Merchant of Venice Analysis

BASSANIO
In Belmont is a lady richly left;
And she is fair, and, fairer than that word,
Of wondrous virtues: sometimes from her eyes
I did receive fair speechless messages:
Her name is Portia, nothing undervalued
To Cato's daughter, Brutus' Portia:
Nor is the wide world ignorant of her worth,
For the four winds blow in from every coast
Renowned suitors, and her sunny locks
Hang on her temples like a golden fleece;
Which makes her seat of Belmont Colchos' strand,
And many Jasons come in quest of her.
O my Antonio, had I but the means
To hold a rival place with one of them,
I have a mind presages me such thrift,
That I should questionless be fortunate!
The first thing that Bassanio says
(therefore, his primary motivation and
the first thing the audience learns)
reveals that Portia is wealthy.
The fact that she is ‘left’ subtly portrays Portia as a
character who is vulnerable and abandoned (echoed
by the mise-en-scene in the film version). It
immediately establishes the action as taking place in
a patriarchal society – one ruled by men. It is
inconceivable for Portia to be able to handle the
wealth she has been granted on her own. Instead, she
is portrayed as a character of weakness, in need of a
male hero to come and save her. The drama is
heightened by Bassanio's motivations – is he the male
hero she requires or deserves?
Bassanio uses hyperbole to exaggerate Portia’s qualities,
particularly her femininity. He is a stereotypical lover in
this respect.
They have flirted before and he believes she is
interested. Is this the first instance of Shakespeare
presenting Portia as a character who takes steps to
influence her own future (an active character)?
Suitors who
have excellent
social
standing.
Greek
mythology –
Portia is
presented as a
prize to be
won.
Does this suggest he is trying to fool her (by
misrepresenting himself)?
Brutus and Portia are important people in Roman history
for assassination attempt on Caesar. Portia (Porcia) Catonis
proved her loyalty to Brutus by disguising the pain of a self
inflicted leg injury. To what extent is Shakespeare
foreshadowing Portia’s potential power in the play, and
also her ability to hide her own pain?

LORENZO
Madam, although I speak it in your presence,
You have a noble and a true conceit
Of godlike amity; which appears most strongly
In bearing thus the absence of your lord.
But if you knew to whom you show this honour,
How true a gentleman you send relief,
How dear a lover of my lord your husband,
I know you would be prouder of the work
Than customary bounty can enforce you.
PORTIA
I never did repent for doing good,
Nor shall not now: for in companions
That do converse and waste the time together,
Whose souls do bear an equal yoke Of love,
There must be needs a like proportion
Of lineaments, of manners and of spirit;
Which makes me think that this Antonio,
Being the bosom lover of my lord,
Must needs be like my lord. If it be so,
How little is the cost I have bestow'd
Lorenzo explains how he admires Portia for her
friendship and noble behaviour. Lorenzo is not
Portia’s social equal, but as a male he takes it
upon himself to praise her for having the qualities
of a renaissance female ideal.
Portia is a passive character and Lorenzo reinforces
typical gender stereotypes by praising her passivity in
accepting the absence of Bassanio.
Portia is presented as a renaissance
female ideal. She has noble characteristics:
she is passive, accepting the absence of her
husband, kind and generous, obedient and
gracious. She is intelligent but without agency –
simply for the sake of knowledge. You must
consider the extent to which she is the ideal
and how Shakespeare challenges this.
Portia acts out of generosity
and faith, unaware of who she
is showing kindness.
Portia, again, reinforces the ideal, humble idealisation
of a woman. However, the fact she does good and make
it sound like she has done good before might suggest
that she is less of a passive character than the audience
might believe.
Does this suggest that Portia has a false idea about
Bassanio’s qualities. She is saving his friend for being
like him – but does her opinion of him change as the
play progresses?

In purchasing the semblance of my soul
From out the state of hellish misery!
This comes too near the praising of myself;
Therefore no more of it: hear other things.
Lorenzo, I commit into your hands
The husbandry and manage of my house
Until my lord's return: for mine own part,
I have toward heaven breathed a secret vow
To live in prayer and contemplation,
Only attended by Nerissa here,
Until her husband and my lord's return:
There is a monastery two miles off;
And there will we abide. I do desire you
Not to deny this imposition;
The which my love and some necessity
Now lays upon you.
LORENZO
Madam, with all my heart;
I shall obey you in all fair commands.
PORTIA
My people do already know my mind,
And will acknowledge you and Jessica
In place of Lord Bassanio and myself.
And so farewell, till we shall meet again.
The importance here is on the word purchased.
Portia has been broadly presented as a passive
character but this suggests that she has economic
influence – a characteristic not expected of a
renaissance female ideal. This is not the first
indication that Shakespeare has given that she is
not a passive character. However, in order to pick
up on this, you have to look at the subtleties.
It is important to consider what
Portia thinks she is saving Antonio
from. Firstly, to what extent is
Antonio responsible for his own
hellish misery? Secondly, Portia
approaches the problem from the
typical Christian perspective:
Antonio’s life hangs in the balance at
the hands of a Jew! However, this
point is important because by the
end of the play, Portia realises that
she and Shylock are similar
characters, trapped by a society that
doesn’t value them. Her
consideration of Antonio’s misery has
a unknown sense of irony, especially
her help in bringing Shylock to his
knees.
Presents her
as a modest
character.
She is a deceitful
character – we
know that she has
not promised to
hide away until
Bassanio returns.
A word that suggests she is obedient and
part of a male dominated society.
She still needs to help
and permission of a
male to complete her
plan
A phrase that
suggests that she
has power.

