Merchant of Venice - William Shakespeare

1. Write a character sketch about Bassanio. (8m)

• Happy-go-lucky
• He is seemingly content to live life as it is without having long-term ambitions, such as having a job
• his ambition to woo Portia is a recent one
• Bassanio, despite not having a job nor any means to return any loans, keeps borrowing money from Antonio
• In fact, he never promised to return Antonio's money
• His wish to marry Portia stems from a single encounter with her in Belmont and after hearing various praises of her beauty
• This is a rather rash decision considering that he also risked Antonio's life in order to get money to woo Portia
• He never took into account the possibility of failure

• Loyal
• Just after he managed to win Portia(and most definitely consummate their marriage), he rushes back to Venice to attend to Antonio
• He was willing to put off his wedding with Portia to try and rescue Antonio from his fate, however impossible it may seem
• He also bravely offered his life in exchange for Antonio in court 
• Though, note that he also offered his wife's life without her consent so while he is loyal to Antonio, he certainly is as rash as he is disloyal to his wife
• Rash
• He fell in love and decided immediately to marry Portia after just meeting her once and hearing nice things about her
• He accepts the (overly harsh)terms of trying his luck to win Portia's hand in marriage
• This is an act of desperation that he definitely does not need to make 
• He offers to sacrifice his own life as well as his wife's(without her consent) in the heat of the moment during Antonio's trial

Conclusion:

• In comparison to the other main characters in the Merchant of Venice, Bassanio is the only one without any distinguished possessions or ability
• Where Antonio has his wealth, Portia her intelligence and Shylock his cunning, Bassanio has nothing(perhaps a generous amount of luck and idiocy)
• He has considerable good qualities but his good qualities may not necessarily counterbalance all of his bad ones
• However, Bassanio's importance to the overall plot cannot be understated
• He is the one who brings all the elements together through his efforts to woo Portia and borrow money from Shylock with Antonio set as the bond
• Essentially, Shakespeare created Bassanio as the catalyst for the other masterfully crafted characters despite himself not having much individual qualities

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2. Discuss Antonio's character and his part in the play (12m)

Characteristics

• Lonely
• Antonio is sterile and does not have a wife, much less kids
• This could be the reason he pursues a homoerotic relationship with Antonio
• This sentiment is echoed by Salanio, Salarino and Gratiano in Act I Scene I

• Generosity
• Antonio has paid off other people's debts to Shylock without charging interest
• Antonio is willing to continue lending money to Bassanio despite never receiving any of his money back
• Antonio is even willing to risk his life for Bassanio by bonding himself to Shylock's cruel terms

• Selflessness
• Antonio is willing to help out a friend even if it is at his own expense
• Antonio has accepted that he will lose Bassanio's attention to Portia but still offers to help Bassanio

Role in play

Antonio is one of the main characters and also functions as the 'victim' of the play. He is also central to Bassanio's efforts to woo Portia by agreeing to borrow money from Shylock with himself set as the bond. 

It is through this bond he makes with Shylock that creates the tension and drama necessary for entertainment in the Merchant of Venice. Furthermore, the bond also represents Shakespeare's effort in crafting a play that revolves around the themes and relationships between money and love as well as idealism and reality.

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3. "Shylock is an evil man." Discuss. (12m)

Point One

Shylock may be said to be more sinned against than he sins. The Venetians treat Shylock with scorn and disdain. Antonio, who is a highly regarded in Venetian circles, even spat on Shylock's clothing. All of this discrimination comes from the fact that Shylock is a Jew and works as an usurer. We must remember that his desire for revenge comes only after years or even decades of torment and abuse from the Venetian Christians. As he passionately narrates, "If you prick us, do we not bleed? If you tickle us, do we not laugh? And if you wrong us, do we not revenge?", it shows that he is frustrated and is finally lashing out. 

Moreover, Shylock also said, "Since I am a dog, beware my fangs." This analogy further cements the symbolism of Shylock as an all-out predator. After all, Shylock is only human and he can only take so much before breaking. Note that he has lost his money, his daughter and to a lesser extent, his jester(though this is compounded by the fact that his former employee directly sought out a Venetian Christian after running away which is an insult to Shylock). All of this misery is compounded into hate and then directed towards Antonio. 

If Shylock is an evil man, it is only because the Venetian Christians turned him into that.

Point Two

After Portia successfully saves Antonio's life, Shylock is further stripped of his wealth as well as his religion. It is a little hard not to feel sorry for Shylock after all he has lost despite all his flaws. Note that while Shylock was severely punished for his actions, the Venetian Christians themselves not only get off scot-free for their mistakes and flaws. Remember that Bassanio impetuously offered to sacrifice his wife's life without her consent and also the constant abuse hurled at Shylock over the years. Perhaps most ironically, Portia preaches about granting mercy to Shylock but gives him none at all(it would not be surprising if Shylock would rather die than to live in misery for the rest of his life). 

