Friendship has a significant value in our lives.

It is responsible for
teaching us a lot of unforgettable lessons. Some are even life-changing
so we must cherish friendship. It is not common to find true friendship
in life.

But when you do, make sure to hold on tightly to it. True friendship
teaches us how to love others who are not our family. Ultimately, our
friends also become our family. A true friendship makes life easy and
gives us good times.

Thus, when the going gets tough, we depend on our friends for solace.
Sometimes, it is not possible to share everything with family, that is
where friends come in. We can share everything with them without the
fear of being judged.

Moreover, true friendship also results in good memories. You spend

time with friends and enjoy it to the fullest, later on, the same moments
become beautiful memories. Only a true friendship will cheer on you
and help you do better in life.

Through true friendship, we learn about loyalty and reliability. When

you have a true friend by your side, nothing can stop you. Your
confidence enhances and you become happier in life. Thus, it changes
our life for the better and keeps us happy.

WHO IS A TRUE FRIEND?

A true friend is someone who is always completely honest. Moreover, even if we don’t talk to them
every day, we know they will be there for us. Thus, silence never gets awkward with them. We may
not talk to them or see them for a long time, but when we meet them, it will be like old times.
A true friend can be best described as someone who is always willing
to help their friend and will even sacrifice their own things to help out.
A true friend is someone who can always be counted on. If a person
has a true friend then he or she knows that their friend will always be
there for them; it does not matter what time of day or night it is. A true
friend is also trustworthy.

You know me well, and herein spend but time To wind about my love with circumstance. And
out of doubt you do me now more wrong In making question of my uttermost Than if you had
made waste of all I have. Then do but say to me what I should do That in your knowledge may
by me be done, And I am pressed unto it. Therefore speak.

 After Bassanio shows concern about the money he owes Antonio, Antonio reassures
Bassanio by describing how he views their friendship. Antonio passionately explains that
Bassanio should not worry about this money because their friendship is stronger than any
debts. Antonio adds that when Bassanio doubts their friendship’s strength, he creates
more worry and pain than any financial strain can cause. Antonio and Bassanio’s
relationship reflects the theme of friendship throughout the play. The two men clearly
care very deeply for one another.

I saw Bassanio and Antonio part. Bassanio told him he would make some speed Of his return.
He answered, “Do not so. Slubber not business for my sake, Bassanio But stay the very riping of
the time. And for the Jew’s bond which he hath of me, Let it not enter in your mind of love. Be
merry, and employ your chiefest thoughts To courtship and such fair ostents of love As shall
conveniently become you there.” And even there, his eye being big with tears, Turning his face,
he put his hand behind him, And with affection wondrous sensible He wrung Bassanio’s hand.
And so they parted.

Salarino describes Antonio and Bassanio’s friendship to Solanio by explaining the scene of
their goodbye as Bassanio left to win Portia’s heart. Salarino’s description indicates that
Bassanio and Antonio share a very close bond. Their relationship seems to mirror that of a father
and son as Antonio feels proud of Bassanio and will do anything to help him succeed in love and
life, but he also finds saying goodbye bittersweet. This heartfelt moment between Bassanio and
Antonio as described by Salarino further develops the theme of friendship in the play
69. Describe the friendship between Antonio and Bassanio.

Ans: Antonio and Bassanio were inseparable. The bond they shared was loving and strong.
Antonio loved Bassanio so much that he risked his own life, so that he could give him three
thousand ducats to marry Portia. Antonio was quite calm when his ships did not return and was
ready to give a pound of flesh to Shylock. When Bassanio heard the news, he left his newly
wedded wife and rushed to save his best friend, Antonio’s life. Both of them were faithful to
each other.

What does Antonio and Bassanio’s

friendship reveal about their characters?
February 22, 2017 by Abhijeet Pratap

Discuss the relationship between Antonio and Bassanio. What does their
friendship reveal about their characters?

Antonio and Bassanio are very good friends becomes clear right from the
initial scenes. Whatever slight doubt is there gets cleared by the end.
Throughout the drama, the two friends are dearer than life to each other.
Their love and trust for each other are evident at every stage of the drama.
Each one of the two is ready to go to any extent to serve and help the other.
It is visible that Bassanio is less a friend and more a brother to Antonio.

“Within the eye of honor,

be assured My purse,

 my person, my extremest means

Lie all unlocked to your occasions.”

Merchant of Venice. Act 1 Scene 1.

