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What reason does Shylock give out loud for his hatred of Antonio?
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∙ 13y ago
Antonio was Christian and helped people with money without charging interest and deprived Shylock of his income as Shylock was shrew money lender.
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∙ 13y ago
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What about antonio's mercy?
The whole of "Antonio's mercy" is contained in one small speech in Act IV of The Merchant of Venice. The Duke has just sentenced Shylock to having everything he owns (which includes his sole means of making a living) divided between the State and Antonio. The Duke asks, "What mercy can you render him, Antonio?" to which, after the bloodthirsty Gratiano demands Shylock's death, Antonio replies:So please my lord the duke and all the courtTo quit the fine for one half of his goods,I am content; so he will let me haveThe other half in use, to render it,Upon his death, unto the gentlemanThat lately stole his daughter:Two things provided more, that, for this favour,He presently become a Christian;The other, that he do record a gift,Here in the court, of all he dies possess'd,Unto his son Lorenzo and his daughter.If you read this closely, you will see that what Antonio is proposing is that the State should give up its claim on half of Shylock's goods ("the fine for one half his goods"), and that Antonio should still get his half ("the other half") which he will hold in trust (that's what "in use" means) for Lorenzo. Lorenzo is the guy who eloped with Shylock's daughter Jessica, stealing a large quantity of money and jewellery which they proceeded to blow in riotous living. Shylock breaks down when he hears that Lorenzo has traded the wedding ring Shylock gave to his deceased wife for a monkey. Forcing Shylock to give all his money to this worthless spendthrift goy is an insult. As a further insult, he is to be stripped of his religion and his identity. This is the extent of Antonio's "mercy".
Who was portia how did she help antonio?
in the beginning of the case shylock wanted one pound of flesh from antonio's body .portia requested him to take thrice the sum of money antonia had taken from him.suddenly a idea struck portia's mind, she said that shylock can have pound of flesh but while doing this he should make sure that antonia doesnt shed a drop of blood and while cutting a pound of flesh it should be excactly one pound not more nor less or else all his good and property will be given to states treasury. this is how portia turned tables against shylock
Why was Shylock in the career of the money lender?
Shylock is one of the most important characters in 'merchant of venice' he is the rich moneylender, to whom antonio asks for help (since antonio's ships were at sea and thus he could not help his friend bassanio with money) since shylock was a jew, and antonio a christian, they held many grudges against each other. in order to avenge, shylock agrees to help antonio on the condition that he should return his money within the time span stated in the legal bond, or else he shall have the right to cut off a pound of flesh from antonio's body (and this shall kill antonio) antonio was unable to pay back the money borrowed. thus, shylock demands for the pound of flesh, but his wishes remain unfulfilled for antonio is saved at the last moment by portia, (bassanio's wife who disguised herself as a lawyer) shylock is also the father of jessica, who hates him as much as others do.
How many times does portia ask shylock to show mercy?
Actually, Shylock was cheated out of a contract (valid, in those days) by a clever ploy from Portia. Shylock was perfectly entitled to a pound of flesh from Antonio, as Antonio defaulted in his contractual commitment. A moralistic spin placed on the supposed motives of Shylock got the better of the hapless money lender. The fact that he was let off easily by the court for his so-called motives of racial hatred and avarice should not blind the readers of a perfectly legitimate argument for a judicial review as viewed from Shylock's perspective. Thus, the quality of mercy shown by the court certainly suffers from the stigma of being unjustly 'strained'. What is more, not only is Shylock deprived of the money he lent to Antonio, and which he should be entitled to get back, but Portia raises this further argument: "It is enacted in the laws of Venice, if it be proved against an alien that by direct or indirect attempts he seek the life of any citizen" all of his propery becomes forfeit, half to the supposed "victim" and half to the state, and he should be sentenced to death. Here is hypocrisy indeed! If Shylock asks the court to grant that by law Antonio should be executed, no matter how right he is, he commits a crime. Portia, on the other hand, is free to threaten Shylock with execution with impunity. Not only does she threaten his death, but also threatens to take his money and thereby the only way in which he can legally make his living. As Shylock says, "you take my house when you take the prop that supports my house." To give the Duke credit, he does not hesitate to dismiss the suggestion that Shylock should be executed, even over the protests of the merciless and rabid anti-Semite Gratiano, although he cannot help but smugly congratulate himself for it. The smidgen of mercy which the Duke has does not extend to missing the opportunity to grab half of Shylock's property. Antonio now holds the power of life and death over Shylock, since without any money he will die of starvation. The mercy he shows is to turn half of his remaining money ( a quarter of what he started with ) over to Shylock's worthless spendthrift son-in-law Lorenzo, who has already stolen and wasted a good portion of Shylock's funds, and finally to insist that Shylock give up his religion and his identity as a Jew. So, the "mercy" that is shown to Shylock is that he is not actually killed for having the gall to attempt to enforce his rights in the court of Venice, but instead only loses three-quarters of his property, his right to observe his own religion, and his cultural identity. As Shylock says, "Nay, take my life and all"
What is the conflect of the play Merchant of Venice?