LORENZO
Fair thoughts and happy hours attend on you!
JESSICA
I wish your ladyship all heart's content.
PORTIA
I thank you for your wish, and am well pleased
To wish it back on you: fare you well Jessica.
Exeunt JESSICA and LORENZO
Now, Balthasar,
As I have ever found thee honest-true,
So let me find thee still. Take this same letter,
And use thou all the endeavour of a man
In speed to Padua: see thou render this
Into my cousin's hand, Doctor Bellario;
And, look, what notes and garments he doth give thee,
Bring them, I pray thee, with imagined speed
Unto the tranect, to the common ferry
Which trades to Venice. Waste no time in words,
But get thee gone: I shall be there before thee.
BALTHASAR
Madam, I go with all convenient speed.
Exit
This reveals something very
important. The way Portia has
been presented so far is part of a
dramatic technique that has
created a character who the
audience believes is noble. This is
a key turning point – it is
symbolic of her move from a
seemingly passive character to an
obviously active one.
This is an important turning point in the
play. It is important to make cross-
references with the way Portia has been
presented previously. For some, her
transition to an active and deceitful
character will be a surprise. To others, the
clues are there. Shakespeare has
foreshadowed Portia’s potential for
mischief and action since the earliest
comparison of her as being like Brutus’
Portia and the idea that she can
‘purchase’ Antonio’s freedom.
Nevertheless, she rejects the female
stereotype most obviously here.

PORTIA
Come on, Nerissa; I have work in hand
That you yet know not of: we'll see our husbands
Before they think of us.
NERISSA
Shall they see us?
PORTIA
They shall, Nerissa; but in such a habit,
That they shall think we are accomplished
With that we lack. I'll hold thee any wager,
When we are both accoutred like young men,
I'll prove the prettier fellow of the two,
And wear my dagger with the braver grace,
And speak between the change of man and boy
With a reed voice, and turn two mincing steps
Into a manly stride, and speak of frays
Like a fine bragging youth, and tell quaint lies,
How honourable ladies sought my love,
Which I denying, they fell sick and died;
I could not do withal; then I'll repent,
And wish for all that, that I had not killed them;
And twenty of these puny lies I'll tell,
That men shall swear I have discontinued school
Above a twelvemonth. I have within my mind
A thousand raw tricks of these bragging Jacks,
Which I will practise.
Powerless and passive V
Empowered and active
Again, Portia’s rejection of the female stereotype
is becoming clear. She is an clever woman who has
a plan to follow her husband.
There is an important exploration of gender to be had
here. In order for Portia to have power and to have an
impact on social and political affairs, she must
convince society that she is a male. More importantly,
in order to be a male she need to pretend she has
what she lacks. By extension, this suggests that
female characters (and females in society) are lacking
in something. This suggestion would imply that the
female gender and inadequate or inferior to men,
which reflects the historical and social context of the
play.
Portia explains how she will convince people she is
male.
Explore the historical context. How does
Portia represent the concerns of Queen
Elizabeth 1st?
QE1 was under intense criticism to marry.
How is Portia beginning to show that women
can be powerful?

NERISSA
Why, shall we turn to men?
PORTIA
Fie, what a question's that,
If thou wert near a lewd interpreter!
But come, I'll tell thee all my whole device
When I am in my coach, which stays for us
At the park gate; and therefore haste away,
For we must measure twenty miles to-day.
Exeunt
This withholding of information is a
dramatic device – Nerissa and the
audience will see how Portia’s plan will
unfold.
Not only is she presented as an active
character, she has now also become a key
plot device.

PORTIA (3.2)
I am lock'd in one of them
PORTIA (4.1)
Thou shalt have nothing but the forfeiture,
To be so taken at thy peril, Jew.
PORTIA (4.1)
Tarry, Jew:
The law hath yet another hold on you.
The quotation reveals that Portia feels trapped by the male-
dominated society in which she lives. Her future rests in the hands
of a father who has died.
It reveals the tension between her desires to control her own future
and the loyalty she feels towards her father. In this way, Portia’s
dilemma is a complex and relevant one. QE1 was torn between
meeting society’s expectation that she would marry but realised
the subsequent loss of power that this wold have created.
In these quotations Portia demonstrates a lack
of mercy. Critics note the irony of this as the
similarities between Shylock and Portia are
great. It is dramatic because by treating Shylock
so harshly Portia is validating prejudice – this is
something you would hope she would be
against. However, she is also proving her ability
to act upon her intelligence and exert her
power. That said, the only way she was able to
do this was through a male disguise
It is important that you can make links with the text beyond
the key scenes. These small but very important quotations
show that Portia is a complex character with many
sides. It is fair to say she is a character of contrasts
– at times weak and vulnerable; at other times,
ruthless.

We have seen Portia portrayed in
a number of ways…
 A vulnerable heiress to a large
fortune
 Isolated and lonely
 Powerless and passive
 Unable to choose a husband
for herself
 Trapped by a patriarchal
(male-dominated society)
 A victim of an unhappy
marriage
 Intelligent
 A prize or possession
 Generous and kind
 Foreshadowed as a character
capable of extraordinary
power and influence
 Deceitful
 Empowered and active
 Social and economic influence
 Similar to Shylock – a character she
helps to be treated so unfairly
 As representative of the pressure
and potential consequences on
Queen Elizabeth 1st to marry.
 A renaissance female ideal
 A reminder that trade and the
relationships between men and
business (represented by the
platonic love of Antonio and
Bassanio) outweighs love between
husband and wife

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Merchant of Venice Analysis

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Merchant of Venice Analysis