0
Why was Antonio sad in the beganning of The Merchant of Venice?
Wiki User
∙ 10y ago
Antonio has good fortune because his business is not dependent on one ship, nor any single location. His financial position does not depend on commercial enterprises of current year. Thus, he is not worried, in THE MERCHANT OF VENICE.
Wiki User
∙ 9y ago
Wiki User
∙ 10y agoAntonio seems sad at the beginning of the merchant of Venice, because although he has close friends like Bassanio, he has no wife or lover.
And so he is sad because of the lack of love in his own life, although he sees it in his friends'.
*Actually, this is not the case. Antonio tells Salarino and Salanio that he is sad and that he doesn't know why. They suggest that it's because all of his investments are in ships and that he must be worried about them. He assures them that he is not.
Then they suggest that it's because he is in love. He says "Fie fie!" showing that he doesn't desire to be in love.
His friends then tell him "Then let us say you are sad,/Because you are not merry" which is no kind of reason to be sad. Thus this issue goes unresolved in this scene.
Some say Antonio is sad because of the connection he has with Shylock, the villain of the play. He hates Shylock for making money by charging large amounts of interest on loans; making money on money without making or doing anything. He himself invests in explorations and trade voyages, thus turning the money he invests into huge profits (2000% in some cases). He hates Shylock, but by that reasoning he should hate himself. So he is sad.
Add your answer:
Earn +20 pts
In act 1 scene 1 of merchant of Venice why is antonio upset?
A. He finds out that Cesario is actually Viola in disguise. B. He mistakes Cesario for Sebastian and thinks that Sebastian is refusing to recognize him. C. He thinks that Cesario has harmed Sebastian, and he wants revenge. D. He realizes that Cesario is the one who caused the shipwreck that caused Sebastian's death.
Is antonio in merchant gay?
He could be played that way. You must understand that in cultures where homosexuality is severely repressed, men often form strong affectionate bonds for each other which stop short of a sexual relationship, because they can display affection without it being assumed that their affection has a sexual subtext. This was the case in Shakespeare's day: you can see it in operation in the ending of The Two Gentlemen of Verona which to modern eyes seems implausible. In Merchant, Antonio does seem to be extremely affectionate towards Bassanio. His melancholy when the play starts ("In sooth I know not why I am so sad") could be connected with his sexual attraction for Bassanio, who does not reciprocate. He also presses Bassanio to give away his wedding ring, which of course was calculated to make his wife angry, and which might have caused a rift between them, sending Bassanio back to the company of Antonio. Of course when he finds that his life has been saved by Portia, he has to accept it with good grace. It's a plausible scenario. But Antonio plays just as plausibly as an extremely affectionate friend without any sexual overtones at all.
Is Shrek sad?
Yes, Shrek is sad sometimes.
Why was drdoofenshmertz sad?
because Kevin made him sad
Is my sisters keeper a sad movie?
Its very sad! I'm a strong person who doesn't cry and I almost started to get tears in my eyes. It is a good movie though, but very sad. I didn't think it was very sad but that is my opinion because the book was wayyy more sad.
In the play The Merchant of Venice who lifts antonio's depression or what makes him happy?
he was sad
How does antonio say he feels in the first few lines in The Merchant of Venice?
"In sooth I know not why I am so sad."
What was the technique used by the friends of antonio to console him scene 1 the merchant of Venice?
They try to find out the cause of Antonio's depression, but since in sooth he knows not why he is so sad, they come to the conclusion they decide that he is sad because he is not merry. This does nothing to console Antonio.
Why did antonio never smile in merchant of Venice?
He doesn't know. It's the first line of the play: "In sooth I know not why I am so sad." Maybe he's just melancholic like Jaques in As You Like It.
What is the reason does antonio give for being sad at the beginning of the play The Merchant of Venice?
At the beginning of the play Antonio says "In sooth I know not why I am so sad" and Salarino and Salanio (you'd think Shakespeare could come up with more imaginative names for these characters) suggest that he's worried about his ships which are carrying trade goods to various ports around the world. When Antonio says that this is not the problem, Salarino suggests that he is in love, and Antonio pooh-poohs (well actually fie-fies, but the effect is the same) that idea also.
Is merchant of Venice just a comedy?
Not really, because the subplot about Shylock is rather sad. Shylock does not die, but he is horribly mistreated and forced to change his religion on pain of death. Over the years, the tragic subplot of Shylock has come to overshadow the comic plot of Bassanio and Portia. If an actor wants to star in The Merchant of Venice, the part he wants to play is Shylock, not Bassanio.
In act 1 scene 1 of merchant of Venice why is antonio upset?
A. He finds out that Cesario is actually Viola in disguise. B. He mistakes Cesario for Sebastian and thinks that Sebastian is refusing to recognize him. C. He thinks that Cesario has harmed Sebastian, and he wants revenge. D. He realizes that Cesario is the one who caused the shipwreck that caused Sebastian's death.
Why does Portia suffer from melancholy in The Merchant of Venice?
Well, she is not really melancholic. She is somewhat annoyed and depressed about the ridiculous provisions of her father's will which says that she must marry the winner of the casket game and says so in act 1 scene 2. Antonio is more melancholic; he just feels miserable without knowing why. "In sooth I know not why I am so sad."
How did Antonio Martinez describe San Antonio in 1817?
it was described as a poor, sad, and vast state. (hopw this helped)
How is Antonio's character in the merchant of Venice?
He starts the play sad, and seems to have a melancholy air about him during the trial scene. Some people think he has an unrequited homosexual passion for Bassanio. You can take that or leave it. He is also an Anti-Semite and rude to Shylock and all the other Jews; we see this when he calls Shylock a "devil" ("The devil can cite Scripture for his purpose."). He is perhaps not quite as nasty as some of the other Venetian anti-Semites, but is bad enough that Shylock fixes his revenge on him.
Why is Antonio sad?
because death is always on his mind and he went to a funeral at the weekend.
What sad plays did william shakespeare write?
Shakespeare's tragedies are by definition sad plays. The tragedies are Hamlet, Macbeth, Julius Caesar, Antony and Cleopatra, Romeo and Juliet, Othello, King Lear, Coriolanus, Titus Andronicus and Timon of Athens. They all end up very sadly. But some of the comedies have sad parts as well, especially Measure for Measure, All's Well that Ends Well and The Merchant of Venice. And Troilus and Cressida is also a very dark and unhappy play as well.
