When Marjorie Garber met the Merchant...

"The Merchant of Venice is a deeply disturbing play, whose interpreters over time have sought to purge it of its most dangerous and disturbing energies. It is a play in which the question of intention, of what Shakespeare may have intended, is relevant but not recoverable, and finally not determinative" (Garber 311).

Majorie Garber focuses much of her article on the idea of polar opposites and the theme of love (sound like Shakespeare?). As we decided during the second week of class, these ideas can be taken, shaped, and transformed into something brand new.

To start off, a major theme of The Merchant of Venice is the battle between Christian and Jew. As Garber puts it, "this play concerns itself with the assertion and undercutting of these absolute polarities," (283). In Shakespeare's day, these apparent opposites create dynamic tension that stimulates and moves the play forward. Shylock being the wealthy Jewish moneylender and Antonio the Christian victim, places this play in two spectrum. The drama (of the comedy?) comes from the tension of not being able to pay the loan back.

What if this was taken a step further, to the idea of happiness and depression (on a certain degree). For instance, take two of the central characters in the play (i.e. Portia and Antonio). In the beginning of the play, Antonio is distraught. Why? His fortune is sailing away to sea and he has no idea if his money is going to return. Portia is in a similar state: Her father, having died, left conditions regarding who she could marry (another Shakespearean theme, perhaps?) Therefore, she has no choice over who she will spend the rest of her life with; the deciding factor is three caskets, only one containing her portrait. The opposite of this melancholy existence is the joy both characters feel toward the end of the play, where Garber states Portia is pleased to be married and Antonio is happy to repay his debt, in whatever form it may be.

Another major theme is money. Considering Shylock plays what would be known as the villain, although that may not be the best description and his position deals with the loaning of money, it is no wonder why money is a theme in this play. It starts with Bassanio's debt, mentioned in the first moments of the play. Garber says that Bassanio will "invest in his attempts to win her [Portia], and in order to do so he will borrow more money from Antonio" (284). So, in order for Bassanio to make money, he will take money from someone who has no money as it is. Smart idea?

How about the idea of a choice for marriage? The concept that the casket creates the destiny is similar to taking away someone' s freedom. The right to marry whomever a person chooses is the norm for our day; in Shakespeare's time, as we discovered, it was not uncommon for a girl and boy to be bequeathed to one another at birth.

Garber continues to talk a lot about the standing of Jews in Venice/Belmont during this period. This information leads a reader to decide how to react to Shylock...are his intentions good, evil, normal for his situation. Garber states it best: "From first to last this play is quintessentially about interpretation, about the act of decipherment; the casket's choice with its three metals and three mottoes, Shylock's reading of the bond, Portia's recourse to an even more literal interpretation of the contract concerning the pound of flesh" (303). Everything in The Merchant of Venice relies on the reader's mood and the time they experience the words. So, take the play and listen to Garber...interpret the Merchant of Venice as you will.

Once upon a time, A Merchant Came to Venice...

Memorable Quotations

"How shalt thou hope for mercy, rendering none?" (Act IV, Scene I)

--Duke.

"I had rather be married to a death's-head with a bone in his mouth than to either of these" (Act I, Scene II)

--Portia.

"For if a Jew cut deep enough, I'll pay it instantly with all my heart" (Act IV, Scene I).

--Antonio.

Summary and Analysis

How far should one go to win the hand of their one-true love? In The Merchant of Venice, that is precisely the question William Shakespeare is posing. Bassanio is madly in love with Portia, a wealthy heiress from Belmont. However, because of his status, Bassanio asks his friend Antonio, the merchant from Venice, for a loan in order to arrive is style to Portia’s palace. Anotnio’s “fortunes are at sea” (32), so he is unable to supply the money on his own. Therefore, they must turn to a wealthy Jew from Venice named Skylock. Antonio is not liked by Shylock because he has made comments on Shylock’s extreme interest rates. In the end, Shylock agrees to a loan of three thousand ducats. In addition, if the loan should go unpaid after three days, Shylock will receive “an equal pound of your [Antonio’s] fair flesh” (41).

Portia, while being the maid Bassanio is madly in love with, has issues of her own. In her father’s will, he wrote that the only man who could have his daughter for a wife would have to choose from three caskets. Portia, therefore, has little choice in her future husband; she may “neither choose who [she] would nor refuse who [she] dislike” (33). Bassanio has made a trip to Belmont and Portia did fall for him. Now that she has heard he is coming back, she is hopeful, but fears he may choose incorrectly. Portia is sought by men from different countries as well, and all are forced to look through the boxes. As Portia puts it, they are playing in the “lott’ry of [her] destiny” (43). The men that attempt first choose the wrong casket, choosing the ones that give men what they should desire or give the man what he deserves.

