The Concepts of Peace and Justice in Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice
In Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice, Portia’s defense of Antonio is considered a wonderful, noble deed. She is not considered the villain (that distinction falls to Shylock), but her deed, which is considered right, proper, and good by her fellow Venetians, is actually more reflective of the naughty world than the brightly lit candle.
Shylock is a man that has been mocked, spat at, and reviled by Antonio and his coterie. When he is approached by Bassanio for the money, he sees his opportunity to take revenge upon Antonio, but almost as a representative of the society at large and not Antonio as an individual. Small wonder that he takes his chance; revenge is a very powerful human emotion. Antonio, being dependent upon his ships at sea, had to be fully cognizant of the risks involved with each shipment and therefore fully aware of the fact that he might not be able to pay Shylock back. He signed his name in agreement with the terms laid down by Shylock, and that granted Shylock the right to take a pound of his flesh if he should default on his loan. When he defaults, he just expects Shylock to forget the agreement and forgive the loan, which of course Shylock cannot do, as he himself is not in good economic conditions. It was ridiculous for Antonio to sign the agreement in the first place, much less to assume that Shylock would not hold him to it.
Therefore, when Portia defends Antonio, she takes the part of someone who is in the wrong. Since Shylock is not a prominent Venitian citizen, and the terms of the agreement quite unrealistic, he is on shaky ground, even though his position is logically correct. However, when she wins, it is not merely a victory for her and Antonio, it is also a bitter defeat for Shylock. Deprived not only of the money due to him from Antonio, his own money is taken away and split between Antonio and the state, and he is almost deprived of his life. All this as a punishment for seeking what was legally and rightfully his. Portia did, of course, save her friend, but she also completely destroyed the life (figuratively and almost literally) of someone else.
Portia may have thought that, in defending Antonio’s life, she did him the ultimate favor.
The tension implied in the insistence to bind the definitions of justice, mercy, and equity in Elizabethan texts suggests that behind their representation there is more at stake than a conceptual problem. Elizabethan conceptions of ideal justice politicize their representations in order to justify the prevailing monarchy. Spenser and Shakespeare offer their own version of the nature of justice through female characters, Mercilla in Book V of The Faerie Queen and Portia in The Merchant of Venice. However the textualization of these categories works differently. For Spenser, justice relates itself to a divine ordering of the world, which connects his work with Elizabeth I, God's instrument on Earth. In the case of MV, law in the form of contracts and bonds, substitutes any divine mediation in the legal process, thus displaying, even though briefly, the artificial nature of justice.
Marriages everywhere have their troubles, yet everyone is able to relate to other couples problems. By looking at A Delicate Balance and The Merchant of Venice we will see their perspective on how marriages have changed over time of the martial relationship. After getting an overview of these books we will then apply it to present day and see if anything really has changed. The marriages I’ll be analyzing is Bessanio and Portia from The Merchant of Venice and Tobia ad Agnes from A Delicate Balance. By examining Bessanio’s behavior towards Portia and Tobia’s toward Agnes, we can see how the role of the husband has changed from emotional support and conversations to the development of the wives having bigger roles.
While engendering the bond in the inciting force of the play, Antonio says to Shylock – the antagonist – “Content in faith. I’ll seal to such a bond, / And say there is much kindness in the Jew” (1.3.149-150) which reveals how Antonio sees such positive terms in the deal. Although the terms may seem simples to follow, Antonio will still face the consequences of putting his life on the line for his dear friend, Bassanio. This bond portion of the play establishes relationships through the rivals and also gives background information about characters, which show the elements of dramatic significance. Subsequently, Shylock’s possessions are at stake during their trial after Antonio fails to pay him back because his argosies were abolished. Shylock’s punishment for attempting to
...deceit, due to her beautiful ambiance yet her secret intelligence. William Shakespeare not only reveals a lot regarding the characters in the story, but the readers understand his perspectives regarding gender inequality. It is definitely well known that he does not believe neither gender is better than one another. Additionally, he does not believe that woman lack intelligence or smartness, he believes their brains are equivalent to men's. Furthermore, William Shakespeare incorporates Portia into the story to promote the message that if people want to prove something, it does not have to be to anyone, besides themselves, and that is extremely significant to the story as well as life in general. So overall, The Merchant of Venice promotes the message, using Portia representing deceit, that gender inequality as well as proving oneself is irrelevant and not important.
Antonio recognizes the futility of opposing Shylock's passion with reason. "He seems the depository of the vengeance of his race" (Goddard 11). Antonio consequently appears as a charitable Christian who lends money freely, in contrast to the miserly an...
Words alone are not the only means by which imposters operate. A far more effective mode is one that fools the eye for it cannot pierce through the surface. Portia, the new wife of Antonio's friend, dresses as a lawyer in order to deceive the court. However, unlike Shylock's motive, Portia's intent is far more noble and selfless. She manipulates the law in such a way to save Antonio from certain death by the hand of Shylock. Through the eyes of the law, the imposture of a lawyer, especially by a woman at that time, was seen as extremely illicit.
