In the play the merchant of venice, there are many female characters who face injustice alone in society. In her courtroom appearance, she vigorously applies the law, but still flouts convention by appearing disguised as a man. See below for a full list of all the characters in the merchant of venice duke of venice. Nor is the wide world ignorant of her worth, for the four winds blow in. The merchant of venicefrank finlay right is shylock in a 1972. Portia is the romantic heroine of the play, and she must be presented on the stage with much beauty and intelligence. A rich, beautiful, intelligent heiress of belmont, she is bound by the lottery set forth in.
Christy chandra professor david landreth gsi aileen liu english 117a 30 september 2015 merchant of venice. Influences of the radical feminist perspective in the merchant of. The merchant of venice character analysis a plus topper. Merchant of venice quality of mercy freebooksummary. Read shakespeares the merchant of venice, characters in the play for free from the folger shakespeare. A nobleman from venice, who is a kinsman, close friend, and longtime debtor of the merchant, antonio. Far and away the most clever of the plays characters, it is portia, in the disguise of a young law clerk, who saves antonio from shylocks knife.
Portias beauty is matched only by her intelligence. Portia s beauty is matched only by her intelligence. Bound by a clause in her fathers will that forces her to marry whichever suitor. Quickwitted, wealthy, and beautiful, portia embodies the virtues that are typical of shakespeare s heroinesit is no surprise that she emerges as the antidote to shylocks malice. Apr 16, 2014 revisit famous quotes and discover images from the folger shakespeare library collection that depict characters and scenes from william shakespeares play. Bassanio he is a typical elizabethan lover and nobleman who is careless with his money.
The play is called the merchant of venice and so we may well expect it to focus mostly on antonio, the venetian merchant. Portia, the wealthy heiress of belmont in shakespeares comedy the merchant of venice. Portia quotes in the merchant of venice the the merchant of venice quotes below are all either spoken by portia or refer to portia. In attempting to find a worthy husband, she sets in motion the action of the play. A rich, beautiful, intelligent heiress of belmont, she is bound by the lottery set forth in her fathers will, which gives potential suitors the chance to choose among three caskets. The main characters of the play are antonio the merchant of venice, portia, shylock, and jessica.
Portia ensures that bassanio is made aware of her alter ego. Portia is a character in shakespeares play, the merchant of venice. Quickwitted, wealthy, and beautiful, portia embodies the virtues that are typical of shakespeares. Portia character analysis in the merchant of venice. It was published again in 1619, and then in 1623 in the first folio, a collection of all of shakespeares plays. At the beginning of the play, however, we do not see portias potential for initiative and resourcefulness, as she is a near prisoner, feeling herself absolutely bound to follow her fathers dying wishes. His friend bassanio is desperately in need of money to court portia, a wealthy heiress who lives in the city of belmont. The merchant of venice is a 16thcentury play written by william shakespeare in which a merchant in venice named antonio defaults on a large loan provided by a jewish moneylender, shylock. Discover why portia, a strong female lead from the merchant of venice, is one of shakespeares most loved characters. Her views of the different suitors highlight that wealth or status mean little to portia. The merchant of venice character analysis course hero. Bassanio asks antonio for a loan in order to travel in style to portia s estate. Her fathers will stipulates that she can only marry the man who.
The duke of venice the prince of morocco, suitor to portia the prince of arragon, suitor to portia antonio. The duke of venice knows that he cannot risk venices livelihood by denying shylocks suit, but is less than happy at the fact. Language analysis in the merchant of venice shakespeare. Bassanio is in need of money so that he may woo portia, a wealthy heiress. Portia rejects the stuffiness that rigid adherence to the law might otherwise suggest. Because he wants to woo the noble portia, but cannot himself afford to do so, bassanio read full character analysis. Detailed analysis of characters in william shakespeares the merchant of venice. Character description, analysis and casting breakdown for portia from the merchant of venice. Shes not exactly like the characters usually classed as strong women in shakespeare. However, shylock has the much larger role he has almost double the number of lines and it is his insistence on the terms of the bond including a pound of flesh that creates the main drama in the play. In the merchant of venice, portia is a beautiful, intelligent, and wealthy heiress from belmont. In the merchant of venice, the christian virtue of mercy as a divine quality seems to be upheld for the pleasure of an elizabethan audience. Portia is a fine example of a romantic heroine in shakespeares mature comedies.
