Page 30 - Cornice_Grade 7

Themes in Merchant of Venice

Revenge-
Antonio a christian mistreated Shylock a jew in the most possible way he could, and Shy-
lock, as revenge, took advantage of their ‘bond’ and took him to court and demanded for a pound
of flesh to feed his revenge upon failing to pay the bond on the date.
Shylock’s daughter Jessica married a Christian Lorenzo and had stolen Jewels and ducats from him
and fled. He wanted revenge and wished his daughter Jessica to be dead at his feet along with all
valuables in her coffin.

Love-
In the story, Bassanio and Portia loved each other. Bassanio, who was totally bankrupt after
living an extravagant life, took credit from Antonio to travel to Belmont and try his luck to win
Portia’s love.
On the other hand Portia traveled all the way from Belmont to Venice, disguised to help
save her lover’s best friend Antonio.
Jessica also had unconditional love for Lorenzo and so did Lorenzo for her. Jessica a Jew ran away
with a Christian Lorenzo. Their love for each other did not stop Jessica from running away from a
Jew like Shylock.

Friendship
In the play, Antonio and Bassanio are close friends. Bassanio had taken a loan from Anto-
nio and hadn’t returned it back, still he asked for another loan. Antonio, having love for Bassanio,
agreed to the loan even though he did not have ready cash. He even went on to the extent of offer-
ing a pound of flesh if he fails to pay Shylock the loan on time.
Another friendship in the story is between Shylock and Tubal. Tubal had helped Shylock
find out about the whereabouts of his daughter jessica. He also was one of his only friends who
took his side and went against Antonio.
Lorenzo also had a good friendship with his friends. They had helped him run away with Jessica
even though it was risky.

- Eileen Bajracharya