Appropriateness of the

title:
In the city of Venice, there are two merchants: Shylock and Antonio. There is also a challenger in
Bassanio, who is married to the pretty and intelligent Portia. Both characters are leading but contra
posed. As in other works, Shakespeare left the title of the play open to the reader so that the reader
may choose between them. The reason he named this play The Merchant of Venice is because, in
some cases, the reader chooses to take on both characters.

There are two alternative titles that the reader can consider for The Merchant of Venice. One of these
is The Jew of Venice, which is more suitable than The Lady of Belmont. However, if we accept this
title, then we must accept the role of Shylock.

But can Shylock be the main character of the play? He can be the hero when he is so mean and cruel,
and he is also very humiliated and punished at the end of the play.

If, the hero of the play should be understood that the character who dominates the action by his
character is more necessary to him and attracts our attention and interest, then without a doubt, the
title of the play would go to Shylock, though he bears the name Antonio, so to speak, for the
honorable hero - more dead than alive - is dark and melancholy in his treatment and prone to
unhappy direction - who has the passive virtue of devotion and sacrifice in the name of friendship is
the only hero the faded elements become trivial besides Shylock's aggressive personality. If the two
were placed side by side, the focus would be on Shylock while Antonio would be lost in the crowd -
it would look like a giant figure standing next to a moth. Although Antonio is not the main actor, he is
still the source and center of the action. The war in Bond's story unfolds around him and it is his
generosity that drives Casket's story. It should not be forgotten that the play is primarily concerned
with Antonio's fortunes - and it is his narrow escape from a chilling fate that forms the central and
prominent episode of the story. It was against Antonio that Shylock's plot was directed. The great
feat in Bond history is Antonio's escape from Shylock's vengeance. This way, no matter which way
we turn, the focus is always on Antonio. Who is the real protagonist of the play and the locomotive
of the action?

Weakness and Insignificance of Antonio as Hero of the Play:

Antonio is beneficent and extraordinarily beneficial to his friends. He is likewise manifestly

prosperous. Yet, the generosity is closer to the simplest of his male partners and there is something
very defeatist in his help. There is latent homosexuality in the man, and his shopping for men`s
affection via way of means of giving them cash makes his generosity tainted. His all-eating love for
his male friend, Bassanio, does now no longer deliver tons of attraction and is at risk of repulsing us,
as all homosexuals do. He has no hobby in ladies like every heterosexual and does now no longer
have a spouse or any family. He is meek and timid in a disaster as all bullies forever are. There is not
any doubt that he is a bully. He calls Shylock a cur, spits on him, and continuously ridicules his Jewish
race. He does this due to the fact Shylock is continuously outnumbered via way of means by Antonio's
cronies. The second Shylock outmaneuvers him, all his brashness vanishes. He is singular without
any power withinside the trial scene. This does now no longer make Antonio via way of means of any
requirements heroic, and his claims to be a hero of the play are at great vulnerable and insignificant.

Lack of heroic qualities in Bassanio:

Bassanio, who is considered a second-rate rival, is beautiful, a quality in women, but hardly an asset
in men. He may be attractive to Antonio, but we produce a bad image of the man. He is extravagant
and lives beyond his means. It may have been a sign of nobility to live beyond one's means in
Shakespeare's time in Venice, but it hardly pleases the spiritual aspects of the author or the reader.
He is a fortune hunter, and his intention to marry Portia is due to his wealth as well as his love for her.
It is amazing how the extremely intelligent Portia returned love to such a useless person. Bassanio is

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a parasite. He knocks his friend Antonio flying, endangering his life for three thousand dongs, then
leaves his chips in the cold. We do not know what Bassanio does for a living. It is fair to assume it
does not do anything. First, he inherited a small fortune from his ancestors, then repeatedly
borrowed money from Antonio, then married Portia because of his wealth. He also lacks company
like Antonia. When Antonio is in trouble, all he can do is stay by his side. Without Portia's creativity,
Antonio would have died without Bassanio even considering the ways and means to save him.

