The Caskets

Nowhere in the play is the issue of SHARED CHRISTIAN VALUES seen so clearly as in the caskets. The right suitor will choose correctly and thus win Portia because he will have the shared understanding of what is important in life.
The gold casket, of course, carries a message that still resonates today: the exterior is deceptive and outer appearance can hide the worst of vices.
The silver casket, on the other hand, carries a message about deserving, reflecting the Christian message of MERCY and GRACE. The mercy of God is, as Portia explains later, 'unstrain'd' - it is given freely, and is utterly unmerited. This is a strangely Protestant Venice, but Shakespeare's audience would understand that you are saved 'Sola Gratia' - by Grace alone. Only a foreigner - a Muslim or Jew, perhaps - would believe they DESERVED blessings and choose the silver casket.
The lead casket, then, represents a sober awareness of one's own mortality. Lead is the element associated with death...dull, cold and grey, and used to line coffins. Only the lead casket asks that the suitor should 'give and hazard,' with no guarantee of what lies ahead; the gold entices with 'gain' and the silver with 'get.'

This term 'hazard' suggests gambling and risking - hardly the most reputable activity for a Christian, one might think. Bassanio refers to Antonio's 'latter hazard' of lost money; Morocco is invited to make 'your hazard.'
However, the invitation to 'hazard' may also carry connotations of trust and faith: the person who has faith cannot see the outcome, but trusts and believes. The suitor is invited to sacrifice and offer everything for a hope - just as the CHRISTIAN lives a life of hope; as the letter to the Hebrews says in the Bible, 'Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.'

Hazarding, in many ways, is exactly what merchants do - investing hopefully, in the expectation of return. Antonio's love is therefore all the greater - he invests in Bassanio without hope or expectation of return. Shylock, on the other hand, is uninterested in - despises, even - this combination of RELATIONSHIP and MONEY. Holding them separately, he only lends money where he has a contractual guarantee that can be upheld by law. He can always seek JUSTICE and recompense if necessary.

1. ACTIVITY: Work carefully through the reasoning of Morocco and Aragon. What evidence can you see of their flawed reasoning?

2. QUESTION: Antonio is rather unlikable in the film version 2004 and in the Globe 2016, because of his spitting and deeply unpleasant anti-Semitic fervour. If you consider that one way of showing piety in the 16th century was to spit at a Jew, is it possible that Antonio was, in fact, intended as a model of love - generous, respected and admired by his peers, and ready to lay down his life for Bassanio?

The Merchant of Venice - Act 2

Belmont welcomes another outsider, the Prince of Morocco. Like Shylock later, Morocco claims validity in the face of the closed society of Venice by boldly affirming the redness of his blood. 'Strangers' (foreigners) are constantly having to state their case...

In Scene 2, Launcelot serves 'the Jew,' who is 'the very devil incarnation.' His speech is earthy prose, peppered with malapropisms.

What are we supposed to feel about this 'Jew' he rails against? Shakespeare wrote the play very shortly after the success of Christopher Marlowe's 'The Jew of Malta.'
1. ACTIVITY: If you don't know the play, take a look at a character summary of Marlowe's Jew, Barabas, by clicking on this image:

Can you identify any similarities with Shylock? What do you think Shakespeare's intentions might have been, in penning a play along such similar lines?

Scene 3 confirms suspicions that Shylock is, indeed, a tyrant. His own daughter claims 'Our house is hell,' and speaks to Launcelot in secret. She refers to 'his blood' which they have in common, but her rejection of 'his manners' and her willingness to become a Christian through Lorenzo seem to redeem her in the eyes of the audience, reflected in Launcelot's own affection towards her as a 'most sweet Jew!' She is about to become a 'CONVERSA' - someone who will never be fully accepted again, either by the community she leaves, or by the community she joins.

2. QUESTION: What do you think about the two prospective couples so far: Portia - Bassanio and Jessica - Lorenzo? What do they know about each other, and what attracts them to their respective partners?


Scene 5 is an interesting insight into Shylock's household (set outside his house in the play). Click below and watch 32.00-36.14.
3. QUESTION: How does Al Pacino interpret the father-daughter relationship? What inferences has he made from the language in the passage?

