I've read this book before school holidays, and it is a wonderful book. It features Antonio, the merchant of Venice, along with Bassanio, Gratiano, Salerio, Solanio, Lorenzo and more. There is also Shylock, a Jew who drives himself into hatred, and Portia, an heiress of Belmont who is also a wise maiden.
Ironically the main character is not Antonio, the merchant of Venice. Rather, it is Shylock, the Jewish money lender. While I think there is no way one would consider Shylock a nice fellow. I came away believing that he was more wronged than anyone in the play whom he harmed. He is presented as a nasty and greedy money lender. No doubt that portrait played well in a time of rampant anti-Semitism, but I came away with great sympathy for him. Even Antonio, the merchant, is just horrible in his judgment of Shylock, much more based on his race and religion than his money-lending practices.
The play is a mixture of romance, tragedy, mostly comedy, and has a happy ending. It also tells us, from Shylock and Antonio, that Christians then hold much prejudice towards the Jews. We also see romance between Lorenzo and Jessica, and Bassanio and Portia. The way of how Portia finds a suitable husband is seemingly interesting, and of which Portia already predicts her future husband, which is Bassanio.
The twist comes in when Shylock, having arrested Antonio, demanded a pound of flesh from Antonio's body rather than three thousand ducats. This trial, judged by the Duke, becomes very interesting when Portia, disguised as a lawyer defending Antonio, though pretending to agree with Shylock to cut off a pound of flesh near Antonio's bosom, suddenly says that no blood should be dripped while cutting the flesh, or Shylock will lose his fortune. In the end Shylock chose to pay instead.
The Merchant of Venice is a wonderful read. Touching, challenging, insightful and fascinating; just a delightful read.
No comments:
Post a Comment