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Why does Antonio of Merchant in Venice want his friend to speak fairly of him in death?
Wiki User
∙ 9y ago
Antonio is convinced that he will lose his lawsuit with Shylock and will be obliged to give up his pound of flesh and his life. He asks Bassiano earlier, "You cannot better be employ'd, Bassanio, Than to live still and write mine epitaph." Later, when actually preparing himself to be killed, he has the opportunity to deliver what he believes will be his last words. He says to Bassanio
Commend me to your honourable wife:
Tell her the process of Antonio's end;
Say how I loved you, speak me fair in death;
And, when the tale is told, bid her be judge
Whether Bassanio had not once a love.
He wants Bassanio to tell Portia how much he loves Bassanio; at least that is what is happening on the surface. But what does Antonio care about Portia? He is really letting Bassanio know how deep his love for Bassanio is, in order to get a loving response. Bassanio responds all too lovingly by saying that he loves Antonio more than his wife, a rather unfortunate remark since his wife is standing right next to him. All this is made sense of with the supposition, put forward by a number of scholars, that Antonio has a homosexual attraction to Bassanio.
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Who is Antonio's friend in Merchant of Venice?
bassano
Who is Antonio and who are the friends he is conversing with?
Antonio is the merchant of Venice.salarino and salanio are the friend who was conversing with Antonio.
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.
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.
What are some prejudice in the Merchant of Venice?
People judge Shylock because he is a Jew. He cannot escape the harassment that he receives for being Jewish.Jessica is too nice to be a Jew, and therefore must convert to ChristianityThere is only a happy ending for the Christian characters
Who was Antonio's friend in The Merchant of Venice?
Bassanio
Who is Antonio's friend in Merchant of Venice?
bassano
Who is Antonio and who are the friends he is conversing with?
Antonio is the merchant of Venice.salarino and salanio are the friend who was conversing with Antonio.
What would a friend of Antonio have done had he such a venture in merchant of Venice?
Most likely the same thing as Antonio did.
What is Jessica's main function in merchant of Venice?
she is a secret lover of antonio and she secretly has an affair with his best friend. she is a dirty tramp. she sleeps with his best friend
What is the beginning action of the play Merchant of Venice?
Bassanio tells his friend Antonio that he wants to court Portia, but has no money. Antonio has, so to speak, maxed his credit cards but agrees to see if he can get a loan from the moneylender Shylock.
Is the duke in Merchant of Venice a Christian?
He absolutely is. The only non-Christians in the play are Shylock, his friend Tubal, and Jessica, before she becomes an apostate.
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.
What are characteristics of lorenzo in The Merchant of Venice?
he is very good friend of bassanio he could do everything possible for him for his friend and could also give a peice of meat from his body for his friend
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 dose Shylock want in return?
A pound of his rival Antonio's own flesh, due to the fact that Antonio is unable to repay Shylock a loan of three thousand ducats because of the loss of his merchant ships, and also inflamed by the fact that Shylock's daughter Jessica has run away with Antonio's friend Lorenzo.
What do you do with your car when you go to Venice?
Leave it with a friend or relative.