Thus, if Shylock is considered evil then the other characters of the drama is no better. 

Point Three

The Venetian Christians absolutely despise that Shylock charges interest in his loans because it is against their religion. However in modern context, most people(except certain religious demographics) have no qualms about accepting financial deals which involve interest rates. Hence, it could be argued that Shylock is not evil in this sense in modern times.

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4. Does Shylock already look forward to claiming Antonio's life when he proposes a pound of flesh as forfeiture? State your reasons. (8m)

Antonio is a very wealthy man and would be very unlikely to be unable to repay the loan. Even more unlikely would it be that all three of his merchant ships to be wrecked at the same time(in the end, all his ships were safe). Hence, the chances of Antonio having to forfeit a pound of his flesh and subsequently, his life, to Shylock would be very minimal.

It is more likely that Shylock was taking a leaf out of Antonio's book by not charging interest and warp the conditions of the bond by implementing an inhumane penalty out of pure spite towards Antonio. After all, Shylock himself is a very wealthy man and does not need to earn at every single opportunity. Instead, he gambles on Antonio's moment of vulnerability to gain revenge since he has very little at stake(or so he thought, as Portia pointed out the illegitimacy of his terms in the contract at court)

To conclude, I do not believe that Shylock planned for Antonio's death*. Shylock's desire for revenge was very close to being satisfied if not for Portia's brilliant intervention. However, it must be noted that despite Shylock's cunning in designing Antonio's near-demise, it did require a significant portion of luck to (almost)pull-through. Hence, Shylock's ingenious ploy was nothing more than a hopeful punt fueled by hate. 

*Bugga's note*
Take note that I placed the direct answer(opinion) to the question at the conclusion.

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5. "Portia and Jessica are both strong, independent characters." Discuss. (8m)

Portia

• Portia takes the initiative to travel all the way to Venice to attempt to help save Antonio without any men accompanying her
• Note that in this era, women were commonly treated as beneath men of equal social class. Hence, it would be a rarity for a woman to not only travel without the company of men and even a bigger rarity that she would go to court
• The fact that she can stand up against the cunning Shylock and beat him at his own game is a testament to the power of her character

• Portia also does not seem to be in a hurry to be engaged
• Unlike most young women her age, she does not seem desperate to get married to a man of high social class and wealth
• In fact, she even disdains at some(most) of them and prefers to be unwed and independent than to marry someone she dislikes

• HOWEVER, her independence is limited in regards to her fate
• She adheres to her father's wishes however unfair they may be to her
• Her father is dead and there would be no consequence of her disregarding his wishes
• She was willing to put up with a life of misery with someone she dislikes than to disobey her father

Jessica

• She is strong and independent enough to make the decision to elope with Lorenzo
• At the same time, she was brave enough to break societal norms
• Note that in this era, Jews were ostracized in society and marrying one would be akin to interacial marriage between a Caucasian and an African American in the USA during the 1960's
• [do yourself a favor and google Loving v. Virginia]

• HOWEVER, she has never openly defied her father or made an effort to change her father's ways
• Instead, she takes the easy option of running away with Lorenzo
• In this aspect, she is not strong enough to confront her father
• [further (unrelated) analysis would be that there is a possibility she eloped with Lorenzo to get away from her father]
• She also steals valuables from her father for money when eloping
• She sells these valuables for money instead of making her own living 
• Even though women rarely worked in this era, it is ironic that despite her apparent hatred of her father, she is not averse to claim his wealth for her purpose
• Perhaps she may be willing to leave with Lorenzo but is unwilling to leave her previous (high)standard of life with her father

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*UPDATE*

6. Write about Jessica's character and conduct with reference to Shylock's influence. (8m)

There are many parallels that may be drawn between Jessica and Shylock despite the her insistence upon disassociating herself from her father.

Firstly, Jessica is very materialistic like her father. The night she fled from her father's house, she steals many valuables for her own usage. She willingly severed ties with her father but still does not hesitate to go beyond the moral barriers of stealing from him.  Her father, Shylock, also is materialistic and has no qualms when collecting his money as an usurer.

Secondly, Jessica can also be described as cold-hearted. Her lack of compassion is most obviously seen when she elopes with Lorenzo without biding her father goodbye or even leaving a note behind. Moreover, she sells away the ring given to him by his late wife which he holds very dear. Furthermore, she steals his valuables despite knowing how much he treasures his wealth.  This trait of hers is similar to Shylock when he demands for a pound of Antonio's flesh(and therefore his life) and refuses to withdraw his claim.

It would be prejudiced to suggest that these are traits that are synonymous to all Jews. Instead, it is more likely that these traits are passed down from parent to child through teachings, whether deliberately or not. Jessica vehemently rejects the idea of inheriting "Jewishness" and denies that one is born a Jew. Rather, she insists that one becomes a Jew when he/she acts like one. Thus, it is most likely that Jessica inadvertently adopted the "Jewishness" from her father than being born with these traits.