0
Bassanio initially approaches Shylock requesting the loan. And the money is for Bassanio's use, to be sure. However, in agreeing to the loan, Shylock says,
Go with me to a notary. Seal me there
Your single bond; and, in a merry sport,
If you repay me not on such a day,
In such a place, such sum or sums as are
Expressed in the condition, let the forfeit
Be nominated for an equal pound
Of your fair flash, to be cut off and taken
In what part of your body pleaseth me.
Who is he talking to? It is Antonio who answers "Content, in faith." It is not necessary that Bassanio should do so. Shylock says "if you repay me not" to Antonio, so clearly it is Antonio that is bound to repay the loan. And in fact, Shylock demands repayment, not from Bassanio, but from Antonio. Bassanio only hears about it after Antonio has defaulted.
Clearly, then, Antonio is the real borrower.
Wiki User
∙ 12y ago
Add your answer:
Earn +20 pts
Why did Antonio borrow money from Shylock?
Antonio borrowed the money from Shylock rather than lend it himself because his ships had not yet arrived therefore he had no money. He borrowed it for Bassanio, because Bassanio wanted to woo Portia.
Why does shylock hate antonio?
They were business rivals. However, Antonio's main business is that of a merchant, buying and selling goods and shipping them to other ports, whereas Shylock is a money-lender who makes money by charging interest on loans. This is not Shylock's job by choice--there were a limited number of jobs which Jews were allowed to do, and this was one of them. However, Antonio has been lending money to people without interest, which cuts into Shylock's business. It's rather like having a business competitor move in and start giving away the goods you are trying to sell. He's going to put you out of business. Antonio has other resources which enable him to lend money gratis, Shylock has not. On top of that, Antonio is rude and condecending to Shylock just because he is Jewish. He may not be the most rude and condecending person in Venice toward Jews, but the fact that he is lumps him in with the worst offenders in Shylock's mind
Why did Shylock decided to lend Antonio money?
Because he made a deal with Antonio that if he could not repay the 3,000 ducats within 3 months then Shylock would be entitled to one pound of flesh from any area of Antonio's body. Shylock hoped Antonio would be unable to repay the money in the amount of time given, so Shylock could take apound of flesh from Antonio's heart area and kill him. So in short he did it so he could kill Antonio as revenge from Shylock being treated horribly by Antonio because of his Jewish faith.
What is Shylock's profession in Merchant of Venice?
He is a moneylender. From the point of view of the Christian population, who expect people to lend money interest-free, he is a loanshark. From the modern perspective, he is a payday loan business. Since he does not hold people's money for them and pay them interest on their deposits, he's nothing like a bank.
Is there a biblical reference to a pound of flesh?
In the play The Merchant of Venice, Antonio, the merchant of the title, borrows money to help his impecunious friend Bassanio go to Belmont and woo a wealthy woman, Portia. He borrows this money from Shylock, a Jewish moneylender. Antonio and his friends are anti-Semitic racists and have been treating Shylock and (presumably) the other Jews badly. Nevertheless, Shylock agrees to lend the money, and does not even ask for interest, but says that as a kind of joke, the contract will state that if Antonio does not pay within the time stated, Shylock can take a pound of flesh from whatever part of Antonio's body he wants. Antonio thinks it's practically impossible that he will be unable to pay so he signs the contract. Unfortunately for Antonio he has a string of bad business losses and is unable to pay on the due date. Shylock decides that this is his chance to get back at Antonio for all the wrongs that have been done to him by all the Christians. He goes to court to enforce the bond. In court, Shylock is offered many times the amount of the loan (Bassanio has married Portia and they have money now) but he refuses. (This shows that Shylock is not greedy, as some people say, but rather vengeful) Fortunately for Antonio and unfortunately for Shylock, Portia disguises herself as a lawyer, finds a loophole in the contract and defeats Shylock's suit. She turns the tables on him, so that Shylock is deprived of his wealth and ability to make a living and his right to practise his religion. "A pound of flesh" therefore means a particularly heavy or onerous clause in a contract.
