The Merchant Of Venice By Shakespeare

The Merchant of Venice offers many different perspectives from which it could be read. Should this play be read as a Tragedy because of Shylock’s expirience as a cultural outsider? Or should this be read as a comedy because of Portia’s movement from being a powerless women to a powerful woman? This play should ultimately be read as a problem play because of all the problems each of the characters experience: Portia vs. her dad’s tradition, Antonio vs.

his duplicity and depression, Shylock vs. Antonio, and Bassanio vs. his poverty, which all illustrate how Venice is meant for the cultural insiders.

Portia, the protagonist, is illustrated by Shakespeare as a “duplicitous heiress of Belmont.” Portia is in conflict with her father’s traditional power structures that shape her life without her consent. Whichever suitor chooses the right casket, of the three, is the one she has to marry. In the end, Bassanio, Portias true love, chooses the correct casket.

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Although she wants to choose, she will not say that aloud, but covers her real intentions with the appearances with adelity of her father to get what she wants. She uses people to gain power over the cultural outsiders through duplicity, but her true intentions were to gain more power and become independent from her father’s tradition. Portia knew how to play the game her father created but acted as if she knew nothing about it. Portia was formed from a powerless woman to a powerful woman through marriage and her fathers tradition.

Portia wasn’t the only one who faced conflicts throughout the play.

Antonio faced depresseion because his friends are duplicate, not truly his friends like they pretend to be. He is a merchant who loves his friend Bassanio. HIs love for Bassanio promps him to sign a contract from Skylock. The effect this has is, Antonio alomsts loses his life. Antonio is strongly disliked by the Jews and his ‘friend’ Shylock is a Jew. Antonio, asked to show mercy, makes Shylock suffer by forcing him to become a christian. This just shows that Antonio can conrol him and make him do whatever he wants. Antonio is willing to give up anything, any amount of money, any object, anything, to his friends because he is longing for an authentic relationship with them which makes him sad. He knows his friends are using him for money but gives it to them anyway in hopes of a real friendship. “Shylock, albeit I neither lend nor borrow By taking nor by giving of excess,Yet to supply the ripe wants of my friend,I’ll break a custom.Is he yet possessed How much ye would”(MOV 1.3.55-60). Antonio is a christian and is christlike to all of his friends, despite if they are Jews, not his real friends, or don’t believe at all. Antonio is showing his christian love by giving them money expecting nothing in return. His duplicity takes over in his life as he shows Bassanio love as a friend but shows no love towards Shylock. Shylock lended Antonio money and Antonio banks on his ships coming in, but none make it back, so he can't pay Shylock by the deadline. He tells people to not take money from Shylock to make his business and life harder. Antonio is offended by Bassanio, but treats him kindly because he is trying to find a non duplicate relationship with one of his friends. Bassanio goes bankrupt and needs money, willingly, Antonio gives him money and is depressed because he knows Bassanio is just using him.

Shylocks conflict versus Antonio. Skylock, angered by his mistreatment from Antonio and other christians, schemes against him demanding a pound of his flesh. He is motivated to have a business without anyone getting in his way and to be successful but Antonio makes it harder by telling people to not give him any buisness. Shylock is in conflict with Antonio because they hate each other, which symbolizes the Jewish worldview in competition the christian worldview. He is a natural hater that hates Antonio because he’s robbed him, mocked him, and more but it is not right. He doesn’t care anymore. Antonio and Shylock hate each other with a passion. These characters in the play who hate each other the most are foils to each other.

Bassanio is in conlflict with his own poverty. He is a close friend of Antonios and he is a man from Venice. Bassanio loves the wealthy Portia and asks Antonio to borrow money from Shylock to give to him so he can look rich to please Portia. He proves himself by choosing the correct casket that contains Portias portriat. He’s gonna pretend to be of Portias class with money that isn’t his so he can act like he is rich to win her over, and he knows how to play the game but acts as if he doensn’t to win her over. He continues to ask for loans digging himslef a deeper hole into debt that he will not be able to get out of without help. Everything that he is pointing out is who he is down to the core. By the end him and Portia accuse each other of having affairs. Bassanio accused Portia because she gave his the same ring he and Gratiano gave to the lawyer and his clerk. Portia accused him because she thought he gave the ring to another woman. In the end, he never made it out of poverty.

In the end, The Merchant of Venice should be read as a problem play due to most of the characters running into to problems that never get resolved. Portia did end up marrying the man that chose the right casket, Bassanio, but was her internal battle was never resolved, as she continued to be a liar and a minipulator. Antonio struggled to find faithfull friends but in the end he and Bassanio had a strong friendship. But were all of his problems solved? No, he was still depressed because all of his ships sunk. Shylock’s conflict was never resolved, instead Antonio went to court and Portia got him out of the bond he owed to Shylock. Bassanio, as well as Shylock, never had a resolved problem with his poverty.

Citation Page

1.Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616. The Merchant of Venice. Harlow, Essex, England :Longman, 1994.