The Merchant of Venice
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The Merchant of Venice
Plot:
An impoverished young Venetian, Bassanio, is making
preparations to gain in marriage the hand of Portia, a
rich and beautiful heiress of Belmont .
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The Merchant of Venice
He asks his friend Antonio, a merchant of Venice , to
lend him the money necessary for the voyage to
Belmont , but Antonio's money is all invested in ships at
sea.
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The Merchant of Venice
To help Bassanio, he has to borrow
money from Shylock, the Jewish
usurer. Shylock, who has been insulted
by Antonio and other Christians,
agrees to lend the money. But Antonio
will sign a bond, providing that, if the
money is not repaid in time, he will
forfeit a pound of flesh.
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The Merchant of Venice
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The Merchant of Venice
Bassanio goes to Belmont and is accepted by Portia in
marriage. But news comes that Antonio's ships have all
been lost, he is penniless and will have to pay the pound of
flesh. The case is brought before the court, and Antonio is
in danger.
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The Merchant of Venice
A young doctor of law arrives at the court at this critical
moment. He first appeals to Shylock for mercy, but the
Jew insists on taking the pound of flesh, so that the
doctor lets him have it, but warns Shylock that he may
take his pound of flesh, but there is no mention of blood in
the bond; if he sheds a single drop of a Christian's blood,
he will be held guilty of breaking the bond, and his lands
and goods will be confiscated by the state according to
the law of Venice. Seeing himself thus cornered, Shylock
has no choice but to obey the verdict of the court.
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The Merchant of Venice
The young doctor of law who saves the life of Antonio is no other than Portia
in disguise! The play ends with jubilant celebration of the happy union of
several pairs of lovers.
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The Merchant of Venice
Theme:
Through the contradicts between Antonio and Shylock,
the play shows the conflict between friendship, love and
greed, cruelty. Shakespeare, as a humanist of the time,
praises the friendship between Antonio and Bassanio, the
love between Bassanio and Portia, idealizes Portia as a
heroine of beauty, wit and loyalty, and exposes Shylock's
greed and cruelty. Many people today tend to regard the
play as a satire of the Christians' hypocrisy and love, their
cunning ways of pursuing worldliness and their unreasoning
prejudice against Jews.
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The Merchant of Venice
Portia, the heroine of this comedy, is the most ideal woman
character ever created by Shakespeare. She is the
daughter of Renaissance who loves deeply and genuinely only
for her lover’s good quality and for love’s sake. She is
beautiful, prudent, cultured, courteous, courageous,
determined and very clever. She is brave enough to rise to
an emergency and clever and cultured enough to save her
husband’s friend from the evil plot of the most cunning and
wicked Jew Shylock with the wise interpretation of the
bond, which would otherwise kill Antonio. She embodies all
the elements of humanism, that is, love for this world and
happiness existing in human life. She gets happiness from
true love and true friendship and is ready to defend them
with her wit.
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The Merchant of Venice
And more important, she is very
independent. After hearing Antonio’s
misfortune, she rises to the emergency
instead of crying for men’s help. She
knows her ability and does better than all
the men in this play. In addition, she is
very optimistic. She keeps optimistic even
in the face of the most powerful enemy,
because she is very confident of her
intellect and ability. Through this heroine,
Shakespeare expresses his belief in
humanism and his confidence of the
victory of the rising bourgeoisie.
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The Merchant of Venice
The following excerpt is taken from the
famous court scene.
(From ACT IV Scene I . Venice. A court of justice) Enter
the DUKE, the MAGNIFICOES, ANTONIO,BASSANIO,
［SALERIO, ］ andGRATIANO ［ with others ］
DUKE
What1, is Antonio here?
ANTONIO
Ready, so please your grace.
Note: 1. What: Well, now
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The Merchant of Venice
DUKE
I am sorry for thee. Thou art come to answer2
A stony adversary, an inhuman wretch,
Uncapable3 of pity, void and empty
From any dram of mercy.
ANTONIO
I have heard
Your grace hath ta'en great pains to qualify4
His rigorous course5; but since he stands obdurate,
And that no lawful means can carry me
Out of his envy's6 reach, I do oppose
My patience to his fury, and am armed
To suffer with a quietness of spirit
The very tyranny and rage of his.
DUKE
Go one, and call the Jew into the court.
SALERIO
He is ready at the door; he comes, my lord.
Enter SHYLOCK.
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Notes:
2. answer: have
dealings with
3. Uncapable:
Incapable
4. qualify: limit
5. rigorous
course: severe
proceedings
6. envy: hatred
Selected reading
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