In Act 2 Scene 2 we are introduced to Portia and Nerissa.
Portia is the lady of Belmont. Her dad passed away and left her a challenge which a man had to pass to marry her. Nerissa is Portia’s waiting-woman.
In this scene the suitors of Portia Neapolitan prince, Country Palatine, French Lord, Falconbridge, Scottish Lord, young German, Bassanio, and The Prince of Morocco come and do the test. The test contains a gold, silver, and lead box. The suitors have to choose one of these boxes and who ever chooses the correct box marries Portia. Portia talks to Nerissa about what she thinks about the suitors. For example she says to Nerissa that the Neapolitan Prince is boring, talks about horses all the time, etc.
In Act 1 Scene 3 we are introduced to Shylock.
Shylock is a business man. He hates Antonio because Antonio has insulted him because Antonio does not approve of him charging interest. He has a daughter called Jessica. He also has a friend called Tubal and a servant called Launcelot.
In this scene Bassanio goes to Shylock to borrow the money. Shylock takes his time to reply to Bassanio whether he will or will not give the money to Bassanio. Shylock then talks to Antonio. Just before talking to Antonio he says what he feels about him. Some of the things he says about Antonia are “How like a fawning publican he looks. I hate him for he is a Christian, but more, for that in low simplicity he lends out money gratis and brings down the rate of asance here with us in Venice.” Shylock expresses very strong feelings of hatred towards Antonio. Shylock carries on talking to Antonio. Shylock agrees to give the money to Bassanio but he says with only one condition that Antonio agrees to his deal. Shylock says “Go with me to a notary, seal me there your single bond, and in a merry sort, if you repay me not on such a day, in such a place, such sum or sums as are expressed in the condition, let the forfeit be nominated for an equal pound of your fair flesh, to be cut off and taken in what part of your body pleaseth me.” Shylock means he and Antonio go to the notary and then Antonio signs the paper work there. The deal (the bond) is Antonio should pay Shylock his money back by the day they both have agreed, if Antonio fails to pay the money on that day Shylock will cut off a pound of flesh from Antonio’s body. Antonio agrees to this deal.
The theme of friendship carries on throughout Act 1 Scene 1. We see very strong friendship between Antonio and his friends. When Bassanio is asking Antonio for money, Bassanio talks about their days in school, how long they played games with bows and arrows, etc. This shows that they have been friends for a long time. Antonio is also not disappointed when Bassanio asks him for money, in-fact he tells Bassanio that everything he has, Bassanio is welcome to. We see Antonio’s friends cheering him up when he is sad. They also give him advice not to be sad, like Gratiano says to Antonio he would rather grow old feeling happy and lively, and enjoying him self, not by being miserable. Throughout this scene, we see the theme of friendship developing.
In Act 1 Scene 2, we see the theme of friendship carrying on by Portia and her waiting-woman Nerissa. We see Portia talking to Nerissa about the suitors. She treats Nerissa as her friend not her waiting-woman. There also seem to be strong friendship between these two characters.
In Act 1 Scene 3 the theme of friend ship still carries on but we also see the theme of anger and hate developing between Antonio and Shylock. Shylock tells Antonio how he feels about him and why. There seems to be conflict between these characters. Throughout this scene we do not sense any theme of friendship between these characters. However in this scene we also sense theme of strong friendship between Antonio and Bassanio. Antonio agrees to Shylocks bond and risks his life for his friend. Bassanio is also shocked by what Antonio is doing for him. He says to Antonio “You shall not seal to such a bond I’ll rather dwell in necessity.” Bassanio is saying to Antonio not to agree to this bond, he would rather leave it. This also shows how strong the friendship between these characters is.
The friendship between Antonio and friends saves his life. Antonio’s friends stand beside him throughout the other acts especially in Act 4. Antonio’s friends do everything to stop Shylock from cutting a pound of Antonio’s flesh because Antonio could not pay him the money back. At the end they win and stop Shylock from cutting a pound of flesh from Antonio’s body. This shows how friendship is important throughout the rest of the play. We also see Antonio’s friends insisting that Shylock should not cut Antonio’s flesh, in-fact he should cut theirs. We also see friends supporting each other in other scenes for example when Gratiano, Solanio, and Salerio help Jessica and Lorenzo to runaway in Act 2. This also shows the importance of friendship throughout this play.
Throughout the play, friendship plays an important role and draws together the experience of it. Without the friendship of Bassanio and Antonio, and the other characters, the play would not have taken place. The play teaches us a lot about the importance of loyalty in friendship, but also the dangers involved. They show the importance of friendship by being there and helping each other.
