Month: November 2010

Bassanio: Why dost thou whet thy knife so earnestly?

Shylock: To cut the forfeiture from that bankrupt there.

I just thought it was pretty theatrical that Shylock has a knife, in a courtroom, and he's sharpening it. Also, the only thing he was question of was why he was sharpening it. There was no shock that he pulled a knife out in the least, they just needed justification not of its presence, but of its sharpening. To much surprise, we see that Shylock is truly seeking revenge and not the money, as repeated throughout the scene.

(aside) How like a fawning publican he looks!

I hate him for he is a Christian,

But more for that in low simplicity

He lends out money gratis and brings down

The rate of usance here with us in Venice.

If I can catch him once upon the hip,

I will feed fat the ancient grudge I bear him.

He hates our sacred nation, and he rails,

Even there where merchants most do congregate,

On me, my bargains and my well-won thrift,

Which he calls "interest." Cursèd be my tribe

If I forgive him!

This, from ACT 1 SCENE 3, is what Shylock said as soon as Antonio enters. This is funny because he slanders Antonio's name, Christian beliefs (by extension, his disdain for Jews), and his lack of interest use disrupting the lending market. While said "to himself," he still said all this out loud in the middle of conversation with Bassanio, which is strange. However, it only led to Bassanio and Antonio requesting Shylock's attention, and not about what he said.

Possible Conflicts

– Portia's desire vs. her father's will: she wants to marry Bassanio but is obligated to marry the first man to pass her father's test

– Antonio and Bassanio vs. Shylock: the situation with the loan (terms and Shylock's tenacious adherence to them) and their inability to repay Shylock

– Shylock vs. Christian society's disdain of Jews (as represented by Antonio and Bassanio's attitudes toward him)

– Jessica/Lorenzo vs. Shylock: this conflict directly leads to Jessica's elopement (Shylock would not allow her to see Lorenzo)

– Bassanio/Gratiano and their feelings of obligation to the "lawyers" vs. the promises they made to keep Portia's/Nerissa's rings (would this be important enough to be mentioned in a full-play analysis?)

 

Obstacles by Character (at various points in the play)

– Antonio: Shylock's vehement adherence to the terms of the loan agreement (the primary obstacle), Bassanio's heterosexuality and love for Portia (if Antonio's love for Bassanio is seen as more than platonic), lack of cash (all his money is tied up in his ships abroad)

– Bassanio: lack of money/social status with which to woo Portia, Portia's father's will, Shylock and the loan

"O my Antonio, had I but the means to hold a rival place with [Portia's suitors]€¦" (Bassanio, 1.1.172-173)

– Portia: her father's will (inability to marry Bassanio straightaway), her own intelligence and rationality coupled with Bassanio giving her ring away (she seems unable to completely trust Bassanio and so devises the ring scheme, only forgiving Bassanio after Antonio vouches for him)

"I may neither choose who I would, nor refuse who I dislike, so is the will of a living daughter curbed by the will of a dead fther." (Portia, 1.2.19-21)

"Then you shall be his surety. Give him this [ring] and bid him keep it better than the other." (Portia, 5.1.254-255)

– Shylock: anti-Semitism (widespread, general mistrust of Jews in Christian Venice), legal system of Venice (prevents him from easily enacting revenge on those who have wronged)

"The devil€¦an evil soul€¦a villain€¦a goodly apple with a rotten heart€¦" (Antonio, referring to Shylock, 1.3.90-93)

– Lancelot Gobbo: the dishonor he will incur by abandoning his master (Shylock)

"The Jew my master who€¦is a kind of devil; and to run away from the Jew I should be ruled by the fiend who€¦is the devil himself." (Lancelot, 2.2.17-20)

– Jessica: her father's feud with Antonio et al. (due to which he will not let her see Lorenzo)

"Hear you me, Jessica, lock up my doors€¦nor thrust your head into the public street to gaze on Christian fools€¦" (Shylock, 2.5.27-32)

 

Implications of Obstacle and Conflict

– It seems to me that a great many of the obstacles and conflicts I mentioned come about because of societal norms and/or nonverbal social contracts. Again, this raises the enduring concept of obligation: characters struggle between fulfilling their obligations to society/friends/family and fulfilling their own individual desires. Also, above I mentioned the concept of a social contract, which would gain great importance in the distant future, thanks to the writings of such philosophers as Hobbes, Locke, and Rousseau. This social contract governing how humans interact with one another provides an interesting parallel to the physical, business contract drawn up by Shylock.

