however they are in competition with each other.
Bassanio is aware of the depth of Antonio's phileo for him, and therefore exploits Antonio's love in exchange for money. The depth of Antonio's phileo is not superficial, it runs deep, which surface when he tells Bassanio "...if stand as you yourself still do/Within the eye of honour, be assur'd/My purse, my person. My extreme means/Lie all unlock'd to your occasion" (I.i.136–39). It is because of this phileo that Antonio goes into a bond with his Jewish enemy Shylock who return for this favor Shylock demands a pound of flesh should he default the loan agreement. In Love and Likeness Walter F Eggers Jr. writes that ..."Antonio has to enlist Shylocks help to make his generosity to Bassanio possible. For the first time in the play, friendship is seen
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Mercy v. Justice– Old Testament v. New Testament
While the conflict between justice and mercy plays a key role in determining the outcome of The Merchant of Venice, this conflict is even more important because it provides a setting for the contrast between the rigid law and rules of the Old Testamentand the concepts of mercy and forgiveness as taught by Christ in the New Testament. It is in the climactic trial scene that The Duke, hoping Shylock will excuse Antonio's penalty, asks him, "How shall thou hope for mercy rend'ring none?" He is referring to expectations of judgment in the afterlife. However, so is Shylock, when he counters, "What judgment shall I dread doing no wrong?" This exchange perfectly presents this conflict between...show more content...
Shylock, for his part, has indeed become fierce in his desire to extract vengeance by forcing the death of Antonio. The trial scene is constructed from a Christian perspective, and it highlights the dichotomy of Old Testament legalism as opposed to the New Testament gospel of grace and forgiveness. The Duke, Bassanio and finally Portia, all plead with Shylock to show mercy, but Shylock's hate has made him immune to reason, as he is totally absorbed by a passion for revenge.
The Merchant of Venicedraws upon laws and rules of Venice and those stipulated in contracts and wills. Two things are emphasized when the trial begins. Firstly, it is clear that Shylock will not show any mercy and relinquish his right to a pound of Antonio's flesh as stipulated in the bond, and secondly, that Shylock has the rule of law on his side. Antonio himself says, "The Duke cannot deny the course of law: For the commoditie that strangers have / With us in Venice, if it be denied, Will much impeach the justice of the State, Since that the trade and profit of the city / Consisteth of all Nations." Shylock demands the strict interpretation of those laws, and seeks justice in its most severe and uncompromised form. He demands Antonio's death for forfeiting his bond. "The pound of flesh which I demand of him / Is dearly bought, 'tis mine and I will have it".
In response to Shylock's Old Testament cry for bloody justice Portia answers with a speech that rivals
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In the comedy, The Merchant of Venice, the roles and responsibilities of women is a significant social issue proposed by Shakespeare. This theme is communicated by the only three female characters in the play: Nerissa, Portia and Jessica. For example, in Act 4 during the trial between Antonio and Shylock, Portia and Nerissa disguise themselves as Balthasar and Bellario to free their friend. However, Jessica also plays a minor role in portraying the independence of Jewish women in a Christian and Elizabethan society, by successfully betraying her father, Shylock. These characters portray Shakespeare's overall opinion on women, as well as a modern audience's view on Elizabethan society in many significant ways by accentuating themes, ideas...show more content...
The audience, as well as Bassanio, view Portia as a beautiful, immaculate, aristocratic and "fair" lady. However after Act 5, Portia is nothing, but prejudicial and bigoted, as she is the cause of Shylock's demise and claims that she used "my [her] body" to punish Bassanio for abusing her gift of love: the ring. This is ironic, because Portia infringes her relationship with Bassanio by inferring she has committed an affair, even though she herself accuses him of abusing her love and power by losing the ring. This implies that relationships in Elizabethan society were corrupt and fake, which allowed many women in particular to commit religious crimes against their husbands. Furthermore, Shakespeare additionally uses the theme of deception to convey that women are superior to men. This seen when Portia tells Nerissa that "I [she] have work in hand/ That you yet know of. We'll see our husbands/Before they think of us" (3.4), as she wants to help Bassanio and Gratiano save Antonio's life by disguising. In general, many Elizabethan playwrights such as Twelfth Night and The Merry Wives of Windsor, allow the audience to understand the fact that the position of women was such, so that they could not become "active" (3.4) in society. By Portia and Nerissa dressing up as Balthasar and Bellario, this would give them temporary masculinity and so, the ability to do things that normal social codes would not, Get more content
William Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice is one of his most controversial plays for a variety of reasons. Written in sixteenth–century England, where anti–Semitism was common and the presence of Jews was not, the play poses many questions concerning racial, religious and human difference. The play is especially tricky to examine in today's society, as its anti–Semitic themes and language can be uncomfortable to face in a world post–Holocaust. Additionally, the depiction of the relationship betweenJews and Christians, which has always been an ambivalent one, adds a very interesting albeit difficult dimension to this play. Ultimately, through dramatic plot and distinctive characters,The Merchant of Veniceexplores what it means to be...show more content...
One side of Shylock is preoccupied by money and crazed by revenge, while the other represents an old man who eventually loses everything near and dear to him, an outsider who is spit on by his Christian enemies and must put up with being called "misbeliever, cut–throat, [and] dog" (1.3.107).
Unlike other antagonists such as Don John in Much Ado About Nothing or Aaron in Titus Andronicus, Shylock does not explicitly name himself as a villain nor does he relish in his evil behaviour. He does indeed display villainous characteristics; very early on he admits in an aside that he hates Antonio "for he is a Christian" (1.3.37), and his obsession with revenge quickly grows out of control. But what is complicated about Shylock's "evil" is that it all seems to stem from the malevolence of the Christians. One cannot really blame him about being bitter for the times Antonio kicked him and spit "upon [his] beard" (1.3.113), or that his money lending business is damaged by Antonio's tendency to lend out "money gratis" (1.3.39). Even though the Christians in the play consider usury an evil practice, it is the only way that Shylock knows how to make a living, and it is understandable that he would be protective of his business. He shows his more tender side in scenes with daughter, especially in 2.4 as he leaves home and tells her to shut the door after her, because something firmly secured will remain safe; "Fast bind, fast find вЋЇ / A proverb never stale in thrifty mind"
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