0
Some people think that Antonio's attitude to Bassanio is more affectionate than is normal for two men and that Antonio was in love with Bassanio. When he says "In sooth I know not why I am so sad" it is really because his love for Bassanio is not reciprocated, since Bassanio is clearly after Portia. He then puts his life on the line to borrow money for Bassanio to chase Portia, a selfless act indeed if he wanted Bassanio for himself.
That subtext can give an interesting reading to Antonio's character, but is by no means necessary. Elizabethan men were in the habit of expressing their affection for each other in pretty extravagant terms, knowing that it would not be understood as expressing homosexual desire since homosexuality was absolutely taboo. Of course homosexuals did exist and people knew about it (as shown in Marlowe's Edward II and Shakespeare's Troilus and Cressida) but it was not spoken of openly in any kind of positive light and it was a serious offence to engage in homosexual acts. Elizabethans felt about homosexuals about the same way we feel about child molesters.
In other words, Shakespeare probably did not intend Antonio to have any love interest in the play, apart from his brotherly and totally non-sexual affection for Bassanio. But for modern audiences, reading that relationship as sexual may resonate with us.
Wiki User
∙ 11y ago
Add your answer:
Earn +20 pts
Who is jessica's lover in The Merchant of Venice?
Lorenzo. He subsequently becomes her husband.
Who is duke of Venice in the merchant of the Venice?
Who knows? The Duke of Venice is not a character in the play The Merchant of Venice. In Othello, yes. But not in the Merchant of Venice.
What play had the phrase A blinking idiot in it?
the line is from a play called the merchant of Venice
Who is Brutus in merchant of Venice?
Brutus is in Julius Caesar not Merchant of Venice.
What plays by Shakespeare have the character Antonio?
Most of them. Antonio is the name of a character in Much Ado About Nothing, The Merchant of Venice, Twelfth Night, The Two Gentlemen of Verona and The Tempest. None of the others have an Antonio.
Who is jessica's lover in The Merchant of Venice?
Lorenzo. He subsequently becomes her husband.
Who is duke of Venice in the merchant of the Venice?
Who knows? The Duke of Venice is not a character in the play The Merchant of Venice. In Othello, yes. But not in the Merchant of Venice.
A Setting on the Merchant of Venice?
The Merchant of Venice is set, surprisingly enough, in Venice.
What play had the phrase A blinking idiot in it?
the line is from a play called the merchant of Venice
Who is Brutus in merchant of Venice?
Brutus is in Julius Caesar not Merchant of Venice.
What plays by Shakespeare have the character Antonio?
Most of them. Antonio is the name of a character in Much Ado About Nothing, The Merchant of Venice, Twelfth Night, The Two Gentlemen of Verona and The Tempest. None of the others have an Antonio.
Who is nerissas husband in the merchant of Venice?
Gratiano is the husband of Nerissa in The Merchant of Venice.
When was The Merchant of Venice released?
The Merchant of Venice was released on 12/29/2004.
What was the Production Budget for The Merchant of Venice?
The Production Budget for The Merchant of Venice was $30,000,000.
What play does all that glitters is not gold from?
It is from Merchant of Venice.
Is The Merchant of Venice a musical?
No. Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice is a tragic comedy, not a musical. However, several films have been made based off of The Merchant of Venice.
You were born in Venice and your father was a merchant?
Jessica, daughter of Shylock in 'The Merchant of Venice'. Except that Shylock was not a merchant; he was a moneylender. Antonio was the merchant, and he had no children.