Among the things theatrical in the Merchant of Venice,  Shylock’s contract with Antonio is one of the most memorable scenes. The actual quote reads,

“This kindness will I show.

Go with me not a notary, seal me there

If you reply me not on such a day,

In such a place, such sum or sums as are

Express’d in the condition, let the forfeit

Be nominated for an equal pound

Of you fair flesh, to be cut off and taken

In what part of your body pleaseth me.”

This scene has a shocking effect to the audience, as it is an abrupt emergence of violence in the play. Prior to this scene, there is no implication of any form of violence. The emergence of a violent thought in a peaceful time is an implication of how peace is superficial, and violence or grievance is always hidden under. It is also important to note that this line was given by a Jew to a Christian, which implies the profoundness of the cleavage between the two religions.

Comedies are known for always ending well even when the buildup may seem hopeless. The Merchant of Venice does just that. The relationships end well and against all odds, Antonio's boats return unscathed, restoring Antonio's fortune. Shylock, however, does not receive the happiest of endings, and depending on how you analyze the script, he may not appear to be the villain he gets labeled from the start. In the courtroom scene, Antonio proposes and the court accepts to:

So please my lord the duke and all the court,

To quit the fine for one half of his goods

I am content, so he will let me have

The other half in use to render it

Upon his death unto the gentleman

That lately stole his daughter.

Two things provided more: that for this favor

He presently become a Christian;

The other, that he do record a gift

Here in the court, of all he dies possessed,

Unto his son Lorenzo and his daughter.

A man simply seeking acceptance loses his daughter, all he owns, and even his own religion, of which he was so proud, and forced to convert to those he hated most. With not an ounce of dignity, Shylock is in shambles, having no "happy ending" whatsoever.

Stasis Proposition

– Antonio is experiencing an apparently unexplainable depression, while his closest friend Bassanio has been harboring a secret love. Meanwhile, in Belmont, Portia is bound by her father's will not to marry a suitor of her own choosing. All the suitors that have come, however, to attempt her dead father's trial have been quite undesirable.

Stasis Implication

– The stasis I have proposed has a great deal to do with the twin concepts of love and marriage. This suggests that these will be some of the primary motivating factors for the characters mentioned in the stasis (Shylock, especially, is excluded from this €˜love and marriage' motivation). It has been theorized that Antonio's motivation is an intense love for Bassanio, Bassanio (obviously) is motivated by his love for Portia, Lorenzo acts out of an infatuation with Jessica, and finally there is Gratiano and Nerissa.

Intrusion?

– The intrusion, in my opinion, would be one of two things: Bassanio's confession of his love for Portia (to Antonio) or his request for a loan from Antonio. Both of these disrupt the stasis in a way, but I think Bassanio's request for a loan is more significant since it directly leads to the introduction of Shylock into the storyline, and also allows Bassanio to pursue Portia, thus allowing for the two worlds of Belmont and Venice to be intertwined through their characters.

Intrusion Implication

– My proposed intrusion (the loan request) subtly introduces the theme of money and class in Venetian (and Belmontian) society: Bassanio cannot woo Portia unless he can dress and travel like a prince. Also, as stated, it introduces Shylock and the role of the Jew as a moneylender in the society of the play. And again, this intrusion indirectly leads to two very separate worlds that would not otherwise unite coming together in the play's storyline. Somewhat more significantly, however, this request introduces the concept of obligation, which is a huge factor throughout the play: Portia is obligated to follow her father's will, Bassanio feels obligated to pay back Antonio somehow, Antonio is obligated to repay Shylock, and Bassanio is obligated to keep Portia's ring safe.