The Merchant of Venice Study Guide & Websites

Melanie Devlin, class of 2008

 

The Merchant of Venice is one of William Shalespear’s masterpieces and holds many insights into the society of Venice at the time it was written and demonstrates many perceptions about the human spirit. For the last four hundred years readers and scholors have been analyzing and scrutinizing this play down to every line. Today’s technology allows one to instantly gain informaiton on any one of these issues addressed in The Merchant. As I analyze and pick apart the play from my point of view, additional information will be linked. This further knowledge will support my views and be from credited sources. Overall I will show my opinions and give examples of others’, while allowing the reader to evaluate for themselves all of the possible themes and issues addressed in the play by making available resourceful links.

 

Before I begin to analyze the themes of the play, a general plot and character understanding is needed. For a useful character list that is concise yet sufficient Character List. For information on the general plot outline for the play visit Plot. The character link is useful because it is brief but gives enough information to the uninformed reader about each character. It is recommended that the character list and plot be read simultaneously this way you have a fresh idea of the characters and their titles while reading the plot summary. This plot outline is not a necessarily a short one, but I think it is useful and appropriate. It does not merely provide the reader with a scene-by-scene chronology, it adds insight into the text, gives us a little more of an idea of the overall picture and gives dimension to the characters. This summary is not objective. It is not written in such a way to make us feel bad for any certain character and dislike another. This is the sort of play in which an unknowing reader could easily be swayed into a certain mindset about individual characters, this plot summary does not do that.

 

To begin we should note the most dominant issue, that of the persecution of Jews in Venice. The Merchant is packed full of racist quotes and actions. Shakespeare holds little back when displaying the hatred that was plagued upon the Jews by Christians and in doing so gives the reader a delicate picture of the harsh social reality that Jews faced. It is important to realize this historical accuracy when reading the play and specifically when trying to examine and analyze it. The cruelty set upon the Jews is not for mere conflict or character development throughout the play. Shakespeare was painting an accurate and precise picture for the reader, in turn enhancing the themes he wished to display. Scholars and Shakespeare enthusiasts tend to address this matter this most when evaluating this play. For further information on Jews in Venice during this time period see Jews in Venice. This link provides a small history of Jews in Venice and

 

The play has often been called an anti-Semitic work of literature. It is not hard to see what argument people might make to support this theory. For more information on this subject go to Anti-Semitism in the play. This link gives examples as to why the play is not anti-Semetic. It deals with this play as a focus but goes on to discuss Shakespeare’s own judgments as a foundation for this lack of prejudice. It acknowledges the fact that Shylock’s character may be ambitious and greedy, but declares that it is society that has made him this way.

 

In particular, the examination of the character Shylock is the main focus of this widely attended to subject. Shylock is a Jewish moneylender whose role in The Merchant is perhaps the most significant. He represents the Jewish society and manifests the values and morals upheld by the members of this religion and race. He is constantly reminding the reader of the hardships he and his people have had to endure. In doing so he is justifying his cruel and menacing behaviors. At the same time his character places an emphasis on the human spirit, void of religious and racial identities. Our view of Shylock is blurred by the many insights we have into him. We take pity upon him when he speaks about his struggles and his peoples’ struggles. We sympathize for him when his daughter abandons him. We later, however, despise him for not showing mercy. We as readers are left with mixed emotions about the character of Shylock. This separate aspect of Shylock demonstrates another of the themes Shakespeare put into the play. For more information about the character analysis of Shylock see Shylock Analysis. This character analysis tends to identify him more with his religion than anything else. More so than a father or business man, and leans towards the notion that this character is in a sense carrying all of the loads of the Jewish religion on its shoulders. This webpage takes quotes from the play and evaluates them to get inside the mind of Shylock, or the intentions of others against him.

 

Another theme of The Merchant is that of emotional values over economic values. There is a constant comparison of the business aspect of the play and the compassionate aspect. In the trial scene these two schools of thought confront each other for we have Shylock, the businessman, urging the court to uphold the law and the written bond between the two men. While on the other hand we have Antonio and Bassanio who are pleading for him to take mercy upon them. It is interesting to note, however, that in this scene perhaps Shylock’s emotional values are steering his actions because if his motivations were entirely economical then he would have taken the offer of twice the amount of money repaid instead of insisting that he be given a pound of Antonio’s flesh. This flesh that he wishes to obtain holds no value except that of pure vengeance and compensation for a life full of suppression and the loss of his daughter. For more information about this theme visit Law & Love in Merchant. This page is lengthy but one should note the paragraphs on pages 317, 318, which deal with Shylock’s anger and malice during the trial scene. Also, pages 307-309 we get a good view of Antonio and Bassanio’s relationship and how it fits into the Venetian society full of laws and contractual agreements.

