Character Profile- Antonio Flashcards
How is Antonio popular and respected?
.Antonio is a wealthy and respected merchant. His good reputation in business means that it is easy for him to borrow the money that Bassanio needs, as he is expected to be able to pay it back.
.His friends greatly admire him. Salerio says that “ A kinder gentleman treads not the earth” (Salerio is exaggerating here for effect when he says this, which is an example of a hyperbole which emphasises Antonio’s extreme generosity).
.Despite his success and popularity, Antonio is a sad character. The source of his misery isn’t revealed, resulting him in being an outsider among three happy couples at the end of the play
How is Antonio generous to Bassanio?
.When Bassanio asks Antonio for money to help him woo Portia, Antonio doesn’t hesitate to give him as much as he needs. Antonio tells Bassanio “my extremest means/lie all unlocked to your occasions” before he even knows what Bassanio wants. His eagerness to help Bassanio shows their close relationship. Antonio’s generosity seems excessive and Bassanio seems reliant on him. For example, Bassanio arguably takes advantage of Antonio’s kindness in this scene where he asks for money although already being in dept to him. Antonio gives permission for Bassanio to borrow the money in his name. Antonio’s use of imperatives such as “go forth/try what my credit can in Venice do” shoes his determination to help Bassanio.
.Antonio is also willing to die for Bassanio once it becomes clear that he won’t be able to repay his debt to Shylock. Even when Antonio pleads to Shylock with “hear me speak”, antonio is resigned to his fate and he wants to see Bassanio before he dies. The fact that Bassanio is the only character mentioned by Antonio suggest he’s the one Antonio cares about the most
.Antonio’s generosity can be seen as a flaw. He’s so keen to help Bassanio that he foolishly endangers his own life. Bassanio warns him that agreeing to Shylock’s terms is a bad idea, but Antonio doesn’t listen. Antonio offers and risks everything he has for his friend ,even his own life, and never regrets it
How is Antonio prejudiced towards Shylock?
.Antonio hates Shylock simply because he’s Jewish (and Vice versa since Shylock hates him for being a Christian). Shylock reveals in Act 1, scene 3 that Antonio had spat on him, kicked him and called him a “cut throat dog” and “misbeliever” which appears to be typical treatment of Jews at the time. His hate for Shylock is never disputed and he’s quick to assert that while he’s spit on Shylock before, he’d be happy to do it again. Shylock repeatedly tells us Antonio has been awfully and unnecessarily cruel, and this hatred for the Jew is balanced only by Antonio’s deep and seemingly inexplicable love for Bassanio.
.Antonio can’t see the damage his prejudice cases. He doesn’t recognise that the harsh way he has treated Shylock in the past is part of the reason Shylock wants to get revenge on him
.Although he’s cruel to Shylock, Antonio still appears as the victim. His subdued acceptance of his fate contrasts with Shylock’s frenzied desire for revenge. The vicious side to Antonio’s character doesn’t bother other christians which suggests that they share his prejudice views
.Antonio’s revenge for forcing Shylock to convert to Christianity isn’t clear as he may want to take revenge on Shylock but it’s also possible that he’s believing he’s offering him salvation
How is Antonio’s relationship with Bassanio presented? Are they presented as lovers?
. While both men agree they have a deep friendship, Antonio’s involvement, (and his generosity), with Bassanio definitely involves some speculation. Antonio opens the play with a discussion of his great sadness. He explicitly says his merchandise isn’t the source of his woe, and as audience member’s we are left to question what is going on with him, until Bassanio enters. As soon as Antonio has a chance to speak to his friend privately, the first thing on his mind is the woman Bassanio is wooing. It becomes clear that Antonio has asked about it before and bas been promised an answer on the day of their gathering. One might clearly draw a link between Antonio’s sadness and the weight of Bassanio’s impending courtship. Antonio is suffering as he is about to loose his friend to another :(
. The question in the subtext is whether the feelings Antonio has for Bassanio go well beyond the bounds of friendship and cross over the territory of romantic love. This might explain Antonio’s sadness, his willingness to do anything for Bassanio, and most importantly, his constant need to contrast his friendship with the man to Portia’s love for him. He calls Bassanio away from what should be his wedding night to see him in Venice, as he prepares to die in court, tells Bassanio to have Portia be the judge of these proceedings. She will have to decide whether “Bassanio had not once a love”
Antonio cannot love Bassanio the way he wants to, and can give him neither marriage nor money as Portia can. If he were to sacrifice his life for Bassanio, he would be doing one thing greater than Portia ever would or could. His offer of a pound of flesh is a symbolic chance for his flesh to be meaningful for Bassanio. Even once Antonio is off the hook, he pressures Bassanio to give away Portia’s ring, claiming that his own love to Bassanio and what Balthazar deserves should be greater than Portia’s commandment.
