THE MERCHANT OF VENICE

THE GIST

The 16th century play, The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare is portrayed as a comedy, however may also be seen as a drama. The play was written sometime between 1596 and 1598, and the first known performance was in 1598. There are a total of five acts and prominent characters include: Antonio, Bassanio, Portia, Shylock, Nerissa, Jessica, Lorenzo, and Gratiano.

PROJECT BY:

Catherine Corbett

Ben Quick

and

Percy De La Cerda

FULL SUMMARY

The Merchant of Venice is a play of five acts. The first act introduces us to the two main men of the play Antonio and Bassanio. Bassanio is asking his good friend Antonio to loan him some money so he can travel to Belmont to court a lovely and wealthy women. Antonio says that he would but all his money at the moment is tied up in risky business venture and he cannot loan him the money immediately. Antonio says that he knows where he can get the money however. The two friends then go to a notorious moneylender by the name of Shylock who also happens to be Jewish. Shylock is the enemy of Antonio and the two get into an argument when Antonio and Bassanio approach. Shylock sees that they need money and realizes that they might not be able to pay him back. He takes the opportunity to make an agreement with his hated rival. He will lend the money with no interest or gratis but if Antonio and Bassanio fail to pay him back in time then he is entitled to a pound of Bassanio’s flesh. Antonio cosigns the loan and the two are then off to Belmont to see the beautiful lady. In Belmont the lovely lady Portia is being courted by a prince. He finds that he must pass a test to earn Portia’s hand in marriage. He must select, out of three, the proper casket. He selects the gold casket which of course is the wrong one and he is off on his merry way. Another prince comes and picks a casket of silver which of course is wrong and he is off on his merry way. Meanwhile in Venice Shylock’s daughter Jessica is having a little trouble explaining her relationship to her father. She is in love with Antonio’s friend Lorenzo but her father is displeased. The two make plans to elope. There is also new that Antonio’s ships have crashed. Antonio and Bassanio are in Belmont and do not hear the news. Bassanio and Portia are in love at first sight and she helps him to pick the correct lead casket. While they are in Belmont however they receive the fateful news that Antonio’s ships have wrecked and all his money lost. Portia gives him twice the money he needs to pay back Shylock and a ring that she tells him not to give up. They all hurry back to Venice to rescue Antonio who is being prosecuted by Shylock for not having the money. They are in court and it looks like all hope is lost. Shylock has lost his daughter and is out for Antonio’s flesh. He will not accept any deals or any extra money he wants revenge against Antonio. Out of nowhere a lawyer walks in and tells Shylock that if he does not accept the deal and show mercy that he would have to take the flesh. BUT… if a single drop of Antonio’s blood is shed then the contract is voided and he has committed a capital crime. Shylock realizes he cannot take the flesh without blood and he is done in. As payment the lawyer demands the ring and Antonio insists that Bassanio give him the ring. He has absolutely no idea the lawyer Balthasar is Portia in disguise and he gives up the ring. They all go back to Belmont where they all get married including Jessica and Lorenzo and Portia reveals the ring to him showing that it was actually her the whole time.

MAJOR THEMES

IMPORTANT ADAPTATIONS

REVENGE, LAW AND MERCY

The theme of revenge is first recognized in the beginning of the play when we become aware that Shylock and Antonio hate each other for a variety of reasons—the obvious being that Shylock is Jewish, and Antonio is an anti-Semitic. Shylock’s character is depicted to be mean and greedy, so it is almost hard to feel sorry for him when Antonio treats him with such cruelty. Despite their different religious views, Shylock truly despises Antonio because he lends out money without charging interest, which causes him to lose profit with his own business. When visited by Bassanio, Antonio comes along and we instantly sense the tension and see that Shylock and Antonio dislike each other. When Bassanio asks for a loan Shylock agrees, but only if he could have a pound of Antonio’s flesh for a guarantee...creepy. On top of it all, Shylock’s daughter also ran away with a Christian, and this only seemed to fuel his hate fire—even though that wasn’t Antonio’s fault. The theme of revenge is basically just scratching the surface of this play, but there are other underlying themes as well.

The modern portrayals of The Merchant of Venice have a markedly different tone than their Shakespearean counterpart. They have taken a note of drama into Shakespeare's comedy. This obviously in light of world War 2. We focus on Shylock struggles as something to be sympathized with and laughing at his pains would be further alienating. The dramatic aspect of the play serves to highlight an issue commonly found in society whereas the original play sought merely to laugh at it.

The Merchant of Venice,Bassanio choosing between three caskets at Portia's court in Belmont.

