Movies - The Merchant of Venice

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	Movies - The Merchant of Venice

The Merchant of Venice is one of William Shakespeare's best-known plays, written at an uncertain date between 1594 and 1597. It is a comedy ("comedy" had a very different meaning at the time; see Shakespearean comedies) and is best known for its portrayal of the Jew Shylock, which has raised questions of anti-semitism. Shylock is a tormented character but is also a tormenter, so whether he is to be viewed with disdain or sympathy is up to the reader.

Shakespeare put one of his most eloquent speeches into the mouth of this "villain":

:Hath not a Jew eyes? Hath not a Jew hands, organs :dimensions, senses, affections, passions; fed with :the same food, hurt with the same weapons, subject :to the same diseases, heal'd by the same means :warm'd and cool'd by the same winter and summer :as a Christian is? If you prick us, do we not bleed? :If you tickle us, do we not laugh? If you :poison us, do we not die? And if you wrong us, shall we not revenge?

:Act III, scene I

Date

The play's date of composition is believed to be between 1594 and 1597. The play was entered in the Stationers' Register, the method at that time of obtaining copyright for a new play, by James Roberts on July 22, 1598. It was first printed in 1600, and again in a pirated edition in 1619. The play was mentioned by Francis Meres in 1598, so it must have been familiar on the stage by that date.

The play seems to be influenced by (and perhaps reacting against) Christopher Marlowe's immensely popular tragedy The Jew of Malta.

Story

The title character is the merchant Antonio, not the more famous villain, the Jewish moneylender Shylock.

Bassanio, a young Venetian, wants to travel to Belmont to woo the beautiful and wealthy heiress Portia. He approaches his friend Antonio, a merchant, for 3000 ducats needed to subsidize his travelling expenditures for three months. As all of Antonio's ships and merchandise are tied at sea, Antonio approaches the Jewish moneylender Shylock for a loan. Shylock, hateful of Antonio, proposes a malicious condition. If Antonio is unable to repay the loan at the specified date, Shylock will be free to take a pound of Antonio's flesh from where ever he pleases. Although Bassanio does not want Antonio to accept such a condition for his sake, Antonio, surprised by what he sees as the moneylender's generosity, signs the agreement. With money at hand, Bassanio leaves for Belmont with another friend Gratiano.

At Belmont, Portia has no lack of suitors. Portia's father, however, has left a will stipulating each of her suitors to choose one of three caskets: one each of gold, silver, and lead. In order to be granted an opportunity to marry Portia, each suitor must agree in advance to live out his life as a bachelor were he to select wrongly. The suitor who correctly looks past the outward appearance of the caskets will find Portia's portrait inside and win her hand. After two suitors choose incorrectly, Bassanio makes the correct choice, that of the leaden casket, aided by a subtle hint from Portia and knowledge of the Gesta Romanorum which explains which casket to pick.

At Venice, all ships bearing Antonio's goods are reported lost at sea, leaving him unable to satisfy the bond. Shylock is determined to exact revenge from Christians after his daughter Jessica flees his home to convert to Christianity and elope with the Christian Lorenzo, taking a substantial amount of Shylock's wealth with her. With the bond at hand, Shylock has Antonio arrested and brought before court.

At Belmont, Portia and Bassanio have just been married, along with their friends Gratiano and Portia's handmaid Nerissa. He receives a letter telling him that Antonio has defaulted on his loan from Shylock. Shocked, Bassanio and Gratiano leave for Venice immediately, with money from Portia, to save Antonio's life. Unbeknownst to Bassanio and Gratiano, Portia and Nerissa leave Belmont to seek the counsel of Portia's elderly uncle Bellario, a lawyer, at Padova.

The dramatic center of the play comes in the court of the Duke of Venice. Shylock refuses Bassanio's offer, despite Bassanio increasing the repayment to many times the specified loan. He demands the pound of flesh from Antonio. The Duke, wishing to save Antonio but unwilling to set a dangerous legal precedent of nullifying a contract, refers the case to Balthasar, a young male "doctor of the law" who is actually Portia in disguise, with Nerissa as his/her cleric. Portia asks Shylock to show mercy in a famous speech (The quality of mercy is not strained — Act IV, Scene I, l 185), but Shylock refuses. Thus the court allows Shylock to extract the pound of flesh.

At the very moment Shylock is about to cut Antonio with his knife, Portia points out a flaw in the contract. The bond only allows Shylock to remove the flesh, not blood, of Antonio. If Shylock were to shed any drop of Antonio's blood in doing so, his life will be forfeited under Venetian laws. Compare to this the Norse legend of the making of Mjolnir where Loki loses his head in a bet, but was not forced to give the bet since his neck was not part of the bet.

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