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did not ask for the bond is forfeit. Since
Shylock is so insistent on absolute adherence to the law he is made to lose his bond and since he as a foreigner attempted to harm the life of a Venetian he is himself subject to punishment. Shylock leaves without his revenge with the added pain of having lost a portion of his wealth and his identity as a Jew through forced conversion. Antonio and Bassanio leave together with Gratiano and run into the doctor and clerk still in disguise. They praise the doctor and insist on proffering favours to "him". At first Portia protests but then decides to test Bassanio's love for her by asking for the ring she gave him which she made him swear never to part with as a symbol of their love. Not realizing the doctor is Portia in disguise Bassanio refuses to part with it but later after Antonio convinces him that surely his wife would understand that he did it for the person who saved his friend. He sends Gratiano to give the ring to the doctor. Nerissa then manages to secure the ring she gave Gratiano from him as well.
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misfortune. None of the ships have returned to port and as such he has no funds to pay the bond with. His flesh is forfeit to the Jew who is intent on having it. He insists he does not regret helping
Bassanio and even does not wish him to feel guilty. He only asks him to come and attend his death so that he can see him one last time. Bassanio, along with Gratiano, rushes off with three times the amount owed and his wife's blessing. The gentlemen leave in such a rush that they cannot consummate their marriages.
237:
necessary. Bassanio attempts to bribe him three times the amount of the bond. Shylock says he will have nothing but his pound of flesh. All is lost until Portia and
Nerissa arrive disguised as young men pretending to be a learned doctor Balthasar and his clerk. Portia pleads for mercy and gets no further than the previous applicants she seems at first to confirm the strength of the bond and tells Antonio to prepare to pay it. When all seems hopeless Bassanio declares his despair:
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inheritance from her father and whom he thinks is predisposed to choose him. He compares himself with Jason and his quest for the Golden Fleece. He beseeches
Antonio to back this venture knowing he is not likely to be refused by his generous benefactor. Indeed, Antonio, despite the fact that his capital is already at risk elsewhere, gives him a letter of credit and wishes him well.
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has a strange temperament as some people do. This pair quickly exits to make way for
Bassanio who is accompanied by his friends Lorenzo and Gratiano. Lorenzo cannot get in a word for the boisterous Gratiano who makes sport of Antonio's melancholy telling him that he is too serious and that he himself would rather go through life acting foolish.
306:
but only to specific sexual acts any individual might engage in. As Bray writes: "To talk of an individual of this period as being or not being 'a homosexual' is an anachronism and ruinously misleading. The temptation to debauchery, from which homosexuality was not clearly distinguished, was accepted
271:
Antonio accompanies
Bassanio home to Belmont to celebrate his good fortune and meet Portia. After some teasing, all discover the lady's deception in regard to the rings and the trial. Antonio plays the benefactor again, this time to Jessica when he gives her legal documentation to show that she is to
123:
Antonio's character is emblematic of the themes present in the play, including the complexities of friendship, the consequences of prejudice, and the interplay between love and sacrifice. His interactions with other characters, particularly
Shylock and Portia, contribute to the multifaceted layers of
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Antonio is ready to die, having seen his friend one last time, but he does not have to. Shylock is fooled by Portia who points out that there is a loophole in his contract. He omitted the request to shed blood in taking the pound of flesh. As he can not remove the flesh without taking blood which he
236:
This act begins with
Antonio's trial. The Duke pleads with Shylock to give "a gentle answer", a double entendre on the word Gentile, which meant anyone except a Jew. Shylock refuses to deny his bond. Bassanio and Gratiano are in attendance and advocate strongly that the Jew be thwarted by any means
182:
Later
Antonio enters the Rialto to assure Shylock that he will be bound for the 3,000 ducats Bassanio wishes to borrow. Antonio has belittled and harassed Shylock in public, and he loathes him because when Christian friends of his owed money to the Jews he paid off the debts, thus depriving them of
158:
His friends try to guess the origin and nature of his condition by questioning him. First, they inquire as to whether or not he is worried about his investments. When he insists that is not the reason they ask if he is in love which he is also quick to dismiss. It is then speculated that perhaps he
178:
Bassanio then proceeds to tell
Antonio of his depleted financial state due to his own excesses, making sure to note that he is aware he already owes him money. He laments his ill-fortune but cheers at the thought of solving his problems by marrying Portia, a woman who has come into a sizeable
213:
We hear no more from Antonio until after Bassanio wins the hand of the wealthy Portia by correctly guessing which of three caskets holds her portrait. Gratiano proposes to Nerissa, Portia's maid in waiting and friend. In the midst of his merrymaking, he receives a letter detailing Antonio's
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Despite his affluence, Antonio is depicted as being somber and melancholic, often musing about the reasons behind his sadness. He exhibits a deep sense of loyalty and friendship toward Bassanio, agreeing to borrow money on his behalf so that Bassanio can pursue the hand of
272:
inherit Shylock's property at his death. The play ends with Portia bearing good news that Antonio's much-anticipated ships have arrived safely in port. He is overjoyed at his good fortune so that while he remains the consummate bachelor he is not a poor one.
