The Merchant of Venice has created a wealth of documentation for Shakespearian life, as well as its history of merchants, the law in operation in Venice, and how merchants used flavour to conduct the business of shipping; and all of these accounts provide us with insight into how merchants functioned. At the same time, the central theme of the play highlights the emotional impact of the act and the potential for finding fulfilment after experiencing the loss of someone or something precious through hard work and sacrifice.
The richness of the drama is primarily due to the dramatic quality of the title and the dramatic nature of the play overall, while modern readers are rewarded with their exploration of this play with an additional level of satisfaction (i.e., fulfilling their curiosity and needs).
Everyone anticipates the ending of the story—it has all the elements of a classic plot: The Merchant of Venice tells the tale of an honourable and charitable man (Antonio), who makes a perilous loan to a Jew (Shylock) so that his friend, Bassanio, can pursue the affections of the wealthy heiress (Portia) and marry her after proving himself through three successively more difficult challenges, and ultimately, to bring all of the various ethical questions posed throughout the narrative full circle in the trial portion of the narrative. As described in the Folger edition, the entire story is presented as one cohesive storyline, and it follows from Portia’s entrance into the Venetian courtroom as the Young Judge that the storyline is bound together.
The brilliance of the play lies within its tonal playfulness, wherein Shakespeare alternates his characters between lyricism and law and comedy and cruelty. The cleverness employed by Portia in Belmont, for example, is counterpointed by the harsh math associated with Shylock’s phrase “a pound of flesh”, which has become synonymous in modern language with unforgiving revenge. In addition, the courtroom has no tidy ending but rather one of the most disturbing reversals found in literature: in the famous speech by the character Portia in “Quality of Mercy,” the audience is presented with mercy as a message, yet justice gets entangled in a legal trap. When you line up the Portia speech and the trial side by side, you realise how rhetoric, statute, and equity can create both salvation and injury.
The play’s characterisation consistently creates discomfort for readers. Shylock is both a villain and a victim: the Venetians use him, and he frightens them with his design: PRINCIPLE. Portia is entertainingly intelligent; Bassanio has charm but is sometimes absent; and the weight of morality derived from Antonio’s sad and heavy character significantly influences much of the action. Additionally, even the less central characters—such as Jessica, who elopes; Nerissa, who has agency; and Gratiano, who is brash—create ripples that complicate the consistent themes of loyalty, money, and identity for the central characters.
A surprising editorial fact about reading Shakespeare’s plays today is that modern readers turn to said editions, with the most popular being that of the Folger; however, there are numerous editions of Shakespeare’s works that differ due to editorial choices and thus affect the way in which Shakespeare wrote them. The Folger editors directly point out their editorial choices, which act as a reminder that every performance and every reading is an act of interpretation.
Why should we read this play today? Because it forces us to hold two opposing feelings at the same time: we can admire the intelligence of Portia and feel conflicted about how the law is applied; we can also feel sorry for Shylock but still question the morality of his desire for revenge; we can see the comical activity of the characters and yet also feel a chill when they pay with human flesh. In the final act of The Merchant of Venice, the tensions present throughout the play are never resolved; rather, they are all translated into theatre that has the ability to light up the stage. So, if you wish to read a piece of Shakespeare that will allow you to re-examine your views on mercy, money, and justice through theatrical performance, read The Merchant of Venice and allow it to continue to provide you with ideas to reflect upon.