Why did Antonio borrow money from Shylock?
Antonio borrowed the money from Shylock rather than lend it himself because his ships had not yet arrived therefore he had no money. He borrowed it for Bassanio, because Bassanio wanted to woo Portia.
What is a summary of Merchant of Venice?
Bassanio wants to court the wealthy Portia but needs money. He gets his friend Antonio to borrow the money for him from the Jewish moneylender Shylock. Shylock hates Antonio because he is an Anti-Semite and adds a clause in the contract that says that if Antonio doesn't pay on time, Shylock can take a pound of flesh from anywhere on Antonio's body. Antonio agrees to this, thinking it is a joke. Bassanio goes to Portia's house and passes the test Portia's father has set for all suitors, and marries her. But then news comes that Antonio has had a business crisis and cannot pay Shylock. Shylock takes Antonio to court. Portia disguises herself as a lawyer and advises the Duke, who is the judge, that Shylock has a good case, just to see if he will go through with it and kill Antonio. When it is apparent that Shylock really means it, Portia raises the point that the contract does not allow Shylock to shed blood, and through a number of other pieces of legal trickery, deprives Shylock of all his money and forces him to change religion. For this service, she demands that Bassanio give her for her fee his wedding ring, which he does, only to get a talking-to from his wife when he gets home.
What is The Merchant of Venice by Shakespeare?
The Merchant of Venice is a play by William Shakespeare, one of his best-known early plays. It involves a double plot: the first involves a young man called Bassanio who wants to marry the wealthy heiress Portia. The successful suitor must first pass a test which is to guess which of three chests Portia's picture is hidden in. He guesses right and they are married. The second plot arises because Bassanio is too poor to go courting Portia. He calls upon his friend Antonio, the Merchant of Venice in the title, who is in a little cash flow bind, but who agrees to borrow the money for Bassanio. He borrows the money from Shylock, a Jewish moneylender. Now, Shylock and Antonio dislike each other intensely and Antonio has behaved very rudely to Shylock in the past. Nevertheless, Shylock agrees to lend the money, and without interest, provided that Antonio will agree that if the loan is not repaid on time, Shylock may cut a pound of flesh from Antonio's body. Antonio expects to be able to pay, so he agrees, but he is wrong and is taken to court by Shylock, who expects to get the pound of flesh he bargained for, and kill his enemy Antonio in the process. Unfortunately Portia dresses up as a lawyer and finds a loophole which saves Antonio and destroys Shylock.
Why does shylock hate antonio?
They were business rivals. However, Antonio's main business is that of a merchant, buying and selling goods and shipping them to other ports, whereas Shylock is a money-lender who makes money by charging interest on loans. This is not Shylock's job by choice--there were a limited number of jobs which Jews were allowed to do, and this was one of them. However, Antonio has been lending money to people without interest, which cuts into Shylock's business. It's rather like having a business competitor move in and start giving away the goods you are trying to sell. He's going to put you out of business. Antonio has other resources which enable him to lend money gratis, Shylock has not. On top of that, Antonio is rude and condecending to Shylock just because he is Jewish. He may not be the most rude and condecending person in Venice toward Jews, but the fact that he is lumps him in with the worst offenders in Shylock's mind
Why did Shylock decided to lend Antonio money?
Because he made a deal with Antonio that if he could not repay the 3,000 ducats within 3 months then Shylock would be entitled to one pound of flesh from any area of Antonio's body. Shylock hoped Antonio would be unable to repay the money in the amount of time given, so Shylock could take apound of flesh from Antonio's heart area and kill him. So in short he did it so he could kill Antonio as revenge from Shylock being treated horribly by Antonio because of his Jewish faith.
What is Shylock's profession in Merchant of Venice?
He is a moneylender. From the point of view of the Christian population, who expect people to lend money interest-free, he is a loanshark. From the modern perspective, he is a payday loan business. Since he does not hold people's money for them and pay them interest on their deposits, he's nothing like a bank.