.This tension is weakly resolved at the end of the play when it is revealed that Portia has given Antonio his life back twice- once in court disguised as Balthazar, and once more with the news of the successful ships. Antonio has been warmly welcomed by Portia, but her actions have managed to assert that her love for Bassanio, and her power shown by what she can give subordinate Antonio’s friendship with Bassanio to her marriage
How does Antonio end up at the rear of the play?
.One of the play’s great ironies is that Antonio ends up alone. In this way there is a link between Antonio and Shylock, as each has no chance of being accepted into any pairing or love at the end of the play. Antonio, like Shylock, is ultimately left outside. In the clearest sense, Antonio is excluded from marriage, but he’s also relegated to something of an outsider position in Bassanio’s life, not as his main love, but as a friend. Throughout the play, Antonio’s speech has been resigned and dotted with flourishes of vitality only when he speaks of his love for Bassanio. It seems Antonio might suffer the same limitations of being an outsider that many other characters do: Shylock as a Jew, Portia as a woman, and here Antonio because he loves Bassanio, a man, more than anything else
How can Antonio’s harsh treatment of Shylock be justified in a sense?
Antonio’s personal exile might do wonders to explain though not to justify his cruel treatment of Shylock. Once again, the two merchants of Venice are in the same boat. Antonio, like Shylock might be a victim of circumstances beyond his control. Ultimately, whether Antonio is cruel, repressed, a raging anti-Semite, loving, or generous to a fault, it is certain that he himself declared his role in the plays first scene. If all the world is a stage where every person has a part, then Antonio’s role is surely a sad one
“Fie,fie!”
Antonio says this to the possibility that he may fall in love. Fie is an exclamation that expresses mild annoyance, or is also a humorous pretence of being shocked. So perhaps Antonio isn’t in love at all.
“I know not why I am sad”
We don’t yet know why Antonio is sad, but his mysterious proclamation sets him up as a generally melancholy character for the rest of the play. Furthermore, we learn that Antonio doesn’t always have a rational reason for how he feels, sometimes he just feels
“Hie thee, gentle Jew. The Hebrew will turn Christian: he grows kind”
Antonio cannot fathom the possibility that shylock the Jew is just being kind
“Pray God Bassanio come to see me pay his debt, and then I care not.”
Antonio recognises he has no choice but to be resigned to his fate. Now, he doesn’t need to scheme about being saved, but all of his attention turns to being loved and celebrated by his friend before he dies.
“Exact the penalty”
Antonio is asking for it here. He’s saying how because he does not ask the money out of friendship, and this is just business, Shylock has the right to exact a penalty justly should Antonio fail his bond. While Shlock’s seeking a pound of flesh seems rather extravagant, it can be linked back to Antonio’s extravagant and unapologetic manner asking for the money in the first place
“To suffer with a quietness of a spirit The very tyranny and range of his”
Antonio has flipped the situation to make himself seem like a martyr. Shylock is pursuing his fury and the law. Antonio now tries to make himself look like a long-suffering saint, and his humility and piety are a far cry from the jovial way in which he took up the bond, willingly in the first place.
“Therefore my merchandise makes me not sad”
Antonio is certain his investments are safe. He doesn’t deny that otherwise, he would be as preoccupied as Salerio says he would be. If Antonio holds his wealth in the same high esteem that Salerio does, then whatever is making antonio sad has got to be a pretty big deal.
“My soul upon the forefeit, that your lord Will never more break faith advisedly “
Over the issue of the ring, the symbol of Bassanio and Portia’s marriage, Antonio at last hangs his own soul. This is the best guarantor we could ask for that the feud in Antonio’s own mind, and his competition with Portia for Bassanio’s affections is settled.
“I pray you, good Bassanio, let me know it..Lie all unlock’d to your occasions”
Antonio is willing to do anything to help his friend. He expresses some extreme feelings here, and there’s some speculation that “lie unlock’d” is Antonio’s allusion to a sexual relationship
