Antonio Temperamental Melancholy

Antonio is a wealthy merchant in the city of Venice. He is a leading citizen, commanding great respect.
When he is first introduced in the play, he is in a melancholy mood. His friends ask him if he is feeling
melancholy because all his ships are at sea, facing all sorts of dangers from storms and from rocks, but
he tells them that he is not at all feeling worried about the safety of his ships. He then tells them that his
melancholy is something natural to him, something temperamental or inborn. He says that he looks
upon this world as the stage of a theater on which every man has to play a part, his own part being that
of a sad man. Thus melancholy may be regarded as one of the principal traits of his Character.

Antonio Profound Affection for Bassanio

Another major trait of Antonio’s character is his capacity for friendship and his profound affection for
Bassanio. Indeed, the friendship of Antonio and Bassanio is one of the romantic elements in the play
because this friendship has been idealized and glorified by Shakespeare. Bassanio had once before taken
a loan from Antonio but had not repaid it; and now again he needs money badly. This time he again asks
Antonio for a loan. Antonio has no cash in hand at the moment, and yet he would not like to disappoint
his friend. He therefore bids Bassanio approach some money-lender in the city and take a loan on his
behalf. Bassanio approaches Shylock who is a Jew and a professional money ¬lender, and asks for a loan
of three thousand ducats in Antonio’s name. Antonio then signs a bond which seems to be potentially
dangerous but which Antonio signs, regardless of the danger which it implies. There is in it a clause
according to which Shylock would be entitled to cut off a pound of Antonio’s flesh from nearest his heart
in case Antonio fails to repay the loan within a period of three months. Antonio willingly signs this bond
to meet the needs of this friend Bassanio; and this act on his part shows how much he loves Bassanio.
He is really a friend in need. He is willing to risk his life for the sake of his friend.

Antonio – A Kind-hearted and Accommodating Man

Antonio is a kind-hearted man who lends money to needy people without charging any interest from
them. In this respect he offers a striking contrast to Shylock who is a usurer. It is true that Shylock is a
professional money-lender and he must, therefore, charge interest on the loans which he gives.

Antonio, on the other hand, is not a money-lender by profession. But the point to note is that Shylock
charges unreasonably high rates of interest; and Antonio lends money to people even though he is not a
money-lender, and he lends money gratis .While Shylock is a greedy man, Antonio is not at all greedy. In
fact, Antonio is almost indifferent to wealth.

Antonio Religious Intolerance, a Serious Defect in His Character

Although Antonio is a man who wins our respect and admiration because of his fine qualities, yet he also
suffers from a serious defect. As a Christian he shows an intolerance towards the Jews. He hates Shylock
because Shylock is a usurer but even more because Shylock is a Jew. This religious or racial intolerance
on his part somewhat lowers him in our estimation. In fact, Antonio goes out of his way to insult and
degrade Shylock. On many occasions he has abused Shylock, and even spat on his clothes. His reason for
thus treating Shylock is that Shylock is a usurer and a Jew. And even when he is asking Shylock for a loan,
he says that in future also he would abuse him and spit on him. He tells Shylock that he wants a loan
from him not as a friend but as an enemy. There was certainly in those days a general prejudice against
the Jews; but we would expect a nice man like Antonio to be free from a prejudice of that kind. Antonio
is a perfect gentleman but his religious fanaticism is undoubtedly a flaw in his character.

A Deficiency in Antonio Character

Antonio also suffers from a deficiency. He does not have much of a sense of humour. As he is
constitutionally a melancholy man, he is unable to laugh much. He cannot enjoy a joke; and he is
certainly incapable of making a joke. Himself a man of few words, he does not approve of Gratiano’s
glibness or garrulity. Being a serious-minded man, he is also unable to enjoy such merry-making as torch
¬light, masked processions in which Lorenzo and others take great pleasure. And it also seems that he is
incapable of falling in love. When at the outset it is suggested that he may be feeling melancholy
because he is in love, he promptly rejects the suggestion, saying; “Fie, fie!”

