Il mercante di Venezia William Shakespeare (appunti)

The Merchant of Venice

Source and Background

Source: 1 novella 4 day in "Il Pecorone". Ansaldo, V. merchant, encourages his godson Giannetto to travel. In Belmonte, Giannetto meets a beautiful widow; she’ll marry who will woo her in bed, but if he fails, he gives up to her everything he has brought with him. Many have tried, but the lady has drugged/tricked them. So Giannetto tries, fails, gets drunk, loses his ship and merchandise, and returns to Venice. Giannetto lends him another ship (3 times) but he has to ask for a loan to a Jew usurer in Mestre; if the money’s not given back, the Jew will ask for a pound of flesh. Giannetto marries the woman, doesn’t pay the debt, so the Lady disguises herself as a lawyer (informal), and she frees her husband asking for just his ring as compensation.

Act I, Scene One

Antonio is in a melancholic state of mind and unable to find a reason for it. His friends Salerio (Salarino) and Solanio attempt to cheer him up, telling him that he is only worried about his ships returning safely to port; Salerio says being wealthy is temporary. Antonio denies. Solanio: “then you are in love”, Antonio denies. His two friends leave after Bassanio, Graziano, Lorenzo arrive. Graziano remarks that Antonio does not look well (he has too much respect upon the world, they lose it that do buy it with much care). Antonio says the world is a play, every man must play a part, his a sad one. (Gratiano= let me play the Fool … Why should a healthy man be rigid)? They leave (not Bassanio). Antonio asks him who is the woman to whom he swore a secret pilgrimage. Bassanio informs Antonio that he wasted his money (money is unstable, the nobility depends on the middle class to get money). Bassanio reveals that he wants to marry Portia, a wealthy heiress in Belmont (he’ll gain social prestige). However, in order to woo Portia, Bassanio needs to borrow enough money; she has already many suitors, called Jasons, and Portia is like the gold fleece (prize). Antonio tells him that all his money is invested in ships at sea but offers to borrow money for him.

Act I, Scene Two

The two scenes are similar: sadness, here, excess. In the beginning, Antonio is sad in his position of a man who lives upon his money. Portia, the wealthy heiress, discusses her many suitors with her noblewoman Nerissa. Portia can’t choose on her own, she’s not a free woman (patriarchal system, because her father has devised the lottery in 3 caskets of gold, silver, and lead; the one who’ll choose the right one will marry her). She points out the faults that each of them has, often stereotyping each suitor according to the country from which he has arrived. Nerissa asks her if she remembers a soldier who stayed at Belmont several years before. Portia recalls the man, "Yes, yes, it was Bassanio". Portia's servingman then arrives with news that four of her suitors are leaving, but another, the Prince of Morocco, has arrived.

Act I, Scene Three

Bassanio is engaged in conversation with Shylock, a Jew usurer. Bassanio has asked him for a loan of three thousand ducats, for 3 months. He tells Shylock that Antonio is to "be bound," Antonio will be responsible for repaying the loan. Shylock says “Antonio is a good man”, but he refers to his wealth, not to his moral qualities. Shylock finally agrees after delaying the matter. He asks Bassanio if he may speak with Antonio, and he invites Shylock to dinner. Shylock says he will never eat with a Christian (“I will buy with you, sell, … not eat pray = separates economic // private). Antonio arrives. Shylock addresses the audience and informs them that he despises Antonio (a publican, like the oppressors that extracted taxes from the Jews in Rome). He says Antonio lends out money without charging interest, he hates Jewish people, despises Shylock’s profit, calling it “usury”. Christians can’t be usurers. Shylock turns to Antonio and tells him why interest is allowed in the Hebrew faith by quoting a biblical passage in which Jacob manages to get more parti-coloured lambs (his hire) in an artificial way: artificial gain. Shylock associates animals to money because both are bred by men. Antonio asks him if the passage was inserted into the bible to defend interest charges. He states, "Was this inserted to make interest good, / Or is your gold and silver ewes and rams?" (1.3.90-91). Shylock "I cannot tell. I make it breed as fast". Shylock says that it’s ambiguous for Christians to come to him for money after despising him, he’s exposing the contradictory behaviour of Christians. Antonio asks Shylock to loan the money without any interest. Shylock offers to seal the bond, "seal in a merry spot" (since you don’t accept the rules of interest, seal for fun) without interest, but as collateral demands a pound of Antonio's flesh. Antonio thinks Shylock is only joking, says yes. “Merry bond” (money = blood, flesh econ. Useless).

Analysis

The first act and the second act both have a sad character, for different reasons. Bassanio represents the gambler that can’t lose. He has often been compared to Jason in the Quest for the Golden Fleece, namely a risk-taker. Portia as a character is a mixture of various traits. She is first presented as the ruler of Belmont, in charge of both herself and those around her. However, we discover that she is not in charge, indeed it is "the will of a living daughter curbed by the will of a dead father" (1.2.21). Portia's reliance on the wishes of her dead father contradicts the image of her as Belmont's ruler. She will be unable to alter the plot around her as long as she is a woman. It is only later, by dressing as Balthasar, a man, that she will finally be able to command events and manipulate the play. Shylock in Shakespeare's day would have dressed quite differently from the other characters, with a gaberdine, a long dress, in order to distinguish himself from the Christians.

Shylock’s Otherness

The Jew has his own peculiar language, based on repetitions. He’s ambiguous in the way he speaks. Shylock has a double nature: he could use the Bible to his advantage but deep down he’s a villain with a smiling cheek.

Shylock's and Antonio's Methods

- Shylock → Generation Method → interest, + money

- Antonio → Barren Method → money is sterile (A. Marzola, the Christians don’t consider money like money and flesh, in a vital way).

Act II, Scene One

The Prince of Morocco meets with Portia; “let us make incision for your love to prove whose blood is reddest: the violence of intercultural changes, the presence of the stranger in the Merchant of Venice represents the difficulty of intercultural exchanges through metaphors about blood/cutting). She tells him she can’t choose (caskets). If he chooses the wrong casket, he must swear to never propose marriage to a woman afterwards. He agrees.

Act II, Scene Two

Lancelot, Shylock’s servant, leaves = breaks the bond between Master/Servant. Lancelot, a clown, is the servant to Shylock. He tells the audience that he is thinking about running away from his master, a devil. However, he’s indecisive. Lancelot's father, Gobbo, arrives. He is nearly completely blind. Gobbo asks which way leads to the Jew's house, he’s looking for his son. Lancelot preten