The conflict is between Antonio and Shylock but Shylock is hated by everyone in Venice because he was a Jew, so that's Bassanio, Portia and all the other people in the play
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 about antonio's mercy?
The whole of "Antonio's mercy" is contained in one small speech in Act IV of The Merchant of Venice. The Duke has just sentenced Shylock to having everything he owns (which includes his sole means of making a living) divided between the State and Antonio. The Duke asks, "What mercy can you render him, Antonio?" to which, after the bloodthirsty Gratiano demands Shylock's death, Antonio replies:So please my lord the duke and all the courtTo quit the fine for one half of his goods,I am content; so he will let me haveThe other half in use, to render it,Upon his death, unto the gentlemanThat lately stole his daughter:Two things provided more, that, for this favour,He presently become a Christian;The other, that he do record a gift,Here in the court, of all he dies possess'd,Unto his son Lorenzo and his daughter.If you read this closely, you will see that what Antonio is proposing is that the State should give up its claim on half of Shylock's goods ("the fine for one half his goods"), and that Antonio should still get his half ("the other half") which he will hold in trust (that's what "in use" means) for Lorenzo. Lorenzo is the guy who eloped with Shylock's daughter Jessica, stealing a large quantity of money and jewellery which they proceeded to blow in riotous living. Shylock breaks down when he hears that Lorenzo has traded the wedding ring Shylock gave to his deceased wife for a monkey. Forcing Shylock to give all his money to this worthless spendthrift goy is an insult. As a further insult, he is to be stripped of his religion and his identity. This is the extent of Antonio's "mercy".
Who was portia how did she help antonio?
in the beginning of the case shylock wanted one pound of flesh from antonio's body .portia requested him to take thrice the sum of money antonia had taken from him.suddenly a idea struck portia's mind, she said that shylock can have pound of flesh but while doing this he should make sure that antonia doesnt shed a drop of blood and while cutting a pound of flesh it should be excactly one pound not more nor less or else all his good and property will be given to states treasury. this is how portia turned tables against shylock
Why was Shylock in the career of the money lender?
Shylock is one of the most important characters in 'merchant of venice' he is the rich moneylender, to whom antonio asks for help (since antonio's ships were at sea and thus he could not help his friend bassanio with money) since shylock was a jew, and antonio a christian, they held many grudges against each other. in order to avenge, shylock agrees to help antonio on the condition that he should return his money within the time span stated in the legal bond, or else he shall have the right to cut off a pound of flesh from antonio's body (and this shall kill antonio) antonio was unable to pay back the money borrowed. thus, shylock demands for the pound of flesh, but his wishes remain unfulfilled for antonio is saved at the last moment by portia, (bassanio's wife who disguised herself as a lawyer) shylock is also the father of jessica, who hates him as much as others do.
How many times does portia ask shylock to show mercy?