A Famous Shakespearean Character: A Villain Deserving Some Sympathy

Shylock is one of the best-known characters in the entire range of Shakespearean drama. He is also a
controversial character. Some critics and readers regard him as a through villain while others believe
that, in spite of his villainy, he deserves some sympathy also. It is necessary for us therefore to assess
this man’s character impartially. He certainly has his hateful traits of character; and he certainly
deserves to be called a villain. But we still feel some sympathy for him because, in our opinion, he is not
only a wrtfng-doer but also a victim of wrong-doing by others.

A Usurer

By profession, Shylock is a money-lender. Money-lending by itself is not something shameful or

discreditable, or degrading, or even objectionable. However, money-lending becomes something odious
and abhorrent if a money-lender becomes an exploiter by charging excessive rates of interest. Shylock is
a money-lender who tries to enrich himself and to accumulate wealth by exploiting the financial needs
of others. One reason why he hates Antonio is that Antonio lends money to needy persons without
charging any interest at all, and Antonio thus brings down the rate of interest in Venice. Shylock has
already hoarded a lot of wealth by his usury, but his craving for more money is not satisfied. This makes
him a contemptible person in the play. In this respect he is a typical Jew because the Jews have
traditionally been regarded as usurers. It is only in our own times that the Jews have been able to shed
that image. Today the Jews are regarded as a versatile race of people, possessing many gifts and talents.

His Intolerance of Christians; and His Extreme Miserliness

Shylock repels us not only by his usury but also by his religious intolerance. He hates Christians and he
hates them fiercely. At one point in the play, he says in an aside that he hates Antonio firstly because
Antonio is a Christian and secondly because Antonio brings down the rate of interest in Venice by
lending money gratis. As a Jew, Shylock does not eat pork and he would not therefore like to join the
Christians at a dinner where pork is to be served as one of the dishes. This much we can understand and
accept. Everybody has a right not to eat a certain kind of meat, and also a right not to eat meat
altogether. Everybody has even the right not to attend a dinner where meat is to be served. But nobody
should hate others because they eat meat or a particular kind of meat. In this respect, as in all other
respects, tolerance is the right attitude to adopt. But Shylock makes pork-eating one of the grounds for
his hatred of Christians who are pork-eaters. In one of his speeches he refers to the Biblical story of the
manner in which Christ had lured the devil to enter into the body of a pig. However, this is a very minor
issue in the play. Eventually Shylock does agree to attend a Christian dinner; and his reason for attending
it further lowers him in our estimation. He would like to eat at the expense of the Christians who are
extravagant and who spend money needlessly. By eating a meal at the expense of the Christians, he can
save a little money at home; and this is the height of miserliness and meanness. The Jews are-
traditionally regarded as misers, though such is no longer the case in our own times. Launcelot Gobbo
refers to Shylock’s miserliness when he says that in the Jew’s service he is “famished” (that is, starving).
And yet Shylock says to Launcelot that the latter would not enjoy those facilities in Bassanio’s service
which he is enjoying here, in the Jew’s house. We feel really amused to find that, although Shylock is a
big miser, he thinks himself to be very generous.

His Deceitful and Crafty Dealings

Shylock is a deceitful and crafty man. At first he expresses his unwillingness to give a loan to Antonio on
the ground that Antonio had been ill-treating him. However, an altogether different idea takes shape in
his mind. He then agrees to give the loan but he lays down the condition that the bond to be signed
should contain a clause according to which he would become entitled to cut off a pound of Antonio’s
flesh from nearest his heart if Antonio fails to repay the loan within a period of three months. If is thus
that he lures Antonio into signing the bond, saying at the same time that this clause is intended only as a
joke because a pound of human flesh can serve no purpose at all and because even the flesh of animals
like goats and sheep has greater value than human flesh. In other words, Shylock employs cunning to
have to bond signed. He treats the bond as a weapon which he might be able to use in case Antonio, by
some mischance, is rendered penniless and finds it impossible to repay the loan. In this respect, then,
Shylock shows considerable shrewdness and even a capacity to foresee the future. In this matter of the
bond, and the discussion which takes place between him and the Christians (Bassanio and Antonio),
several facets of Shylock’s personality become evident to us. He here shows himself as a cunning,
hypocritical, humble as well as arrogant man. He even cites a Biblical incident to justify the charging of
interest, though he admits that this incident is not exactly a precedent but only a parallel to prove the
validity of charging some kind of fee for the services which one renders to others. In any case, the whole
scene in which the transaction takes place reveals Shylock’s character in an unfavourable light. He here
appears as a detestable person deserving our dislike and hatred.