By the time Bassanio reaches Belmont and chooses the correct casket, Antonio has not been able to pay the loan back and has been taken in by Shylock. Bassanio, and friend, Gratiano, decide to go back to and bail Antonio out. Portia and Nerissa, Gratiano’s woman, give Bassanio money to rescue Antonio.

Shylock does not like that Antonio has been giving him a hard time. He states in the third act that, “if you prick us, do we not bleed? If you tickle us, do we not laugh? If you poison us, do we not die?” (68). Therefore, even with Antonio trying to talk his way out of the situation, Shylock will not change his mind. Bassanio shows up to pay off with the six thousand ducats Portia gave him, but Shylock will not budge. Suddenly, Portia and Nerissa show up, dressed as a doctor and lawyer’s clerk, respectively. After much negotiating, Portia points out that, under Shylock’s conditions, he can take only one point of Antonio’s flesh. If he takes anymore or he spills any blood—which was also not part of the agreement—the deal is off. To this, Shylock demands for his bond and leaves (101).

To make matters more interesting, Portia—as Balthasar, the doctor—demands Bassanio’s ring as payment. This is the same ring given to Bassanio by Portia with the stipulation that he never let it out of his sight. When he does, Portia becomes frantic about Bassanio giving the ring away. He claims he “unwillingly left the ring” (115). In the end, everything ends happily. Antonio gets to keep his flesh. Portia and Bassanio marry, as do Gratiano and Nerissa.

The Merchant of Venice touches a lot on love and money, while delving into greed and unwilled marriage. “Money is properly used when it is invested and brings forth a good return” (Harp 38). This investment is precisely what caused Antonio problems. He put all of his money into ships that were at sea, so when he was in need of finances, he was without a hope. This dilemma opens up to reveal the villain of the play, Shylock.

Tom Markus, director at the Colorado Shakespeare Festival, claims that “The Merchant of Venice is one of Shakespeare’s most popular romantic comedies…But it is a romantic comedy with a knife at its heart, and that gives it a dark side that people talk about long after the lovers have left the stage.” The lovers in question are Bassanio and Portia, Gratiano and Nerissa, and then the pair I did not mention above, Lorenzo and Jessica (Jessica being Shylock’s daughter). All of these romances are jeopardized by Shylock’s attempts to shave Antonio of a pound of flesh.

As briefly defined in ENGL 480, a comedy will more than likely end with some quick band-aid of sorts; a quick fix to a vast problem. As an example, a wedding to solve the problems presented in the play. However, Alvin Klein notes that The Merchant of Venice does not read like a normal Shakespearean comedy and is seldom used for comedic purposes (11). Why? Because the main couples in the play are married before the concluding scene. The end of the play has Bassanio fighting to win Portia back after giving away her ring. While I find this play amusing and comedic at times, I can see elements where the story is much more serious than that.

However, I still believe the most appropriate title for The Merchant of Venice is a comedy. Dr. Debora Schwartz from the California Polytechnic State University, states that a comedy will go through five plot formations that help plot along:

1. “A situation with tensions or implicit conflict

2. Implicit conflict is developed

3. Conflict reaches height; frequently an impasse

4. Things begin to clear up

5. Problem is resolve, knots untied.”

This pattern is easily followed in this Shakespearean play. The conflict is the loan with Skylock; the developing conflict is Antonio’s inability to pay back the loan; the height of the conflict occurs when Bassanio agrees to go rescue Antonio and leave Portia; things clear up when Portia and Nerissa help Bassanio and Gratiano free Antonio; and the problem resolves in the last scene when everyone lives happily ever after. Dr. Schwartz states that Shakespearean comedies will most likely end in a celebration but there can be a “touch of sadness” during the final celebration because of loss of misguided characters (i.e. Shylock). Therefore, while the play may appear to end sad, it is normal for a comedy.

Tom Markus, in his director’s note, gives this thought regarding the play: “Over the centuries, The Merchant of Venice has remained one of Shakespeare's most frequently performed plays. The reasons for its popularity are easily recognized. It is a play with rich romantic elements that raises complex issues of justice, mercy, and the bonds that join people together.” The play turns into a fun story of quick love and greed, all in an effort to rescue The Merchant of Venice.

Works Cited

Klein, Alvin. "THEATER REVIEW; The Arguable Comedy in 'Merchant of Venice'." New York Times [New York] 5 Nov. 2000: 11. Academic Search Premier. Web. 5 Sept. 2010.

Markus, Tom. "Merchant of Venice." The Colorado Shakespeare Festival, Boulder, Colorado - Home. Sept. 2010. Web. 08 Sept. 2010.

Schwartz, Dr. Debora. "Comedy." Cal Poly CLA - College of Liberal Arts. 2002. Web. 08 Sept. 2010.

Shakespeare, William. The Merchant of Venice Texts and Contexts. Ed. M. Lindsay. Kaplan. Boston: Bedford-St. Martin's, 2002. Print.