285:. Various interpreters began to read Antonio as homosexual in the 1950s, but there have been many objections. Some modern productions use the theory that Antonio is suffering from his love for Bassanio to explain his melancholic behavior.
183:
their interest. Far from lamenting his ill-treatment of the Jew who accuses him of spitting on him and calling him a dog, Antonio replies persistently "I am as likely to call thee so again, /To spit on thee again, to spurn thee too." (
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Antonio's deep friendship and dependence on Bassanio, his willingness to risk his life on Bassanio's behalf, and his draining of his own finances to support Bassanio has been read as supporting the theory that Antonio is
201:
Antonio makes a brief appearance in this act in scene 6 when he runs into Gratiano and tells him he has twenty people out looking for him. He goes on to say there will be no
120:, using a pound of his own flesh as collateral. This arrangement sets the stage for conflicts, prejudices, and moral dilemmas that drive the story's tension.
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When we first see Antonio, commiserating with his friends Salanio and Salarino, he is pondering the unknown source of his depressive state.
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Kleinberg, Seymour (1991). "Cultural stereotyping and audience stereotyping: Bill Alexander and Antony Sher". In Bulman, James C. (ed.).
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as part of the common lot. Homosexuality was a sin 'to which men's natural corruption and viciousness prone' " (16–17,
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Rosenshield, Gary. "Deconstructing the Christian Merchant: Antonio and The Merchant of Venice." Shofar 20.2 (2002)
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One of the key plotlines in the play revolves around Antonio's borrowing of money from the
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Kleinberg, Seymour; Bulman, James C. (Spring–Summer 1983). Kellogg, Stuart (ed.). "
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and that Bassanio is at that moment preparing to leave for Belmont to win Portia.
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the narrative, making Antonio a significant and thought-provoking figure in
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Pequigney, Joseph (March 1992). "The Two Antonios and Same-Sex Love in
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O'Rourke, James L. "Racism and Homophobia in The Merchant of Venice."
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93:. He is portrayed as a wealthy and respected merchant residing in
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s composition, "homosexuality" did not refer to an individual's
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Homosexuality in Renaissance England. Between men—between women
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419:: The Homosexual as Anti-Semite in Nascent Capitalism".
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163:Antonio: Well, tell me now, what lady is the same
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143:But how I caught it, found it, or came by it,
513:. New York: Thomas Y Crowell Company (1834).
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145:What stuff ‘tis made of, whereof it is born,
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245:But life itself, my wife, and all the world
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511:The Reader's Encyclopedia of Shakespeare
504:Shakespeare – The Invention of the Human
247:Are not with me esteemed above thy life,
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167:That you today promised to tell me of? (
249:I would lose all, ay sacrifice them all
149:And such a want-wit sadness makes of me
945:Fictional Italian people in literature
940:Literary characters introduced in 1590
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491:, A Verity Edition, Morning Star 2009
483:. New York: Columbia University Press.
243:Which is as dear to me as life itself;
141:It wearies me, you say it wearies you;
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251:Here to this devil, to deliver you. (
165:To whom you swore a secret pilgrimage
151:That I have much ado to know myself.
596:"Shakespeare's Characters: Antonio (
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293:Homosexuality in Renaissance England
276:Antonio's relationship with Bassanio
139:In sooth I know not why I am so sad.
83:is one of the central characters in
318:According to the Verity edition of
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566:. New York: Signet Classic, 1998.
506:. New York: Riverhead Books, 1998.
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615:"Character Analyses – Antonio"
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880:The Maori Merchant of Venice
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532:(2014). "Four Poems".
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109:, a wealthy heiress.
913:The quality of mercy
602:, Shakespeare Online
592:at Wikimedia Commons
394:. pp. 128–131.
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433:: 113–26.
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283:homosexual
69:Created by
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736:On screen
548:0360-3709
431:Routledge
392:Routledge
371:143778789
313:Bray 1995
289:Alan Bray
40:character
817:(1935);
685:Bassanio
556:24592298
479:(1995).
309:Rainolds
291:'s book
224:(1795),
99:Bassanio
87:'s play
891:Related
864:Shylock
829:Shylock
811:Opera:
805:Shylock
759:Shylock
704:Sources
695:Jessica
680:Antonio
675:Shylock
470:Sources
447:6192171
315:, 17).
118:Shylock
81:Antonio
30:Antonio
883:(2002)
875:(2001)
872:Yasser
867:(1996)
859:(1976)
851:(1938)
832:(1987)
823:(1982)
808:(1889)
762:(1940)
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95:Venice
61:Bergen
796:Music
552:JSTOR
367:S2CID
300:'
267:Act 5
232:Act 4
209:Act 3
197:Act 2
134:Act 1
787:2004
783:(TV)
781:1980
776:1969
771:1961
766:1953
753:1923
748:1916
743:1914
568:ISBN
544:ISSN
443:PMID
396:ISBN
343:and
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435:doi
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