What are the comic elements of the Merchant of Venice?
Bassanio wants to marry Portia, and so needs money. Bassanio has no credit and so his friend Antonio borrows the money from Shylock. Shylock dislikes Antonio so agrees to lend him the money interest-free on the security of a pound of flesh from anywhere on Antonio's body (he chooses the spot nearest Antonio's heart). Basically if Antonio doesn't pay up, Shylock can kill him. Bassanio, with the aid of the money, goes to woo Portia. She loves him alright but, according to her father's will, must marry the man who can guess which of the three boxes her picture is in. Bassanio guesses the right box--Hooray! They get married. But watch out! Antonio is unexpectedly broke and cannot pay Shylock. Shylock takes him to court and starts sharpening his knife. Portia disguises herself as a lawyer, and gets Antonio off on a technicality. What's more, she convinces the court to order Shylock to give all his money to his daughter and her goyim husband and to stop being Jewish. This you call justice? But there's more. Portia asks Bassanio for a fee for her services and insists on taking his wedding ring, which he swore to her he would never get away. Antonio persuades him to do this, and of course there's a tongue-lashing waiting for him when he gets home to his brand-new wife without his wedding ring. But all is explained and it's yuks all round except for poor Shylock.
Is there a biblical reference to a pound of flesh?
In the play The Merchant of Venice, Antonio, the merchant of the title, borrows money to help his impecunious friend Bassanio go to Belmont and woo a wealthy woman, Portia. He borrows this money from Shylock, a Jewish moneylender. Antonio and his friends are anti-Semitic racists and have been treating Shylock and (presumably) the other Jews badly. Nevertheless, Shylock agrees to lend the money, and does not even ask for interest, but says that as a kind of joke, the contract will state that if Antonio does not pay within the time stated, Shylock can take a pound of flesh from whatever part of Antonio's body he wants. Antonio thinks it's practically impossible that he will be unable to pay so he signs the contract. Unfortunately for Antonio he has a string of bad business losses and is unable to pay on the due date. Shylock decides that this is his chance to get back at Antonio for all the wrongs that have been done to him by all the Christians. He goes to court to enforce the bond. In court, Shylock is offered many times the amount of the loan (Bassanio has married Portia and they have money now) but he refuses. (This shows that Shylock is not greedy, as some people say, but rather vengeful) Fortunately for Antonio and unfortunately for Shylock, Portia disguises herself as a lawyer, finds a loophole in the contract and defeats Shylock's suit. She turns the tables on him, so that Shylock is deprived of his wealth and ability to make a living and his right to practise his religion. "A pound of flesh" therefore means a particularly heavy or onerous clause in a contract.
Who was antonio?
antonio was the hero of the play,he lend money for bassanio from the jew shylok who was the villan of merchant of venice,antonio was a good person with some bad quality,overall he was the person who play the character from act1 to full last so, he was the main character of the merchand of venice.
Why did Shylock want Antonio's flesh?
Because the process of getting it will have the effect of killing Antonio, which Shylock wants to gain revenge for the mistreatment he has suffered from Antonio and all the other anti-Semitic Venetians. The flesh itself is of no use to Shylock--when he is asked what good it would be, Shylock replies tersely "To bait fish withal."
What bond is agreed to in The Merchant of Venice?
Shylock agrees to lend Antonio three thousand ducats for three months without interest, provided that if Antonio fails to pay on the stated day, Shylock may take a pound of flesh from whatever part of Antonio's body he pleases.
What is the relationship between antonio and shylock?
He treated him with disrespect because he was a Jew and a money lender. he spit at him in the merchant of Venice playbook act 1 scene 3: Act 1, Scene 3: Antonio called Shylock a misbeliever - insults his faith, called him a cur - a dog, spat on him, kicked him. Antonio was not sorry - he said he would gladly do it again. Shylock was treated horribly by Antonio and wanted revenge. (1.3.110)
