The Trial Scene in "The Merchant of Venice".

One of the reasons Act 4 Scene 1 is so dramatically effective is the tension created by the stage directions. Antonio is seated and Shylock is standing before the duke. In a Venetian court of justice, the accused is standing with the accuser seated; therefore Shakespeare has deliberately staged an inversion in the judicial procedure, giving the impression that Shylock is the one on trial when in fact it is Antonio. At the beginning of the scene, a sense of injustice is introduced due to the emotive language used -“Poor merchant’s flesh” to remind the jury that Antonio has suffered enough. Antonio’s greatest source of wealth, his argosies, sank earlier in the plot, causing the audience’s sympathies to lie with Antonio, even though Shylock is the defendant. Throughout the play, Shylock is perceived as inhuman and malevolent. However, in Act 3 Scene 1, the powerful and poignant speech – “ Hath not a Jew eyes… if you prick us do we not bleed” stresses the common core of humanity that lies beneath the exterior of Shylock’s complex character and that he is not the archetypal demon. A note of hypocrisy occurs a mere seventeen lines after this plea, he is ranting and raving over the theft of his money by his only daughter, Jessica. Shylock wishes that Jessica  “Were dead at my foot with the jewels in her ear.” The potent language signifies how since she has married Lorenzo, a Christian, she is dead to him anyway. However, the wish for his daughter’s death revokes much of the sympathy created by the former plea for the recognition of his humanity, shocking audiences. Shakespeare yet again paints a picture of a malignant, murderous Jew willing to kill his only daughter for the sake of a few ducats. This greed for money is recognised by his repetition of his demands for his bond, and the constant reminder of how much he has lent Antonio – three thousand ducats. The audience has a powerful impression of whom and what the character of Shylock really is. With these thoughts in the audience’s heads, it is easy to see why Shylock is doomed even before the trial has begun.

“The Merchant of Venice” is a comedy so we know that the play is set to include a harmonious ending; common sense allows us to guess that Shylock will lose the trial. Dramatic tension is evoked when Portia, (disguised as a young man) cross-examines Shylock in court. Lulling him into a false sense of security, she allows him to believe she is on his side. Shylock is absolutely determined to have his bond and to have his pound of “carrion” flesh. Before Portia presents her argument, Bassanio asks Shylock-  “Why dost thou whet thy knife so earnestly?” And Shylock replies –  “To cut the forfeiture from that bankrupt there” Shylock is actually sharpening his knife in preparation to murder Antonio! His serious tone brings forth images of grotesqueness, yet the audience are expecting to see blood, and the crowd possibly meets this horrific suggestion by Shylock with approval. Pictures of blood and horror are continued when Gratiano portrays images of wolves –  “Governed a wolf…bloody, starved and ravenous.” This causes more tension as the audience, imagines a bloodthirsty monster that will stop at nothing short of murder. When Portia enters the courtroom, she asks- “Which is the Jew and which is the merchant?”Perhaps she is trying to create a sense of justice by not wanting to show any favourites, but on an Elizabethan stage set, she would immediately recognise the Jew from his distinctive dress; Shakespeare is deliberately showing that justice is blind.  Portia’s speech begins with –  “The quality of mercy is not strained” This statement is obviously aimed at Shylock as he has just proclaimed –  “On what compulsion must I?” He is stating that he is going to show absolutely no mercy whatsoever.  Portia’s extremely powerful speech, full of references to Christianity and God. She personifies mercy as the qualities of a king. In Elizabethan times, it was believed that God chose all kings. Portia creates the impression she is agreeing with Shylock and his merciless bond “You must prepare your bosom for his knife” Shylock is ecstatic that Portia is on his side. Obviously admires her judgement – “o excellent young man!” The audience’s appetite for blood is whetted and it seems almost certain they are going to see it until Portia makes an important discovery. By now, the audience is on the edge of its seat in anticipation of what is going to happen. In the bond, not one drop of Christian blood may be spilt. Of course this would be an impossible task to perform and it is here that the coup de theatre is pictured. Constant references to the weight of the flesh provokes images of scales and measuring units and ties in with the recurring theme of justice and how it is unfairly balanced between the two religions.

The relationship between Bassanio and Antonio comes to the forefront in this scene. Antonio can literally be seen as the lover of Bassanio, willing to die for him and to forgive him for it “Sacrifice them all…” Conflict is created between Portia and Antonio, a conflict she is willing to test by demanding that Bassanio give her his ring. That Shakespeare shows Bassanio does part with his ring for Antonio’s sake, as does Gratiano, implies that Bassanio chooses Antonio over Portia. This is of course unacceptable, as is seen in the next Act where Portia chastises Bassanio for loving a man more than he loves her. Portia not only frees Antonio but also convicts Shylock of attempted murder. Shylock cannot go through with the bond and is forced to give up his fortune and to convert from Jewry to Christianity “To presently become a Christian” The theme of mercy and so called Justice is continued with the Duke’s line– “ I pardon thee life before thou ask it.” 

Shylock is being forced to convert from his religion. For Shylock, this is the worst punishment. Earlier on in the court scene, Shylock exposed the hypocrisy of the Christian religion by questioning the business of Christians having slaves. In effect, the hypocrisy has been allowed to reappear in the fact that the Duke and Antonio are forcing Shylock to become a Christian. However, in an Elizabethan context the judge is showing mercy. Only by converting to Christianity can the Jew be redeemed both in this life and in the judgement to come. Shylock is now totally beaten and thwarted; a far cry from his confident and vengeful image and with his exit from the courtroom, harmony begins to leak into the play as the scene draws to a close.

Shakespeare successfully combines elements of comedy, irony, sadness, horror and justice in “The Merchant of Venice” to produce a play full of dry humour and thought provoking plot. Many aspects of the plot such as the discrimination of Jews are regretfully still in place in today’s society. Throughout the play there is also the recurring image of the scapegoat. Both characters fit this description, with Shylock clearly the social outcast, driven out of society while Antonio represents the goat about to be sacrificed as in the story of Abraham and Isaac. I recognise that the text is open to multiple interpretations: some can even directly contradict one another. The theme of anti-Semitism is evident and has led me to think more deeply about how changes in modern society have affected our belief in God and the ways in which we discriminate against those who are different from us. Shakespeare’s ‘The Merchant of Venice’ still has direct relevance today.

Hussain Jawad.