Lack of Bassanio's heroic qualities:

Bassanio is considered a second candidate and is handsome. This may be a quality for women but
has little benefit for men. He may talk to Antonio, but we can get a feminine image of the man. He is
in vain and lives beyond his means. During Shakespeare's Venice, living beyond his means may have
been a sign of an aristocrat, but it is little pleasing to the intellectual abilities of the author and reader.
He is a playboy seeking good luck and his intention to marry Portia is for her wealth as much as her
love for her. Surprisingly, the highly intelligent Portia responds to the love of such worthless people.
Bassanio is a parasite. He insults his friend Antonio, endangers his life for 3000 ducats, and then
leaves him in the rain. I do not know what Bassanio is doing to make a living. It is fair to assume that
he does nothing. He first inherits a small fortune from his ancestors, then repeatedly borrows money
from Antonio, and then marries Portia for her wealth. He also lacks a company like Antonia. When
Antonio is in trouble, all he can do is be with you. Without Posha's creative brilliance, Antonio would
have died without thinking of how Bassanio could save him.

Shylock`s Not Being the Hero of the Play:

Shylock is the maximum towering persona withinside the play even though withinside the courtroom
docket scene he is eclipsed and vanquished via way of means of Portia. Portia defeats him, thwarts
him, and renders him helpless; however, until this factor withinside the play is reached it became
Shylock who had inspired us because of the maximum dynamic and the maximum bold character
withinside the play. And but he cannot be distinct because the hero of the play is due to the fact the
hero needs to have a sure diploma of ethical goodness in him even as Shylock is a malicious and
revengeful man. Shylock is a usurer and usury are a stigma at the call of a man. Besides, Shylock is a
fanatical Jew who is illiberal of Christians; he is a miser in whose carrier Launcelot is famished; he is a
tyrannical cunning, crafty, heartless, merciless, and vindictive man. Such a person cannot be known
as the hero of the play or a novel. Antonio alternatively does own sure precise virtues and is morally
a way advanced to Shylock even though he suffers from more than one fault and failings including
despair and sullen nature and spiritual fanaticism. Antonio is kind-hearted and beneficent to needy

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persons, and he is a committed friend of Bassanio. He enjoys remarkable popularity in Venice and
the Duke has an excessive opinion of him. It became consequently best the proper path for
Shakespeare to have named the play for Antonio.

Appropriateness to call the play The Jew of Venice:

Some readers may even think that the play should be called "The Jew of Venice", but our own opinion
on the matter This title is the more appropriate current title. Antonio is just as important as Shylock.
If Antonio were removed from the play, the whole story would fall apart. Neither the story of Bond
nor the coffins would have existed without Antonio. It is the pivot on which the action of the play
revolves. Around him are grouped all the characters. Bassanio is his friend; Shylock is his nemesis and
Portia proves herself to be his savior. Antonio's moral superiority over Shylock and his significant
importance in the structure and design of the play endow him with a stature far superior to Shylock's,
and thus, the title Merchant of Venice is quite acceptable.

A very close observation of the hero of the play:

It is argued and analyzed that Antonio, the Venetian Merchant, plays a supporting and supporting role
in the play and cannot be considered a hero. The bottom line is that the title should have pointed to
the most dominant character in the play and that perusing the play could lead to Shylock being seen
as the hero. Shylock is indeed the strongest, most graceful, and dominant character in the play;
however, he cannot be considered the hero of the play either; in fact, he is the villain of the piece.
Shylock's name would therefore not be as coherent as Antonio's, because to regard Shylock as the
protagonist of the play is to misunderstand its true meaning.

Justification of the title and hero of the play:

If one looks closely at the play, one will see that the title of the play is justifiable. We can say that the
word Marchand means Antonio and Shakespeare named his play Antonio because he considered
Antonio a hero. It was Antonio who turned the film around. He forms a center around which all the
characters are grouped - Bassanio, his friend; Shylock the enemy and will be his assassin; Portia her

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savior. Sure, there is very little to do for him, but there is a lot to do for him and him in the play. In
fact, without Antonio, the room would fall apart.