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Character List

The document provides a character list for William Shakespeare's play The Merchant of Venice. It describes the key characters including their roles and relationships. Some of the main characters summarized are: Shylock, a Jewish moneylender who seeks revenge on Antonio; Portia, a wealthy heiress who must marry the suitor that picks the correct casket; and Antonio, a merchant whose friendship with Bassanio leads him to borrow money from Shylock. It also briefly introduces other characters such as Bassanio, Gratiano, Jessica, and the various princes who wish to woo Portia.

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Yaseen Maalik
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396 views

Character List

The document provides a character list for William Shakespeare's play The Merchant of Venice. It describes the key characters including their roles and relationships. Some of the main characters summarized are: Shylock, a Jewish moneylender who seeks revenge on Antonio; Portia, a wealthy heiress who must marry the suitor that picks the correct casket; and Antonio, a merchant whose friendship with Bassanio leads him to borrow money from Shylock. It also briefly introduces other characters such as Bassanio, Gratiano, Jessica, and the various princes who wish to woo Portia.

Uploaded by

Yaseen Maalik
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Character List

Shylock - A Jewish moneylender in Venice. Angered by his mistreatment at the hands of


Venice’s Christians, particularly Antonio, Shylock schemes to eke out his revenge by
ruthlessly demanding as payment a pound of Antonio’s flesh. Although seen by the rest of
the play’s characters as an inhuman monster, Shylock at times diverges from stereotype and
reveals himself to be quite human. These contradictions, and his eloquent expressions of
hatred, have earned Shylock a place as one of Shakespeare’s most memorable characters.
Portia - A wealthy heiress from Belmont. Portia’s beauty is matched only by her
intelligence. Bound by a clause in her father’s will that forces her to marry whichever suitor
chooses correctly among three caskets, Portia is nonetheless able to marry her true love,
Bassanio. Far and away the most clever of the play’s characters, it is Portia, in the disguise
of a young law clerk, who saves Antonio from Shylock’s knife.

Antonio - The merchant whose love for his friend Bassanio prompts him to sign
Shylock’s contract and almost lose his life. Antonio is something of a mercurial
figure, often inexplicably melancholy and, as Shylock points out, possessed of an
incorrigible dislike of Jews. Nonetheless, Antonio is beloved of his friends and
proves merciful to Shylock, albeit with conditions.
Bassanio - A gentleman of Venice, and a kinsman and dear friend to Antonio.
Bassanio’s love for the wealthy Portia leads him to borrow money from Shylock with
Antonio as his guarantor. An ineffectual businessman, Bassanio proves himself a
worthy suitor, correctly identifying the casket that contains Portia’s portrait.
Gratiano - A friend of Bassanio’s who accompanies him to Belmont. A coarse and
garrulous young man, Gratiano is Shylock’s most vocal and insulting critic during the
trial. While Bassanio courts Portia, Gratiano falls in love with and eventually weds
Portia’s lady-in-waiting, Nerissa.
Jessica - Although she is Shylock’s daughter, Jessica hates life in her father’s house,
and elopes with the young Christian gentleman, Lorenzo. The fate of her soul is
often in doubt: the play’s characters wonder if her marriage can overcome the fact
that she was born a Jew, and we wonder if her sale of a ring given to her father by
her mother is excessively callous.
Lorenzo - A friend of Bassanio and Antonio, Lorenzo is in love with Shylock’s
daughter, Jessica. He schemes to help Jessica escape from her father’s house, and
he eventually elopes with her to Belmont.
Nerissa - Portia’s lady-in-waiting and confidante. She marries Gratiano and escorts
Portia on Portia’s trip to Venice by disguising herself as her law clerk.
Launcelot Gobbo - Bassanio’s servant. A comical, clownish figure who is especially
adept at making puns, Launcelot leaves Shylock’s service in order to work for
Bassanio.
The Prince Of Morocco - A Moorish prince who seeks Portia’s hand in marriage. The
prince of Morocco asks Portia to ignore his dark countenance and seeks to win her
by picking one of the three caskets. Certain that the caskets reflect Portia’s beauty
and stature, the prince of Morocco picks the gold chest, which proves to be
incorrect.
The Prince Of Arragon - An arrogant Spanish nobleman who also attempts to win
Portia’s hand by picking a casket. Like the prince of Morocco, however, the prince of
Arragon chooses unwisely. He picks the silver casket, which gives him a message
calling him an idiot instead of Portia’s hand.
Salarino - A Venetian gentleman, and friend to Antonio, Bassanio, and Lorenzo.
Salarino escorts the newlyweds Jessica and Lorenzo to Belmont, and returns with
Bassanio and Gratiano for Antonio’s trial. He is often almost indistinguishable from
his companion Solanio.
Solanio - A Venetian gentleman, and frequent counterpart to Salarino.
The Duke Of Venice - The ruler of Venice, who presides over Antonio’s trial.
Although a powerful man, the duke’s state is built on respect for the law, and he is
unable to help Antonio.
Old Gobbo - Launcelot’s father, also a servant in Venice.
Tubal - A Jew in Venice, and one of Shylock’s friends.
Doctor Bellario - A wealthy Paduan lawyer and Portia’s cousin. Doctor Bellario never
appears in the play, but he gives Portia’s servant the letters of introduction needed
for her to make her appearance in court.
Balthasar - Portia’s servant, whom she dispatches to get the appropriate materials
from Doctor Bellario.
Character List
Antonio A wealthy Venetian merchant who occasionally lends money, but
never charges interest. Since his main source of income is from his merchant
ships, he is the "merchant" of the play's title.
Bassanio He is a typical Elizabethan lover and nobleman who is careless with
his money; hence, he has to borrow from Antonio so that he can woo Portia in
style.
Portia As one of Shakespeare's most intelligent and witty heroines, she is
famous for her beauty and for her wealth, and she is deeply anguished that
she must marry only the man who chooses the single casket of three which
contains her portrait.
Shylock Shylock is an intelligent businessman who believes that, since he is a
moneylender, charging interest is his right; to him, it makes good business
sense.
The Duke of Venice He presides as judge over the court proceedings in
Shylock's claim on Antonio.
The Prince of Morocco One of Portia's suitors; he loses the opportunity to
marry her when he chooses the golden casket.
The Prince of Arragon He chooses the silver casket; he is another
disappointed suitor for Portia's hand in marriage.
Gratiano He is the light-hearted, talkative friend of Bassanio, who
accompanies him to Belmont; there, he falls in love with Portia's confidante,
Nerissa.
Lorenzo He is a friend of Antonio and Bassanio; he woos and wins the love of
Shylock's daughter, Jessica.
Jessica She is the young daughter of Shylock; she falls in love with Lorenzo
and, disguised as a boy, she elopes with him.
Nerissa Portia's merry and sympathetic lady-in-waiting.
Salarino He is a friend who believes that Antonio is sad because he is worried
about his ships at sea.
Salanio He is another friend of Antonio; he thinks Antonio's melancholy may
be caused because Antonio is in love.
Salerio A messenger from Venice.
Launcelot Gobbo He is a "clown," a jester, the young servant of Shylock; he
is about to run away because he thinks Shylock is the devil; eventually, he
leaves Shylock's service and becomes Bassanio's jester.
Old Gobbo The father of Launcelot, he has come to Venice to seek news of
his son.
Tubal He is a friend of Shylock's; he tells him that one of Antonio's ships has
been wrecked.
Leonardo Bassanio's servant.
Balthasar The servant whom Portia sends to her cousin, Dr. Bellario.
Dr. Bellario A lawyer of Padua.
Stephano One of Portia's servants.

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