Literature L1

Groups: FILA

The Merchant of Venice: Themes and Symbols

Themes: Though the play has several minor themes, there is a larger theme that concerns
relationships and the trust we put into them. The play represents several relationships,
including those between friends, lovers, family, and enemies.

The most common relationship is between friends. Close friends will easily become family
and it is natural to place your trust in them, the play shows this through several relationships.
One relationship is between Portia and Nerissa. The two come from different class
upbringings, yet they are still close. They confined all of their secrets to each other. Portia is
also able to trust Nerissa to follow her to Belmont for Antonio’s trial without exposing them.
This is Shakespeare’s way of showing the close bond between friends.

Shakespeare also expresses this through the friendships of male characters. There are several
strong friendships with males in the play. Gratiano represents the overprotective friend. He is
a symbol of the ultimate kind of trust among friends, the man that can always be counted on
as the protector in the group. In the play, the relationship between Bassanio and Antonio is
somewhat skewed from the average male friendship.

Prejudice: Shylock seeks revenge on Antonio as a representative of all the wrongs Christians
have visited upon him and his people. Shylock's desire for revenge also reflects his prejudice
against Christians, but that prejudice is a response to the prejudice he has faced as a Jew.
Antonio has personally been responsible for many of the wrongs he has experienced, calling
Shylock a dog and spitting on him. Antonio's friend Lorenzo also lures Shylock's only child
away from home and marries her—making her a Christian at the same time. In a larger sense
Shylock is limited to moneylending as a profession because other trades are essentially closed
to him; he resides in Venice's crowded ghetto, not even allowed to own land or choose where
he lives. These prejudices create the anger that causes him to lash out at Christians, Antonio
in particular; this in turn leads the Christians to act on their own prejudices, stripping him of
his wealth and forcing him to convert to Christianity. These actions reveal how prejudice
creates a fruitless cycle of mutual hostility.

Mercy:At court Portia (disguised as a legal scholar named Balthazar) pleads with Shylock to
show Antonio mercy, to rise above the letter of his contract and be the better man despite the
wrongs Antonio has shown him. Shylock refuses, and in turn the Christians of Venice, whose
very belief system hinges on the mercy of God, spare Shylock's life but punish him. He loses
half his fortune, but Antonio takes away Shylock's community and identity when he demands
Shylock convert to Christianity. Paradoxically, those who want Shylock to be merciful show
him little mercy once he has been defeated by the letter of the law. Perhaps neither Shylock
nor Antonio truly deserves mercy, but that is the point of mercy. It should be offered to those
who do not deserve it.
Appearance versus Reality: Whether the truth is locked in a casket, hidden under a suit of
clothes, or written into a contract, in The Merchant of Venice appearances constantly deceive.
Portia's suitors, the Prince of Arragon and the Prince of Morocco, lose their chances at her
hand because they are drawn to the glittery appearance of gold and silver caskets and choose
the wrong casket in the challenge set up by Portia's father. Bassanio, who recognizes that
great things may be hidden in humble exteriors and glittering exteriors may conceal
emptiness beneath, wins the challenge by choosing the lead casket. Bassanio himself appears
to be a wealthy man when he arrives at Portia's home, only later revealing the extent of his
debts and poverty. In keeping with this theme, Portia disguises herself as a man so the reality
of her wisdom and cleverness may be of service at court. While Shylock appears to be the
play's villain, his suffering elicits the audience's sympathy.

Symbols: They are objects, characters, figures, or colours used to represent abstract ideas or
concepts.

Gold: Gold represents wealth, status, and power. Bassanio needs gold to demonstrate he is a
man of quality, worthy of marrying Portia. Shylock uses gold to exert power over Antonio
and others because he has little power in other parts of his life. Jessica takes Shylock's gold as
a show of power over her father when she leaves home. Yet the valuable parts of life have no
relation to gold. Portia loves Bassanio even when she finds out he is penniless and in debt.
Shylock discovers neither gold nor his attempt at revenge will improve his lot in life. Jessica
has her father's wealth, but she values her relationship with Lorenzo more.

Flesh: Flesh is a symbol of life, the actual substance all living things are made of. When
Antonio offers a pound of his own flesh to secure the loan for Bassanio, he is actually placing
his own life on the line as a potential sacrifice for Bassanio's happiness. When Shylock
demands that pound of flesh as repayment for the loan, he demands Antonio's life as payment
not for the bond but for the years of unhappiness Antonio—and Christian society in
general—has caused him. The flesh itself is incidental, the real sacrifice at stake is the value
of Antonio's life.

Rings: In The Merchant of Venice rings represent love and commitment between partners.
For example, when they agree to marry, Portia gives Bassanio a ring that she says represents
their bond of love. She cautions him that if he loses the ring or gives it away, that will
represent the destruction of their love. Later she tricks him into giving her the ring, but he
only gives his disguised wife the ring after Antonio urges him to do so, revealing how
Bassanio's bond to Antonio remains stronger than his bond to Portia. Only after Portia reveals
her trick does Bassanio see his error and shift his loyalty fully to his wife. A different ring has
special significance to Shylock, who laments a rumour he hears of Jessica trading the ring her
mother gave him for a pet monkey. He is undone by the way he believes his daughter has
disrespected the bond her parents had by treating the ring in such a cavalier manner.