 

In addition to this underlying theme of the play, it is also interesting to note when analyzing the play the contrast between the two worlds of Venice and Belmont. Like several other plays of Shakespeares we have two cities where the tale takes place, one representing a city full of laws and order, and the other a city full of opportunity in love, full of mystery and spirituality. Venice in this play is the business, and the lawful city, whereas Belmont is the city where the more captivating and enchanting occurrences happen. City Comparison is a good website to visit if you want to know more about this comparison of the cities. The text on the page is quite long but paragraphs 10-12 are most noteworthy. They deal more with the concept of the law in the contrasting cities but the point is well addressed and supported.

 

Another issue in the play that is worthy of studying is the character of Portia. She possesses the features that are typical of the heroines in Shakespeare’s comedies. She is witty and clever and turns out to be the one character that has the sharpness to counter Shylock’s rage. She also uses her cleverness to teach Bassanio, her recently wedded husband, a lesson in loyalty. Portia also represents the obedient daughter, who complies with her father’s wishes, even after his death. Yet she does so in a sneaky and in a certain way does get around the rules laid out by her father concerning the manner in which would choose a husband. A good webpage to visit for more information about the character of Portia is Portia . This site gives more detailed opinions on Portia’s personality and morals. It is titled an evaluation of both Shylock and Portia as outsiders of Venice, which is entirely appropriate. It is well written in the sense that as Portia’s personality is discussed it is also discussed in the manner of society at the time and how it was either accepted or unaccepted.

 

The concept of loyalty in The Merchant is seen through a number of characters. Portia is submissive to her father’s will, Jessica, Shylock’s daughter, is not, as she abandons her father and takes his money. Even Portia’s obedience to her father seems trivial, however, for she shrewdly avoids obeying him down to every word of his will. This seems to weaken an argument in favor of filial piety, where as Jessica’s fleeting does as well. When Jessica trades her mother’s ring for a monkey we see the disregard and lack of respect she has for her father. The loyalty of Bassanio and Graziano is tested by their new wives regarding the rings they promised never to lose or give away, which they are mislead into doing anyway. There is also a sort of friendship loyalty between Bassanio and Antonio. These two men have an obviously close relationship and even near the end of it all Bassanio is by Antonio’s side, who does not blame Bassanio for his ill fate. The two men seem to cherish their friendship and are very loyal to it. This theme of loyalty is expressed in the page Loyalty. This webpage addresses the several cases of loyalty in this play. It talks about Antonio and Bassanio, Bassanio and Portia, and Jessica and her father Shylock. The page describes each situation then gives examples using quotes and generalized actions to show where the loyalty exists or did not exist.

 

This play is greatly admired by readers and is a favorite for discussion on so many levels and subjects. With just a few of the study topics for the play listed here we can see why this is so. Hopefully these given links will provide a better understanding about the play and its meaning. It is encouraged that while reading this guide and the provided links that you the reader come up with your own opinions and make your own discoveries about the play. For the complete text of The Merchant of Venice go to Complete Texts.

 

Works Cited

Colmo, Cristopher A. "Law and Love inShakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice"1,Nov.2001. 2,Nov. 2005 http://tarlton,law.utexas.edu/lpop/etext/okla/colmo26.htm

"The Complete Works of William Shakespeare" 27, Oct. 2005 http://www-tech.mit.edu/Shakespeare

Cummings, Michael J. "Christians not Jews are the Real Villains in The Merchant of Venice" 27, Oct. 2005 http://www.cummingsstudyguides.net/xMerchantof.html#Anti-Semitism

Cummings, Michael J. "The Merchant of Venice". 27, Oct. 2005 http://www.cummingsstudyguides.net/xMerchantof.html#Merchant%20of%20Venice

Gray , Terry A. "The Merchant of Venice" 2, Nov. 2005 http://shakespeare.palomar.edu/lambtales/LTMV.HTM

Lucking, David. "Standing for Sacrifice: The Casket and Trial Scenes in The Merchant of Venice". 1989, 2, Nov.2005. http://www.utpjournals.com/product/utq/583/583_lucking.html

Mann, Stanley. "Venice" 27, Apr 2003., 2, Nov. 2005 http://www.wzo.org.il/en/resources/view.asp?id=1369

"Merchant of Venice Character Analysis" 28, Oct. 2005. http://absoluteshakespeare.com/guides/essays/merchant_of_venice_characters_essay.htm

"Novel Analysis: The Merchant of Venice" 2, Nov. 2005 http://www.novelguide.com/merchantofvenice/themeanalysis.html

Pilkington, Ace G. “Portia & Shylock: Outsiders of Venice” 1992, 27, Oct. 2005 http://dsc.dixie.edu/shakespeare/portiaess.htm