'Lock up my doors,' Shylock orders Jessica. He is already anxious, as he has had a dream and senses some ill-will towards him. This anxiety is certainly rooted in the historical abuse suffered by Jews in Venice. His house may be a target, especially on a night of revels. Jews are not allowed to own property, but 'thrive' only by lending money, so his house is full of jewels and ducats.
Look at the onomatopoeic 'squealing' he expects from the fife, and the 'varnish'd faces' of young men wearing masks - very threatening for a Jew in the street, wearing his distinctive red hat. His is the dread and loathing of a religious outsider who is disgusted by the shallowness of the society he lives in.

4. QUESTION: What are the probable reasons for which Shylock goes to supper at Bassanio's house?

5. QUESTION: What do you think of the Venetian men who have invited him to a meal - flattered him - as a ruse to get him out the house? Would Shakespeare's audience have felt differently?

The Merchant of Venice

The Merchant of Venice

Welcome to our exploration of 'The Merchant of Venice.' The aim of this section is to guide you through some themes and characters and stimulate your thoughts so that you can express yourself with confidence as you discuss or write about this play.

Scene 1

One of the obvious themes in The Merchant is, of course, MONEY. The very first conversation in the play involves two Venetians guessing at why their friend is sad - and they assume it's caused by money problems. At the same time, with only the most rudimentary scenery or props, the speakers convey clearly that we are in Venice. 

1. ACTIVITY: Pick out the language before Bassanio's entrance that conveys to the audience that we are not in the Globe Theatre in London at all, but in the sea-faring capital of the Mediterranean, amongst people who are traders and investors.

Antonio denies that his problem is money. His friends assume it must be love. Or nothing.

As a theme, MONEY intertwines strangely with RELATIONSHIPS in this play. Antonio has denied both, yet in the next part of this scene, he becomes deeply involved in a situation involving MONEY and LOVE. Indeed, the carefree, risky behaviour of the Venetians seems to lead to the blurring of distinctions between money and love. 'To you, Antonio,/ I owe the most, in money and in love,' declares Bassanio.

2. QUESTION: How do the themes of MONEY and LOVE continue to intertwine for the rest of the scene? 

Scene 2

We have seen that the Venetians enjoy a shared culture. This is Portia's world too. Despite the fact that their city is cosmopolitan, and a centre of exchange between East and West, this scene starts to explore - albeit in a comic tone - stereotypes about OUTSIDERS and their odd behaviour. Whilst the national caricatures are funny, a more serious note is introduced by Nerissa, who reassures Portia that the suitor who chooses according to her 'virtuous' father's will, will be 'one who you shall rightly love.' So CHRISTIAN VALUES will naturally draw a man who chooses correctly.

In a light-hearted manner, we see signs of RELIGIOUS / RACIAL INTOLERANCE - though more explicitly in Portia's final speech.

3. QUESTION: What is it about Bassanio that Portia and Nerissa know and remember, that makes him suitable?

Scene 3

Here, we have money again, but on different terms. Shylock will not mix MONEY and RELATIONSHIPS. He lends by contract, with stipulated terms and regardless of whether it is a friend or enemy. For him money has nothing to do with love or trust.

Antonio lends 'to supply the ripe wants of my friend,' and considers money a means to build and support friendship. 

Shylock, constrained by laws against Jews, lends and earns 'well-won thrift' - interest. His culture has imbued him him with a different set of values.

4. ACTIVITY: Look at how Antonio and Shylock each defend their belief or attack the other for lending differently in this scene. What tone do you think they are using, and to whom are they speaking in each case?

Their conflict reaches a peak when Antonio angrily tells Shylock to lend 'to thine enemy,' asking what kind of person lends to his friend on interest? Shylock seemingly shifts position to adopt a more CHRISTIAN approach: 'I would be friends with you'...'This is kind I offer.' 

Note the several double meanings and continual play on the words:

'assurance' ( friendly reassurance - or insurance?)

'bond' (bound through friendship - or a monetary deposit?)

'kind' (of similar blood - or good will?)

'thrift' (fortune in love - or profit from loans?)

Here is Shylock's parody of Christian values: he will lend money with no interest payable - 'no doit / Of usance.' Only flesh and blood - the very thing that makes him an OUTSIDER. 

5. QUESTION: The racial/religious intolerance we saw foreshadowed in Belmont is now spelled out clearly. Can you explain the basis of the hatred that exists between Shylock and Antonio, using references from Act 1?