An Essay On The Merchant Of Venice

William Shakespeare's play The Merchant Of Venice is a romance of the most cynical kind. In the play, the lovers are central and it is their actions that drive the plot. They do bizarre things so as to prove their love to each other, and their passion makes them selfish and uncaring outside of their consuming obsessions. In their quest for true love, they leave a trail of destruction behind them, making Merchant Of Venice a play with consequences.

Antonio, though not a central lover in the play, nonetheless has a destructive obsession. He treasures Bassanio's love, but feels he hasn't adequately demonstrated this, although throughout the play the audience can clearly see that Antonio has no purpose without Bassanio. Though he gives more and more to Bassanio, he knows that the other cannot possibly reciprocate this love:

"You know me well, and herein spend but time/ To wind about my love with circumstance/ And out of doubt you do me now more wrong..." (1.1.164-166)

He knows this, but cannot accept it. So, he puts his well-being in danger, feeling that this is the only way he can be cared for by Bassanio. The idea of making himself bankrupt and then getting skinned alive seems very selfless at first glance, but it turns out to be one of the most selfish actions of the play. Antonio not only puts his own life at stake, but also Shylock's, the man who is to assist his suicide. Antonio doesn't care how Shylock will look when he kills him in this gruesome way; he only wants to prove his love to Bassanio. This passive-agressive brand of loyalty helps to destroy Shylock.

Jessica, the daughter of Shylock, has fallen in love with Lorenzo, a Christian. From the start, she does not feel worthy of Lorenzo's affections. She is a Jew and knows that she has to overcome that prejudice in order to gain Lorenzo's trust and to feel happy with him. She tries to figure out what could possibly effect their happiness, and narrows it down to two things: her heritage and a possible cash flow crisis. Also coming into play is her strong dislike for her father, which is borne from the fact that she is a teenager and inevitably feels restricted by her father's strict ways.

Jessica associates her restriction with her father, and in turn associates her father with tradition, so reasons that in order to be free, she must forsake family and tradition. She knows that to do so would be to erase her entire identity, but doesn't care. She just wants to show Lorenzo how much she'll do for him. Her actions are founded only by her desire to be compatible with Lorenzo. She acts as a 'good Christian' by robbing her father of everything he has, and then estranges herself from her heritage. Lorenzo notices the changes she makes for him, fortunately, and appreciates it:

"Beshrew me but I love her heartily!/ For she is wise, if I can judge of her/ And she is fair, if mine eyes be true/ And true she is, as she hath proved herself..." (2.6.58-61)

Portia believes she was made to be Bassanio's. No other man will do, and once she has Bassanio, Portia will do anything to make sure he is absolutely content:

"For never shall you lie by Portia's side/ With an unquiet soul." (3.2.331-332)

Portia likes to believe that she is an independent woman, but she is so bound to Bassanio and her future that she refuses to be appeased until her storybook ending is assured. To ensure her romance has no flaws, she is completely willing to crossdress and wreck the life of someone she holds no grudge against, except by relation to Bassanio. Portia is absolutely ruthless in her quest for a happy ending, for not only does she punish Shylock in a way she sees fit, she makes sure he will never be able to live as he wants to for the remainder of his life.

After she plays the deus ex machina and punishes the villain of the story, Portia goes back to being the persona of a princess in a tower. Portia is a frightening character, and William Shakespeare knew it; he tried to appease her by giving her a fifth act straight from the end of a children's book.

It is clear that The Merchant Of Venice can only be classified as a romance. The lovers go to such extremes that it would be a fallacy to call the play anything else. In some cases, it appears that classifying the play as a romance is the most legitimate way, but also the safest...