Actually, Shylock was cheated out of a contract (valid, in those days) by a clever ploy from Portia. Shylock was perfectly entitled to a pound of flesh from Antonio, as Antonio defaulted in his contractual commitment. A moralistic spin placed on the supposed motives of Shylock got the better of the hapless money lender. The fact that he was let off easily by the court for his so-called motives of racial hatred and avarice should not blind the readers of a perfectly legitimate argument for a judicial review as viewed from Shylock's perspective. Thus, the quality of mercy shown by the court certainly suffers from the stigma of being unjustly 'strained'. What is more, not only is Shylock deprived of the money he lent to Antonio, and which he should be entitled to get back, but Portia raises this further argument: "It is enacted in the laws of Venice, if it be proved against an alien that by direct or indirect attempts he seek the life of any citizen" all of his propery becomes forfeit, half to the supposed "victim" and half to the state, and he should be sentenced to death. Here is hypocrisy indeed! If Shylock asks the court to grant that by law Antonio should be executed, no matter how right he is, he commits a crime. Portia, on the other hand, is free to threaten Shylock with execution with impunity. Not only does she threaten his death, but also threatens to take his money and thereby the only way in which he can legally make his living. As Shylock says, "you take my house when you take the prop that supports my house." To give the Duke credit, he does not hesitate to dismiss the suggestion that Shylock should be executed, even over the protests of the merciless and rabid anti-Semite Gratiano, although he cannot help but smugly congratulate himself for it. The smidgen of mercy which the Duke has does not extend to missing the opportunity to grab half of Shylock's property. Antonio now holds the power of life and death over Shylock, since without any money he will die of starvation. The mercy he shows is to turn half of his remaining money ( a quarter of what he started with ) over to Shylock's worthless spendthrift son-in-law Lorenzo, who has already stolen and wasted a good portion of Shylock's funds, and finally to insist that Shylock give up his religion and his identity as a Jew. So, the "mercy" that is shown to Shylock is that he is not actually killed for having the gall to attempt to enforce his rights in the court of Venice, but instead only loses three-quarters of his property, his right to observe his own religion, and his cultural identity. As Shylock says, "Nay, take my life and all"
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.
What is the conflect of the play Merchant of Venice?
The conflict is between Antonio and Shylock but Shylock is hated by everyone in Venice because he was a Jew, so that's Bassanio, Portia and all the other people in the play
Who are the main characters in merchant of Venice?
Antonio: A Venetian merchant of considerable wealth, he makes his money from "ventures", or mercantile enterprises using his fleet of ships. Much liked by his friends, Salanio, Gratiano and Salarino, Antonio is owed money by his friend Bassanio. The title of this play is considered to be derived from this character as well as the character of Shylock.Bassanio: The romantic lead of this play. He aims to successfully court the fair Portia. Her marriage will give him the money he needs to pay off his large debts to friend Antonio and so his courtship of Portia is also an attempt to pay off his debts.Shylock: A successful Jewish moneylender who is much maligned over his religion and the practice of moneylenders such as himself of charging interest. He lends the 3000 ducats Bassanio needs to court Portia and hopefully, pay off his debts to Antonio. There is however a catch; if the debt is not repaid, Antonio as security will forfeit one pound of his flesh. It is Shylock who is responsible for the immortal lines, "If you prick us, do we not bleed? if you tickle us, do we not laugh? if you poison us, do we not die? and if you wrong us, shall we not revenge?" (Act III, Scene I, Lines 63-72).Tubul: Friend of Shylock. Dispatched by Shylock to find his daughter, he tells Shylock of the loss of Antonio's ships. This lets Shylock realize that Antonio has now forfeited his debt.Portia: The heroine of this play, Portia is a wealthy and beautiful women who is desired by many, so much so that her father has devised an ingenious test all suitors must perform to win her hand in marriage. This consists of a suitor choosing one of three chests in which her portrait lies. Far from being merely beautiful, Portia also possesses a sharp mind, one, which saves Antonio from doom at the hands of Shylock.Nerissa: As Portia's waiting-maid, she tends to Portia and also helps Portia save Antonio's life. She later marries Bassanio's friend Gratiano.Gratiano: A good friend of Bassanio, he marries Nerissa after falling in love with her at Portia's palace. Bassanio describes him as talkative, saying; "Gratiano speaks an infinite deal of nothing, more than any man in all Venice" (Act I, Scene I, Lines 114).The Prince of Morocco: This suitor is responsible for the expression "All that glitters is not gold; / Often have you heard that told:" (Act II, Scene VII, Lines 65-73). As one of Portia's suitors, he reads this upon choosing the gold casket, which is the wrong one and loses the right to marry Portia.The Prince of Arragon: This suitor also fails to win the fair Portia's hand in marriage when he incorrectly chooses the silver casket.Lorenzo: A close friend of both Bassanio and Antonio, his eloping with Shylock's daughter Jessica, results in part on Shylock's merciless insistence on his pound of flesh when Antonio forfeits Bassanio's debt.Jessica: The daughter of Shylock, her eloping with the "Christian" Lorenzo and her stealing of his property, angers Shylock greatly.Salarino and Salanio: Friends of Antonio who attempt to cheer him up in Act I, Scene I.The Duke of Venice: As judge over the court case between Shylock and Antonio, he has the power to pardon a death sentence. In the play, he is put in a difficult position by Shylock; he doesn't want Antonio to die, but to ignore Shylock's legal rights would be to place all of Venice in disrepute as a place to conduct business.Launcelot Gobbo: A clown and servant to Shylock, he later aids in the escape of Jessica from Shylock and works for Bassanio.Old Gobbo: Launcelot's father, who is blind.Balthazar and Stephano: Servants of Portia.Leonardo: Servant of Bassanio.