Everyone is deceived and believes Portia is truly a man therefore showing that she has the capabilities to exert the traits of a man. Portia is described as the “wise young judge” (IV, I, 228) and an “excellent young man” (IV, I, 252) by Shylock showing that he believes in the gender identity of Balthazar. Bassanio, Portia’s husband, is also fooled as he states that Antonio’s life is more valuable to him than Portia. Her credibility in turn gives her power over the men in the scene. She is able to use the balances of justice along with her knowledge in order to save Antonio. The turn in this scene is when she repeats, “A pound of flesh” (IV, I, 315) and states the specific words used in the document as no blood can be dropped from Antonio or else Shylock will be punished and strikes fear into Shylock. This shows that it is possible for a woman to obtain the masculine qualities of being powerful and intellectual. If Portia were to have not dressed as a man, but merely a woman, due to the social constructs of the time she would not have had any power in this situation. Portia tells Bassanio “I pray you, know me when we meet again” (IV, I, 432) which shows her feelings towards Bassanio not knowing her true identity, even through her disguise. Her actions were that of her individual, but due to her altering her appearance of gender it changed the way others viewed her
I would love to write a critical essay about the role of Portia in Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice, hailing her as one of Shakespeare's greatest contributions to the society of the sane; however, I find this impossible after studying the text. At first, I hung on her every word and was amazed at her wit, but later I found her to be just another Shakespearean psycho. Basically, I understood Portia to be nothing less than an obedient daughter obeying the whims of her dead, over-protective father. She speaks in terms of respect about the coffinritual, and the reader believes her to be sincere. Later as her character
So forgive and forget, huh? It appears forgiveness is quite an important force in the tempest, bringing the story together beautifully. Forgiveness helps us learn about the characters in the play. Forgiveness is also what brings the play to a happy ending, but not without making one wonder whether forgiveness was really achieved. The role of forgiveness in the tempest is so significant because it is only through forgiveness that the characters truly succeed, but also because it raises the question of the extent of human forgiveness and helps the reader learn plenty about the different characters in the play. Forgiveness is of great significance to the plot and thematic context of The Tempest.
You have among you many a purchased slave, which, like your asses and your dogs and mules, You use in abject and in slavish parts because you bought them.....You will answer “The slaves are ours!” So do I answer you: The pound of flesh which I demand of him is dearly bought; tis mine and I will have it.” (Act 4 Scene 1, Lines 90-101) Here in this quote, it is clearly stated that Shylock believes Christians are allowed to buy slaves and own them within the law. Justice would mean that by his bond with Antonio, Shylock owns a piece of Antonio’s flesh. Therefore, legally and justly, Shylock technically owns Antonio’s flesh.As for mercy, the character that this comes from is Portia. Portia in defining mercy, says this: The quality of mercy is not strained. It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven. Upon the place beneath.....The throned monarch better than his crown. His scepter shows the force of temporal power, the attribute to awe and majesty wherein doth sit the dread of fear of kings; it is an attribute to God himself; And earthly power doth then show likest God’s when mercy seasons justice.” (Act 4 Scene 1 Lines 190-202) Portia is talking about how even high kings and gods would have mercy deep in their hearts, while Shylock doesn’t. Portia
Portia uses her manipulation throughout her dialogue to get what she wants. Bassanio is basically looking for the highest bidder for money. When everything is said and done the overall emotional effect of “The Merchant of Venice” was one of the most positive that I have ever read from a Shakespeare play, there was no death! That was the most surprising, next to the fact that everything ended exactly how it was supposed to. Bassanio got the girl, or the money, whichever he wanted the most, Portia followed her father’s wishes by marrying a man who is so dumb, in my mind, that she can manipulate to get whatever she wants. Antonio did not have to pay the loan he was required to pay, he was about to get a piece of flesh taken out of him when Balthazar(Portia) used her conniving self to save him, and all of his ships came back to port. The only one who was not in the clear was poor Shylock the Jew. At the earlier stages of “The Merchant of Venice” he was set, going to get either his loan repaid or take a piece of Antonio and feed it to the fish, for personal reasons. BUT, he had the exact opposite happen to him. Shylock had parts of his estate taken away, and could not take a piece of flesh out of Antonio, which is all he wanted to do, he had his daughter betray him and switch to the religion he hated, and did not even get his loan paid back. In conclusion “The Merchant of Venice”has many different plot twist that make the audience excited that there is going to be a fight and then happy when everything goes the way the majority of the characters planned it to go, and then Shylock was made the ass of Bassanio, Portia, and Antonio’s
Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice is a simple story line with three distinct plot lines incorporated into each other intricately. These three plot lines are the bond plot, the casket plot, and the ring plot, each equally vital to the meaning and conclusion of the play. In this essay, I will discuss the roles of the characters in the plot, the symbols, images, and rhetorical figures central to each plot, and finally how the events of the three plots are intertwined.
In this essay I will try to discover is Shylock a villain or a victim, in the William Shakespeare play “A Merchant of Venice”
Bassanio knows that he’d be leaving his newly wedded wife at home, alone, to be with a friend. Antonio also wants to know whether Bassanio will come to his death and resolve between the two. This fuels the fire of Portia’s want to be Bassanio’s only love. At the end of Act III, Portia configures a plan: rather than pulling Bassanio away from Antonio, she decides that she will help Antonio. Portia therefore decides that she will give Bassanio the money, in double, to bring back to Venice to conserve Antonio’s life. As a result of this, Bassanio will be indebted to her. Portia later
The Duke then tries to change the tone of the conversation by appealing to the small amount of humanity that Shylock has left. His words are in stark contrast to the true nature of Shylock. The Duke makes a desperate plea by saying. But his belief lacks a sense of reality, as Shylock has repeatedly suggested that he wants nothing more than a pound of Antonio’s flesh, and has also never shown any sign of mercy or forgiveness. In this speech, the Duke tries relentlessly to persuade Shylock himself that these feelings do in fact exist, and Shylock should, therefore, act reasonably in his decision of whether or not to seek the proper forfeiture of his bond. The Duke also asks Shylock to step out of the stereotype of the alienated Jew. He begs: Shylock’s response to this request falls directly in line with Antonio’s notion of his character. Shylock states:. In asking for his “due,” Shylock implies that there is justice to be handed down here, not realizing or not caring about the clear injustice of taking a bout of...