His Revengeful and Blood thirst Nature

Shylock is a revengeful and bloodthirsty man. From the very start, he is shown as planning to take his
revenge upon Antonio for the latter’s ill-treatment of him. Antonio’s need for a loan serves him as a
great opportunity to wreak his vengeance upon him. Subsequently no appeals from the Duke and the
magnificence move him to pity. Even Portia’s eloquent plea for mercy tails to have any effect upon him.
He feels jubilant when it seems that the verdict of the court would go in his favour; and he begins to
exult over Portia’s pronouncement in the beginning that he has a very strong case. He bluntly tells the
judge that there is no power in the tongue of man to alter his resolve to take a pound of flesh, “My
deeds upon my head”, he says. He simply invokes the law which entitles him to the penalty and the
forfeit of his bond, and he clings to the position he has taken up.

His Suspicious Nature

Shylock has a suspicious nature and does not trust anyone. He cannot trust either his servant or his
daughter. Although his suspicious nature is no merit in him, yet we must admit that he is fully justified in
his suspicions. His servant detests him, and so does his daughter. While the servant merely leaves his
service, his daughter goes to the extent of running away from home with a Christian and stealing a
considerable amount of his money and his jewels.

His Redeeming Qualities

Even though Shylock is a villain, he does have a couple of redeeming qualities. He is a champion of his
race. He speaks eloquently and convincingly about the injustice which the Jews have always suffered at
the hands of the Christians. He offers a forceful plea on behalf of the Jews in his speech beginning: “Hath
not a Jew eyes? Hath not a Jew hands, organs, dimensions, senses, affections, passions?” Then there is
his sentiment for his dead wife, Leah. On learning that his daughter had given away a particular jewel in
exchange for a monkey, he says that this jewel had been given to him by Leah when he was still a
bachelor; and he goes on to say: “1 would not have given it (the jewel) for a wilderness of moneys.”
Besides, his character is distinguished by an intellectual force and vigour which are praiseworthy. It is in
view of these good qualities in him that he wins our sympathy when he is cruelly treated at the end. At
the same time we must not forget that he is essentially an evil man full of spite and malice against the
Christians and, more particularly, against his enemy Antonio. And, of course, there is a comic side to him
also. He appears as a monster when he begins to sharpen his knife in order to cut off a pound of flesh
from Antonio’s body. He would use this flesh as bait to catch fish if he cannot make any other use of it.
And he appears as a comic character when he cries simultaneously: “0 my ducats! O my daughter! O my
Christian ducats”! And he becomes a pathetic figure at the end when he staggers out of the court, a
ruined man and a fanatical Jew who must now turn a Christian.

oes not follow such a course. Even the man, with whom she has fallen in love, must prove his worth by
passing the test before she would marry him; nor does she give him any hint as to the casket which he
shoul

d choose.

Her essential WisdomHer High Position in the Gallery of Shakespeare’s Heroines

Among the heroines created by Shakespeare, Portia occupies a high position. She produces a powerful
impression on our minds; and her role in the play is most conspicuous and memorable. When the play
the Merchant of Venice is mentioned anywhere, people think of two persons, namely Shylock and
Portia; and these two persons are inseparable from each other in our minds because we remember
Shylock chiefly as a villain wanting to take the life of his enemy Antonio, and we think of Portia as the
person who defeats Shylock’s evil design. And, of course, Portia has other qualities also to impart a
measure of greatness to her.

Her Sense of Humour and Her Sparkling Wit optimistic disposition

Portia is a lady with a cheerful and. She has a strong sense of humour and a sparkling, scintillating wit
which she shows in the very beginning and then continues to show till the very end. It is only on one
occasion in the whole play that she feels melancholy, and even sick of the world. When she is first
introduced to us, she tells Nerissa that she is feeling weary of the world. But this melancholy mood lasts
only for a few minutes, and is dispelled as soon as Nerissa begins to talk to her about the various suitors
who have arrived at Belmont to try their luck at the caskets. Portia has something very amusing to say
about each of these four suitors. Her comment on her English suitor is perhaps the most amusing. This
comment ends with her saying that the Englishman perhaps bought his doublet in Italy, his round hose
in France, his bonnet in Germany, and his behaviour everywhere. Subsequently she shows her sense of
humour in setting the Rings story afoot and bringing it to an end which gives rise to plenty of mirth and
laughter. Portia’s comments on her various suitors show also her powers of minute observation and her
penetrating judgment of human character.

