Shylock also introduces a number of the play’s major themes, the first of which is prejudice, a very powerful theme within the play. Prejudice becomes evident in the first act where Shylock remarks "I hate him because he is a Christian....May my people be cursed if I forgive him!" Antonio shows a similar attitude towards Shylock by saying, "I'm likely to call you names again, spit on you again, and shun you again." Throughout the entire play there is a constant and intense battle between the Christians and the Jews. Shakespeare’s intention was to show that the prejudiced attitude acquainted by Shylock and Antonio showed that it didn’t give anyone justice. For example, the prejudice Antonio held against Shylock almost resulted in his death; whilst Shylock’s prejudice against Antonio ended up with him converting to Christianity and losing all his possessions. This appears to be the most important message in “The Merchant of Venice”.
Another theme that is familiar within Shylock, is greed. After the money lending incident begins, the obscure bond decided upon is taken very seriously by Shylock, as he sees it as the ultimate revenge upon Antonio. Throughout the play, Shylock is given many opportunities to forfeit his bond and show mercy upon Antonio for a worthy sum; instead Shylock sticks with his greed and keeps to his bond, “If every ducat in six thousand ducats were in six parts, and every part a ducat, I would not draw them; I would have my bond” Shylock keeps to his bond for too long, which ends up with Portia outwitting him and resulting in the losses of his daughter, his money and his religion. The message Shakespeare exposed through this theme is that greed will never accomplish the holder anything but despair.
Portia is the counterpart of the villainous Shylock. She appears to be the heroine of the play, which is justified by her exceptional and impressive character shown at the trial scene. The first impression the audience receives of Portia, is that she is a rich heiress recognised by her outstanding beauty. She believes that Bassanio (a man without riches or power) would be her perfect man and could solve the mystery of the caskets to marry her. This clearly shows that Portia gives more value to love and romance than wealth and power. This mindset displayed by Portia, makes her an inspiring character for the audience and shows how vastly different she is from the greedy, malevolent character of Shylock. It introduces the softer theme of romance to the plot, which is later shown in the trial to triumph over avarice.
Portia’s wittiness and intelligence isn’t recognised until later in the play, when she deceives the Duke by disguising herself as a young lawyer, named Balthazar. She does this to save Antonio, because Antonio had fallen into danger due to his kind assistance to Bassanio, having helped him to travel to Belmont. To save Antonio, Portia has to confront Shylock, who appears to be the strongest and most dominant male character in the play. This is shown by the other men’s actions in the trial scene. Gratanio curses with anti-Semitic energy, Bassanio pleads uselessly and Antonio seems eager to face his execution. Antonio says “I am tainted wether of the flock, meetest for death”
When Shylock is on the verge of extracting the pound of flesh from Antonio, Portia states that the bond stipulates a pound of flesh only and if a single drop of blood is spilled he will be guilty of conspiring against a Venetian citizen’s life. The penalty for this, is that all his lands and goods are to be confiscated by the state. Shylock then retreats and wishes to take the original 3000 ducats, but Portia is insistent and stops him, saying that he must take the pound of flesh or nothing. Portia then increases the penalty furthermore, “Tarry Jew, The law hath yet another hold on you. It is enacted in the laws of Venice, if it be proved against an alien that by direct or indirect attempts he seeks the life of any citizen the party against which he doth contrive shall seize one half his goods; the other half comes to the privy coffer of the state; and the offender’s life lies in the mercy of the Duke only” It is thanks to Portia’s intelligence and compelling speech, that Antonio manages to survive. Although not all of the audience completely rejoice at Portia’s victory; this is because she shows absolutely no mercy in punishing Shylock when she had earlier commented that mercy is the highest quality of men. Portia stated “The quality of mercy is not strained, it droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven, upon the place beneath, and it is twice blessed”. Therefore she completely contradicts herself.
When comparing the intelligence of Shylock and Portia, it is clear that Portia prevails. This can be judged by reviewing both of the characters most compelling speeches. Shylock’s speech concerning the links between Jews and Christians is very impelling but not entirely logical. For example, Shylock’s warped mind allows him to compare basic this such as eyes and organs with the desire to seek revenge. On the other hand Portia’s mercy speech is far more logical. As an example she allies mercy with Gods and Kings, this corresponds with the renaissance ideology at the time, therefore being accepted by the law at court.
In my opinion, Shakespeare decided to highlight the intellect of Portia, as women were not considered at that time to have the same mental capabilities as men. I believe he attempted to illustrate the fact that women are equally intelligent beings; this is portrayed by Portia’s dominance, particularly throughout the trial scene.
In conclusion, even though Portia outwits Shylock in the trial scene, and is undoubtedly the better individual, I believe that Shylock still has more impact upon “The Merchant of Venice”. Firstly, Shylock is greatly focused on throughout the entire play, whilst Portia does not have a major role until the trial scene, where her qualities are truly recognised. This suggests that Shakespeare may have not intended for Portia to be portrayed as the most important character, if so she would have been introduced earlier. Shylock also introduces a number of themes into the play, including the major one of prejudice. Finally the character of Shylock is also more complex than that of Portia, because he is constantly portrayed as both a villain and a victim. He evokes mixed emotions within the audience; they are drawn in by his diverse characteristics.
