Hello, everyone! As I have plied all of you with so much information about William Shakespeare and literature during his era, I feel that I ought to review one of his plays for you guys to read. The Merchant of Venice is extremely easy, especially if you have a paraphrase along with it. Now, don’t get impressed about me tackling Shakespeare all on my own. I actually had The Merchant of Venice as a part of my English Literature syllabus in my grade 9th and 10th. It was a little intimidating at first, but when I got the hang of it, I really enjoyed the story. I hope you will, too. But first, something on the author.
About the Author:
William Shakespeare (26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet, and actor, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world’s greatest dramatist. He is often called England’s national poet and the “Bard of Avon” (or simply “the Bard”). Shakespeare was born and raised in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire. At the age of 18, he married Anne Hathaway, with whom he had three children: Susanna and twins Hamnet and Judith. Sometime between 1585 and 1592, he began a successful career in London as an actor, writer, and part-owner of a playing company called the Lord Chamberlain’s Men, later known as the King’s Men. At age 49 (around 1613), he appears to have retired to Stratford, where he died three years later.
Shakespeare produced most of his known works between 1589 and 1613. His early plays were primarily comedies and histories and are regarded as some of the best work produced in these genres. He then wrote mainly tragedies until 1608, among them Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, Othello, King Lear, and Macbeth, all considered to be among the finest works in the English language. In the last phase of his life, he wrote tragicomedies (also known as romances) and collaborated with other playwrights.
The Review:
"I hold the world but as the world, Gratiano; A stage where every man must play a part, And mine a sad one.” -Antonio, Act I, Scene I
Merchant of Venice is one of the best examples of William Shakespeare’s comedies, and one of his most popular works. The play revolves around the rich Merchant of Venice, Antonio, his dear friend Bassanio, the heartless moneylender Shylock, and the beautiful Princess Portia. The Merchant of Venice was written during the Elizabethan era, between 1594 and 1599, along with other famed plays such as Midsummer Night’s Dream, Much Ado About Nothing, As You Like it, and Romeo and Juliet. One of main reasons for this play’s popularity is its originality of plot, the interesting story, and above all, its ease of understanding.
The play begins with the entry of Antonio, and a couple of his friends, Salarino, and Salanio. Antonio looks more worried than usual, and his friends try to guess the reason. When one of them ventures to say that the cause of worry might be his business dealings, Antonio quickly dismisses the idea, true though it is. He does not wish to discuss so delicate a problem with friends who are not very close to him. In some time, however, his bosom friend Bassanio arrives, along with two of his friends, Gratiano and Lorenzo. After all but Antonio and Bassanio have departed, Antonio tells the truth. All of his money is invested on ships carrying cargo to distant lands. He is worried about their safety. Bassanio then, tells his story.
He is love with the fair Portia, the daughter of the late king of Belmont. But anyone wishing to marry her must play the lottery of caskets. And if he chooses the correct one, only then he may marry Portia. Bassanio, though born into a noble family, had squandered his wealth, and needs money to go to Belmont in a proper fashion, with an entourage, and expensive gifts. He needs three thousand ducats for that. Antonio has no money at present as all of it has been invested in his ventures abroad. So he asks Bassanio to go to any moneylender rich enough to provide, and loan the amount on Antonio’s name.
Bassanio meets Shylock, the Jewish moneylender, and asks for money from him. When Shylock hears that it is to be given on Antonio’s credit, he hesitates. Antonio hated the Jews, and lost no chance to insult, of cause losses to Shylock. But Shylock agrees, on the terms that if the money is not returned within three months, he will be allowed to extract a pound of flesh from Antonio’s body. He says these in jesting tones, and Antonio, who is sure that his ships will return with double the profit and month before the due date, agrees to the conditions. Bassanio then takes the money, and makes preparations to depart for Belmont.
Now one of his friends, Lorenzo, is in love with Shylock’s daughter Jessica. On the night of Bassanio’s departure, Bassanio has arranged a feast, and a masque. Lorenzo has arranged to take advantage of the situation and elope with Jessica. He must elope, because Shylock hated Christians, and would never have allowed them to marry. Shylock, too, is invited to Bassanio’s banquet, and agrees to go rather grudgingly, which is lucky, for Lorenzo and Jessica could not have eloped otherwise.
When Shylock is gone, Jessica takes all of her father’s money and jewelry, and escapes along with Lorenzo, in a boat. There is a good wind that night and wishing to take advantage of it, Bassanio decides to call off the masque and proceed for Belmont at once. When Shylock discovers of his daughter’s escape along with a Christian, with all his money, he is furious. His anger against Antonio is increased, as he believes that Antonio is somehow responsible for his misfortune. Shylock now prays night and day, waiting to extract a pound of flesh from Antonio’s body and take his revenge.
Bassanio, on the other hand, reaches Belmont, wins the lottery of casket and wins Portia’s hand in marriage. But just as they are about to proceed, he receives a message which delivers him a piece of horrible news. All of Antonio’s ships has wrecked, and he has not been able to repay Shylock’s loan on time. Shylock is now bent on really extracting a pound of flesh from Antonio’s body, which will obviously kill him. Bassanio explains all this to Portia.
Portia then gives Bassanio the permission to take any amount of money he wants, to buy back his friend’s freedom. But she knows that Shylock will not let Antonio off very easily. Therefore, she and her maid, Nerissa (who has decided to marry Gratiano, Bassanio’s friend and companion) decide to dress up as men, without their husband’s knowledge, and go to Venice to try and free Antonio. They dress up like male lawyers, and depart.
Portia and Nerissa are successful in their attempt. Shylock is trapped in such a way that even if he fulfils the conditions of the contract, he himself will be killed. In the end, he is forced to give one half of his wealth to Antonio, leave the other half in Lorenzo and Jessica’s name, and get converted to Christianity.
The Merchant of Venice is a typical comedy, which includes moments of comic relief, drama, climax, and a happy ending. Though Shylock is said to have gotten what he deserved, I think that the others were much unfair to him. His bad qualities were that he loaned money on high interest rates. And if the person was unable to pay, the consequences were exceedingly harsh. But then again, he was a foreigner in Venice doing business. If he had followed the Christian practice of lending money without interest, he would soon be bankrupt. And if he was not harsh with his dealings, people would take advantage of him.
A lot of people who could not pay back, went to Antonio, who paid their dues, causing losses to Shylock. Antonio would always ridicule Shylock’s gains and mock his losses. He would insult Shylock’s race, spit on his beard and Jewish gaberdine, called him a cut-throat dog, and a misbeliever. And had often tried to reduce his standing on the Rialto (stock exchange). Therefore, taking away all of his money, and forcing him to turn Christian was not fair. And to add to his woes, his own daughter had eloped with a Christian, taking away all the cash and jewelry she could.
But anyways, despite the different views on this play, it still is an excellent story. The Merchant of Venice is very easy and an ideal start for someone who wants to read Shakespeare. If you do not have the experience, of doing so, or cannot understand his writing, a book with a paraphrase would be ideal.
Outro:
So, that’s it for today, guys. I hope you liked the review. If you did not, somehow, like it, I would still request you to stay tuned for more; who knows? you might like the next one. Until then, Goodbye!