Who demanded a pound of flesh in a shakespeare play?
From the play The Merchant of Venice: Bassanio a gentleman of Venice requires 3000 ducats to pay for his travel expenses to Belmont. Bassanio wishes the money as he is seeking to wed the Heiress Portia. Bassanio turns to his good friend Antonio, who is a wealthy merchant.Unfortunately, Antonio's money is tied up on Ships doing business. He, however has offered to be Guarantor, they attempt to borrow money from a wealthy Jew, Shylock. Shylock reluctantly agrees, but on the condition that if he doesn't pay the 3000 Ducats by three months then Antonio has to give up a pound of his flesh, closest to the heart. They agree to the Bond. And then Antonio fails to pay on the date stated in the contract.
What is the climax of the play Merchant of Venice?
The climax of the play the Merchant of Venice, is in Act IV Scene I, When the court is deciding if Shylock is legally entitled to the bond of a pound of Antonio's flesh.
How bond story and the casket story are independent in merchant of Venice?
The link between the two stories arises as a result of the relationship that Bassanio has with characters in the two plot streams. The association is created when Bassanio, who is out of pocket, approaches his friend and confidante, Antonio, a wealthy Christian merchant, for financial assistance so that he may woo the beautiful Portia, a wealthy heiress from Belmont. Bassanio wishes to stand an equal chance against a number of other suitors, who come from privileged backgrounds and the money will give him such an opportunity. Antonio does not have the ready cash that Bassanio needs but asks him to seek a loan in Venice by using his name as guarantee. He is a person of good standing and assures Bassanio that he will also seek a loan. Bassanio soon encounters Shylock, the Jewish moneylender, who is prepared to extend him a loan of 3 000 ducats should Antonio sign as surety to the bond. Antonio agrees to Shylock's harsh terms which state that the loan should be settled in three months without any interest charged. If he should forfeit, Antonio has to allow Shylock to cut out a pound of his flesh. Bassanio asks his friend not to agree to these terms but Antonio, confident that he will be able to settle the debt comfortably, signs the agreement. Bassanio takes the money and goes off to try his luck in winning Portia's hand in a lottery, in which a suitor should choose the right casket from three, that her deceased father had concocted. It is through these actions that an association between the two stories is created. It is important to note that Antonio and Shylock despise each other. Antonio believes that Shylock is committing a grave sin by lending out money and profiting from the interest he charges. Shylock hates Antonio for having severely criticized him openly and humiliating him by spitting on his gaberdine, kicking him and calling him a dog. He seeks revenge against the Christian. Bassanio is successful in choosing the right casket and wins Portia's hand. He does, however, receive an unsettling message from Antonio in which he states that he has been imprisoned for forfeiting on the bond. He had suffered a number of mishaps with his ships and could not settle the debt. The vengeful Shylock has been insistent that he should have his pound of flesh. Bassanio is utterly distraught. Portia notices his distress and after discovering the reason for this, offers to help. She urges Bassanio to rush to his friend's aid immediately after their marriage and offers to repay the debt many times over. She formulates a plan to further assist the traumatized Antonio by going to Venice disguised as a doctor of law with Nerissa as her assistant. It is in this manner that the two plots achieve a confluence.
What did the Duke do to help Shylock?
Not a dang thing. He went out of his way not only to thwart Shylock's revenge, but to take his money and give it to his useless son-in-law, and finally to ensure that Shylock's soul was damned, all on the basis that because Shylock was Jewish he wasn't entitled to the benefit of the law like the Christians were. The Duke didn't do this earlier because he was too dim to figure it out, until Portia told him what to do.