LOVE AND MONEY

The Maori Merchant of Venice (2002)

DISCUSSION/THOUGHTS

As a group we discussed how the theme of revenge progressed throughout the play, and how Shylock’s sly plan seemingly backfired on him. Revenge is a great overall theme because when you analyze the play, you find that there are underlying themes that follow it. We found an article that talks about how law and mercy fall under the theme of revenge, and how they all relate to each other. The article has a quote from Francis Bacon who, "defines revenge as a 'kind of wild justice'" (LitCharts). What Bacon means is that by seeking revenge, you are defying the law and essentially "taking it in your own hands." We see how the two are connected when Shylock signs the bond with Antonio that states if he does not repay him, he has the right to a pound of his flesh. The bond itself is legal, however the repayment enclosed is criminal. When taken to the court, both Portia and the Duke could argue either law or revenge, yet Portia asks for mercy of Shylock instead. It is debatable as to who is truly merciful in the end. Shylock may be asking for mercy in a way when he asks them to kill him as he is stripped of everything...and it is questionable whether Portia and the Christians truly showed Shylock mercy when they have taken everything from him including his estate, profession, and his religion.

This particular film adaptation is awesome because it puts a modern day spin on the 16th century play and is also in a different langauge! The movie was made in New Zealand, hence the name "Maori" in the title, and is also spoken in the Maori language. In this modern day and age, their religions either sway towards Mormonism or Catholicism. The actors in it are also not old white men for once which is pretty cool.

In the beginning of The Merchant of Venice, the theme of love and money seems to occur rather quickly. The play starts off with Antonio saying, "In sooth I know not why I am so sad" (1.1.1.), however it is not said what he is sad about. We can infer that it is most likely in regards to his wealth being at risk overseas. Antonio may also be sad about Bassanio wanting to marry Portia, who is rather well off. Bassanio then asks Antonio to help him financially with the chance to win the love of Portia. Melancholy feelings aside, he comes to the aid of his friend and gets him the loan even when Shylock requests a pound of his flesh if not compensated. Here, we basically see the "bromance" of both Antonio and Bassanio and Shakespeare truly captures their friendship by the use of love and money. The theme is also presented by the relationship of Bassanio and Portia. Both have met before and a connection is shared, however one might question if Bassanio may also looking for wealth. Bassanio ends up choosing the right casket that states, "Who chooseth me must give and hazard all he hath" (2.7, 20-21). The print on the casket essentially means to give your all to the one you choose to be with. In contrast to what was said before, Bassanio is not simply looking for wealth because he truly desires to be with Portia, and really wants to devote himself to her.

DISCUSSION/THOUGHTS

We all really liked this play due to the fact that for one it's funny, but for two, the friendship and love in the play is incredibly genuine and sincere. We all agreed that Antonio and Bassanio basically have a bromance going on and Antonio really does a lot for Bassanio. I mean, what kind of friend are you if you don't help your friend get a loan with the fine print that reads, "If you don't give me compensation I'm cutting a pound of flesh of your body," right? He's also pretty much the wing man for Bassanio too when they go on their quest for him to marry Portia. Bassanio also tries to save Antonio in court, but Portia comes to the rescue and helps out. Bassanio and Portia's relationship also seems to be very genuine and Shakespeare really embodied their connection to be based off of love and not money.

HOW DID THE PLAY EMERGE?

The Merchant of Venice (2004)

WORKS CITED

There is no direct reason that we can say Shakespeare wrote The Merchant of Venice, but there are different factors that may have influenced him to write it. One instance that may have contributed to the writing could be an incident that happened in 1594. A man by the name of Roderigo Lopez was accused of trying to murder Queen Elizabeth. This was an issue because it sparked an anti-Semitic rage due to the fact that Lopez was originally a Jew that had converted to Christianity (pg. 1327, The Norton). But aside from this instance there is no clear motive for why the play was written. As speculated in “The Norton: Shakespeare,” it may be to “capitalize on or criticize the prejudice of his society.” Shakespeare could emphasize this because he was aware of Venice, where “people with little in common culturally may coexist peacefully” (pg. 1329).

A little clip of Shylock from Act 3, Scene 1. This scene from the 2004 movie is actually incredibly powerful and shows Shylock angry for being rejected in society just because he is a Jew. For a second I almost had a heart for him...and then he decided to say he was going to get revenge on the Christians and treat them as badly as they treated him. Can't we all just get along? But this scene is actually extremely powerful and really shows how the Christians hated the Jews and vice versa.

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Ferguson, Stanley. Guide to the Joseph D. Jamail Center for Legal Research: Tarlton Law Library. Austin, TX: U of Texas School of Law, 1997. Web.

Harp, Richard. "Love And Money In The Merchant Of Venice." Modern Age 52.1 (2010): 37- 44. Literary Reference Center. Web. 9 Dec. 2016.

"The LitCharts Study Guide to The Merchant of Venice." LitCharts. N.p.,n.d. Web. 09 Dec. 2016.

"The Merchant of Venice (2004 Film)." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 09 Dec. 2016

IMDb. IMDb.com, n.d. Web. 09 Dec. 2016.

Shakespeare, William, Stephen Greenblatt, Walter Cohen, Suzanne Gossett, Jean E. Howard, Katharine Eisaman Maust, and Gordan McMullan. The Norton Shakespeare. New York: W.W. Norton, 20126. Print.

"THE PERSECUTION OF THE JEWISH PEOPLE IN THE MIDDLE AGES." The Persecution Of The Jewish People In The Middle Ages. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Dec. 2016.