Her Devotion to the Memory of Her Father

Portia is genuinely devoted to the memory of her father who, while dying, had devised a kind of lottery
for the purpose of her choice of a husband. She is determined to carry out the terms of her late father’s
will. Of course, it is possible for her to disregard her father’s will and to marry a man on the basis of her
own judgment. But she has implicit faith in her father’s wisdom, and she is convinced that her father’s
will would prove to be the means of her getting the right man as her husband. In this belief she is greatly
encouraged by Nerissa who tells her that good men are sometimes divinely inspired when they are
dying and that they then take sound decisions. Having fallen in love with Bassanio, Portia could easily
have married him without subjecting him to the test laid down by her father in his will, but she d

Portia shows her wisdom in other ways as well. Her conversation with Nerissa at the very outset of the
play contains some valuable remarks which are well-worded maxims. For instance, she says that it is a
good divine who follows his own instructions. She also says that she can easier teach twenty what were
good to be done than be one of the twenty to follow her own teaching. In fact, her speech to Nerissa on
this occasion is a series of aphoristic statements containing gems of wisdom. Later in the play, she again
makes similar remarks which show her wisdom and her vast knowledge of the world and of human
nature. For instance, she says that a good deed shines in a naughty world just as a candle shines in the
darkness of the night. She also says that nothing is good if it is not seen in its proper context. She makes
a similar remark when she says that many things appear to be praiseworthy and perfect when they are
looked at in the right perspective. But her wisdom appears in a most striking manner in the Trial Scene
in the course of which she is able to turn the tables upon Shylock and defeat him with the same weapon
with which he wanted to take Antonio’s life.

Her Compassionate Nature

Portia has essentially a compassionate nature. Her famous “Quality of Mercy” speech is a proof of that.
This speech depicts mercy as a sublime quality which is twice blest: it blesseth him that gives, and him
that takes. Mercy, she says, is an attribute to God Himself. It is unfortunate that the Jew pays no heed to
Portia’s plea. At the same time, we must acknowledge the fact that, in pronouncing the punishment to
which Shylock has rendered himself liable, she tends to forget her own ardent plea for mercy. She allows
the Christians to have their own way with him. She allows them to force him not only to part with all his
wealth but also to be converted to Christianity. However, in this connection we should not forget that in
the Elizabethan times such punishment to a Jew was not thought to be inhuman or brutal.

Her Modesty, Humility, and Femininity

Although Portia is a woman with a powerful intellect and extraordinary powers of reasoning, she yet
remains a woman at heart with a lot of modesty, humility, and compassion. When she disguises herself
as a man, she succeeds eminently in playing a masculine role. But on all other occasions she shows that
modesty lends to a woman the grace and the chain which make her a lovable person. When Bassanio
puts his hand on the lead casket, she feels overwhelmed by a feeling of ecstasy, and is hardly able to
restrain her feelings on this occasion. When he actually opens the lead casket and, finding her picture in
it, claims her with a kiss, she makes a speech which embodies the very spirit of humility. She describes
herself as an unschooled, unlessoned, and unpractised woman, and then goes on to make a complete
surrender of herself to the man who has won her as his wife.

Her Generous Disposition

Portia is a very large-hearted and generous woman. Every wealthy person is not generous. Some
wealthy persons are also the greatest misers. Shylock is, of course, the most striking example of this sort
of thing. But Portia combines her vast material wealth with an inner treasure of generosity. On learning
the plight of Bassanio’s dearest friend, she offers to Bassanio any amount of money that he may need
for the resuce of Antonio from the clutches of the Jew. And then she herself dons a lawyer’s clothes to
function as a judge in the case because she has hit upon a plan to save Antonio’s life.

The Muse of Wisdom and Love

For all these reasons, one of the critics describes Portia as the Queen of this play, and as the Muse of
wisdom and love. This critic also says that Portia is as natural as Eve in Paradise.