Merchant of Venice Themes

Question 1

The 8 themes in Merchant of Venice.

Answer 1

• Love VS Hate
• Love & Money
• Appearance VS Reality (deception & disguise)
• Justice VS Mercy
• Father-Daughter Relationships
• Gender Roles
• Presentation of Women
• Prejudice & Discrimination
• Promises & Bonds

Question 2

Examples of the theme of love.

Answer 2

• Bassanio’s courtship with Portia is romantic & passionate.
• Gratiano & Nerissa fall in love at first sight.
• Lorenzo & his amorous Jessica are two young lovers who elope romantically.
• Antonio’s & Bassanio’s friendship borders on homoerotic closeness. Solanio claims that Antonio “loves the world for” Bassanio. It is, at the very least, a “true friendship” that prompts Antonio to great self-sacrifice.

Question 3

Examples of hate.

Answer 3

• Portia is overtly racist in dismissing her suitors.
• Lancelot & Gratiano openly insult Shylock.- Prejudice
• Antonio spat on Shylock’s “Jewish gaberdine”
• Verbal insults hurled at Shylock (“devil”, “dog”)
• Shylock turns his hatred of Christians into revenge for his Christian tormentors: “I hate Antonio for he is a Christian.”
• Jessica hates the restrictions of her home & betrays Shylock & plunders his possessions.

Question 4

Examples of the theme of love & money.

Answer 4

• The real driver of the action of Merchant of Venice is the emotional value placed on different objects.- Bassanio & Antonio seek a loan from Shylock for Bassanio to pursue his love, Portia. Antonio is willing to put his life on the line to achieve this.- Portia offers a sum two to three times the amount to help pay off Antonio’s debt because she values Bassanio’s happiness more than gold.- Portia tricks Bassanio into giving her alter ego his wedding ring - not because of the ring’s inherent value but as a test of his loyalty.- Jessica steals Shylock’s treasures & elopes with Lorenzo. Shylock says he would prefer her to be dead at his feet with his money & jewels, presenting him as a tyrannical father.

Question 5

Examples of the theme of Appearance VS Reality.

Answer 5

• The play conveys the danger of valuing only what can be seen on the surface.- When Antonio calls Shylock “a villain with a smiling cheek”, he hints at the dark intentions that lie behind Shylock’s apparent kindness.- While Venice is prosperous, the city harbours prejudice & inequality at all levels.- Behind Portia’s “fair” exterior & politeness lurks racism.- Caskets of gold & silver disguise secrets that contradict their outward appearance.- Gratiano was asked to hide his naturally loud & raucous mannerisms in order to accompany Bassanio to Belmont.- Lancelot cruelly deceives his father.- Jessica deceives her father but with more devastating effects.

Question 6

Examples of the theme of deception.

Answer 6

• Disguise is a hallmark of the Venetian lifestyle.- Citizens of the city are described as “masquers” who go about the city wearing masks as part of their revelries.- Jessica, Portia & Nerissa adopt male disguises.

Question 7

Examples of the theme of justice vs mercy.

Answer 7

• The trial scene explores this theme as the trial of Antonio turns into the trial of Shylock.- Portia’s moving declaration in her speech beginning “The quality of mercy is not strained” summarises the argument that justice is most appropriately delivered when tempered with mercy.- Shylock receives judgment, but does he receive justice?

Question 8

Examples of father-daughter relationships.

Answer 8

• Both Portia & Jessica struggle to come to terms with their fathers’ demands.- Portia’s father controls her destiny from beyond the grave (“so is the will of the living daughter curbed by the will of a dead father”) as he insists that her choice of husband be dictated by caskets.- Jessica detests her home (“Our house is hell”) & is “ashamed” to be Shylock’s daughter.