Shakespeare shows Portia to be a strong female character when she gives a witty account of her recent suitors “If he would despise me, I would forgive him; for if he love me to madness, I shall never requite him.” Portia is expressing that she would rather he hated her than loved her, because she couldn’t cope with this man loving her. This way in which Portia ridicules her suitors shows that she is not timid and does not follow the traditional view of the time that woman should appear less important than men. This is clearly a point that Shakespeare agreed with and was eager to convey, as several of his plays display strong female characters who will often outwit the men - as Portia outwits Shylock and the others in the trial scene - rather than simple one-dimensional women characters. Whilst Shakespeare did well to create an interesting and in-depth character in Portia, it seems strange that she acts completely differently from what we have seen before when later on in the play, when it becomes apparent that she is to marry Bassanio. This is the first point in the play where a substantial connection between Belmont and Venice is made, and Portia responds by giving a modest account of herself and basically telling Bassanio that she is his to command. This is inconsistent with the witty, sharp-tongued portrayal of Portia that has been shown before. This may be Shakespeare’s way of expressing the magnitude of the attraction and love that is shared between Bassanio and Portia, as it is strong enough to deflate such a strong-willed character.
The fact that Portia and Bassanio are in love is made clear to the audience by the language used by Shakespeare in their interactions. The two characters always converse in blank verse, never in prose. In Shakespeare’s plays, characters normally use iambic pentameter, which means that each line consists of an arrangement of stressed and unstressed syllables always coming to a total of ten in every line. This indicates importance and significance in what is said, compared to the prose used between characters such as Lancelot and Gobbo, who are conveyed as uneducated and fairly insignificant characters. The lengthy and colourful verse used by Bassanio in Act III Scene 2 shows that they are significant, and the extent to which they use imagery and symbolism expresses they love they have for each other. “Here are sever’d lips parted with sugar breath; so sweet a bar Should sunder such sweet friends. Here in her hairs The painter plays the spider, and hath woven A golden mesh t’entrap the hearts of men Faster than gnats in cobwebs.” You can see that Bassanio goes to great lengths in using metaphoric imagery to colourfully describe Portia’s attributes. I think the way he seems to go off on unrelated tangents serves to convey the fact that her beauty sends his mind wandering from the topic.
The setting of Venice serves as a stark contrast from the world of Belmont. The fact that it is more urbanized compared to Belmont, which I get the feeling is more rural despite this not being covered in the play, signifies the main differences between the two settings. Everything is more money-orientated in Venice than it is in Belmont, as money is abundant in Belmont and therefore not an issue. This is shown when Portia learns of the bond between Antonio and Shylock; “What, no more? Pay him six thousand and deface the bond. Double six thousand and then treble that” This gives a portrayal of Belmont being more mature and sophisticated than Venice, almost as if the affairs of Venice seem less significant and almost petty when held in relation with the inhabitants of Belmont. This is shown in the trial scene, where Portia goes to Venice in disguise and, in effect single-handedly solves the issues and tensions built up by the main characters of the play,. There is a sense of Portia and Nerissa being the adults, lowering themselves in order to sort out the conflicts between the children - being Antonio, Bassanio and Shylock.
One of the main themes in The Merchant of Venice is racial tension, specifically between the jews and the christians, and it is another of the aspects that makes Venice appear more rugged and cut-throat compared to Belmont. Shakespeare mainly explores the ideas of persecution and revenge and I think he does well to show the conflict from both points of view and therefore create depth in the plot. From Shylock’s first scene, there is tension between him and Antonio. Shylock mentions several reasons for this in his small soliloquy in Act I Scene 3, including the “Ancient grudge” borne by him, referring to the history between Jews. When we learn of the abuse Shylock has suffered at the hands of Antonio, we begin to sympathize with him, and as this sense of persecution develops throughout the play an interesting picture of Shylock’s character begins to emerge that is very much open to interpretation. This helps Shakespeare to create an in-depth, three-dimensional character rather than the shallow, stereotypical depiction of a jew that would of been much more common in anti-semitic Elizabethan times.
Shylock’s human side is first depicted in Act III Scene 1, when he is being pressured to drop his bond with Antonio. “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? If we are like you in the rest, we will resemble you in that.” Shylock talks in prose here, this is partly because Shakespeare wouldn’t want a Jew to appear educated, but also to express that his words aren’t calm or considered enough to be arranged into verse. It is an outpouring of raw emotion from Shylock, as he tries to appeal to the Christian’s’ sense of reason and humanity, in his attempt to make them understand that he is no different from them, and therefore deserves no difference in treatment. The placement of this passage is important in evoking the audience’s sense of sympathy, as it occurs just after we hear that Shylock’s daughter, Jessica, has run away with Lorenzo, a christian and taken all his money. This is the point at which Shylock appears to be broken, and from this point on he is intent on nothing but receiving his bond and having revenge on Antonio. The fact that Antonio is rarely seen or heard of for a large part of the play serves to emphasize Shylock’s desperation in the eyes of the audience, as he is still determined to grieve Antonio, despite the fact that his latest troubles have nothing to do with him. Shylock lashes out at Antonio merely because by this point it is the one thing that he has control over. Some people may perceive this as a sign of Shylock’s persecution, while others will see this as Shylock being as spiteful as the Christians. This view is supported by a comment Shylock makes about Antonio in his first scene; “I hate him because he is a Christian” This makes it hard to sympathize with Shylock as it suggests that if their positions were reversed, Shylock would treat Antonio with the same disdain and persecution. Another aspect that makes it hard to sympathize with Shylock is the fact that when he reacts to his daughter running away with his money, he seems more distressed by the loss of his ‘ducats’ than of his daughter. This fits with the traditional stereotype of a Jew caring about nothing but money. However, if you look deeper at Shylock’s character, you could reason that he has been deeply hurt by his daughter, and therefore reacts in a human way, hiding his sadness and acting as if it is not important to him. It is these different potential connotations of Shakespeare’s character of Shylock that make him so interesting and, in turn make The Merchant of Venice stand out above the other similar plays which influenced Shakespeare.
The contrasts between Venice and Belmont helps them counteract well and therefore create a balanced plot. It seems to me that Shakespeare intended the relationship between Belmont, Venice and the Jewish Ghetto to act as a symbolization of the relationship between Heaven, Earth and Hell. When Antonio enters the Jewish Ghetto in order to borrow from Shylock, he is going to him reluctantly out of necessity. Shylock immediately comes up with his pound of flesh bond, and then disguises it as a joke in order to lure an unwitting Antonio into it. it is as if he is signing his soul away to the devil. “Mark you this, Bassanio, The Devil can cite scripture for his purpose” This seems more apparent when you consider the fact that Jews were often referred to as devils. At the end of the play, it is the only time Portia and Nerissa appear in Venice, when they go in disguise to Antonio’s trial. It seems to me to signify angels descending from heaven (Belmont) in order to perform their judgement and thwart Shylock. This is consistent with the idea of Belmont being more sophisticated and important than Venice. In this way, Venice and Belmont do seem to be worlds apart because, in my opinion they represent the different worlds of heaven and Earth, which is why the audience never actually finds out where Belmont is in relation to Venice.