Antonio lets Bassanio use his money like it’s his own.  He does not
differentiate between himself and his friend. Bassanio has no money and he
has been living in debt which he plans to repay. He also feels
embarrassed over the large sums he has been borrowing from Antonio.
However, Antonio’s money is tied in the cargo which is still at sea. So, he
asks Bassanio to borrow from anyone in Venice in his name and go and see
Portia. Bassanio has to do little to persuade his friend for money. Antonio is
already more than willing to lend him. This proves Antonio’s selflessness and
that he considers Bassanio a brother.

Another proof of Antonio and Bassanio’s deep friendship comes in scene 3 of

Act 1 when the two are before Shylock to ask him for a loan. Shylock is
surprised at his luck that how destiny has brought the two of his worst
enemies in Venice to his doors seeking help. The greedy Jewish moneylender
reminds them of how bad Antonio has been to him in the past. He would call
Shylock’s business practices unfair, spit on him, and kick him. He is still
willing to lend them the three thousand ducats. Shylock does not want to let
this opportunity of exacting revenge from Antonio go. However, he is ready
to lend them money only on the condition that given Antonio fails to repay;
he would lose a pound of flesh from his body as Shylock wills. Antonio knows
that his friend needs the money and tells the Jew that had the situation been
different, he would have treated him just as he always does. It shows his
stubbornness and proves that inside his heart, Antonio is innocent and a
little childish. Had it not been so, he would have been able to avoid the trap
Shylock had set. For his friend’s sake, he is willing to accept the Jew’s offer
and also ready to change his attitude towards Jews in the future.

 Antonio is doing it all for his friend since he would not like to see Bassanio
disappointed. Bassanio suspects that the villain is up to something very
cunning and tries to stop Antonio from accepting the Jew’s offer. He would
instead go without the money than let his friend put his life at stake.
However, Antonio convinces him that as soon as his ships arrive from the
sea, he will return the Jew his money. All of this shows that the two friends
love and trust each other deeply, and they will make any sacrifice for one
another. It also shows that Antonio is quite emotional about his friend and
can grow blinded by his love for him.
Bassanio receives Antonio’s letter while he is with Portia and grows anxious
that he has lost his ships at sea and failed to repay the loan. Antonio loves
Bassanio deeply and wants to see him before the cunning Jew has taken his
life away. His letter also contains a friendly rebuke for Bassanio, who seems
to have forgotten his friend in Portia’s company. Bassanio has found his
love, whereas fate has been cruel to Antonio, who has lost all his
wealth, but Bassanio’s love and respect for his dearest pal have not reduced.
Their friendship is not for money, but they are intensely loyal to each other.
His friend’s letter appears like Antonio’s dead body to Bassanio. Every word
in Antonio’s letter is calling him a liar and disloyal. After all, it is for him and
his love that Antonio had borrowed from the Jew. He feels guilty that he has
betrayed his friend, and he would never be able to pardon himself if Antonio
dies.

Upon being asked by Portia that who Antonio is, Bassanio replies that he is
not just his best friend and the kindest man but also the most honorable
person in all Italy. Antonio is a friend who is ready to sacrifice anything for
him.

“The dearest friend to me, the kindest man,

The best conditioned and unwearied spirit

In doing courtesies, and one in whom

The ancient Roman honor more appears

Than any that draws breath in Italy”.

The Merchant of Venice. Act 3 Scene 2.

Portia at once understands that Antonio is a noble person who has suffered
for Bassanio. She promises to provide Bassanio with as much wealth that he
can repay twenty times the debt. The debt of the friend is massive, and
Bassanio postpones his marriage. He rushes immediately to repay cruel
Shylock and argues with him to accept a sum multiple times his loan and
settle the debt. His requests are futile, and the Jew was not persuaded.
However, things take a different turn when Portia intervenes.
 It gets clear that both friends are fiercely loyal to each other. At first glance,
it may look like Antonio is making all the sacrifices, and Bassanio is using
him to find his love. Had it been so, Bassanio would not have postponed his
marriage to return and see Antonio. Bassanio’s helplessness near the end
proves that he loves his friend dearly and cannot let him die at Shylock’s
hands. Antonio is an honest young gentleman who believes in fair business
and is equally kind-hearted.

Bassanio is also a loyal friend whose conscience is being weighed down with
guilt. He remains honest in his friendship with Antonio and stands by his side
till the end when things take a comic turn, and the friends win the case
against Shylock. Their trust in each other reveals that both are honest and
honorable characters, true to their word. The bond between the two
is unbreakable, and even when Antonio has no money, his worth for his
friend has not diminished. It signifies several things, including the credibility
of the two characters,  their selflessness, and their devotion to each other.
Shakespeare has provided one of the best examples of friendship and loyalty
through Antonio and Bassanio in his Merchant of Venice.