Portia is an extraordinarily rich heiress of belmont constrained by her fathers will to accept in marriage whichever suitor successfully passes the test of the three caskets luckily, as an unsuccessful suitor must swear to never marry, most of them refuse to go as far as the ordeal, but she is still not overly glad of her circumstances. Learn everything you need to know about shylock, antonio, and more in the merchant of venice. Already she has given him cause to think that it is possible that he can woo and win her, for on an earlier visit to. Portia is respectful, even to the suitors she is uninterested in. Portia is an extraordinarily rich heiress of belmont constrained by her fathers will to accept in marriage whichever. Portia is one of shakespeares most revered heroines, and she embodies many heroic attributes throughout the merchant of venice. The merchant of venice, characters in the play folger digital texts. Antonio is a merchant of venice who has invested deeply in overseas ventures, to the. Unlike the business city of venice, her home is set in the contrasting city of belmont, which represents love and harmony within the play. At portias estate of belmont, portia and nerissa talk over portias frustration at being unable to choose her own husband. Bound by a clause in her fathers will that forces her to marry whichever suitor chooses correctly among three caskets, portia is nonetheless able to marry her true love, bassanio.
The heiress to her dead fathers fortune, portias wealth makes her a meal ticket in the eyes of bassanio, who sees portia as the answer to all his financial woesif he can marry her that is. The title character is the merchant antonio, not the jewish moneylender shylock, who is the plays most prominent and most famous character. Character list since his main source of income is from his merchant ships, he is the merchant of the plays title. Portia fictional character, the merchant of venice britannica. Every book on your english syllabus summed up in a quote from the office. Learn all about how the characters in the merchant of venice such as shylock and antonio contribute to the story and how they fit into the plot. Portia, the merchant of venice do you agree that portia is a memorable character in the play the merchant of venice. She seems more focused on personality and appearance. The two women that are in this play take on the role of the saviors of the men who seem helpless and hopeless compared to them.
It is believed to have been written between 1596 and 1599. The merchant of venice by shakespeare, free pdf, ebook. Prince of morocco, prince of arragon, suitors to portia. The merchant of venice portia by aylin alvarez on prezi. In this tragicomedy, portia uses her creativity and wit to save the life of. Character profile project portia s motivations if i were a costume designer.
The earliest recorded performance of the play took place at the court of king james in 1605. The dilemma of portias feminism known as the female lead in shakespeares merchant of venice, portia is designed by shakespeare to posses a high degree as equal as the other lead male characters in the play. Jan 01, 2005 the merchant of venice is the story of antonio, the dramas title character, and his friend bassanio. The merchant of venice was first published in 1600. He turns to his merchant friend, antonio, who is forced to borrow from shylock, a jewish moneylender. In shakespeares the merchant of venice, there are many controversies over religion and friendship, but the idea of the play that interested me the most was the role of women. Portia is a protagonist of william shakespeares the merchant of venice. What are the leading character traits of portia, and how is. Portia in shakespeares the merchant of venice thoughtco. The merchant of venice, act 1, scene 2 the folger shakespeare. Angered by his mistreatment at the hands of venices christians, particularly antonio, shylock schemes.
Antonio, a venetian merchant, complains to his friends of a melancholy that he cannot explain. Characters portia characters portia quickwitted, wealthy, and beautiful, portia embodies the virtues that are typical of shakespeares heroinesit is no surprise that she emerges as the antidote to shylocks malice. Antonio is a merchant of venice who has invested deeply in overseas ventures, to the extent that he no longer has any ready money left. After depriving bassanio of his ring, she stops the prank before it goes to far, but still takes it far enough to berate bassanio and. It can be argued that no single english novel attains the universality of the. Portia merchant of venice merchant of venice characters portia character sketch of portia in merchant of venice merchant of venice workbook answers portia an embodiment of an ideal woman essentially feminine, yet bold and capable courteous and polite shy and modest bold and capable her brilliant humour and wit a strong person portia read more. The the merchant of venice quotes below are all either spoken by portia or refer to portia. Far and away the most clever of the plays characters, it is. Portia is one of the main character roles in shakespeares merchant of venice, and is often related to as the heroine of the play. Jun 22, 2018 shylock is the most vivid and memorable character in the merchant of venice, and he is one of shakespeares greatest dramatic creations. Portia fictional character, the merchant of venice. The merchant of venice character analysis litcharts. She is one of shakespeares classic crossdressing heroines, and, dressed as a male lawyer a redundant phrase in shakespeares. Feminism in the merchant of venice 734 words bartleby.
Other characters include bassanio, gratiano, lorenzo, nerissa, and so on. Complete list of characters in william shakespeares the merchant of venice. Portia in the merchant of venice and portia in julius caesar are both admirable female characters who display many of the same traits of courage, intelligence, loyalty, and ingenuity. When antonios business falters, repayment becomes impossibleand by the terms of the loan.
Kate dolan as portia, painted by john everett millais 18291896 created by. In doing so, she can prove that it was she posing as the judge and that it was she who was able to save his friends life and, to and extent, bassanios life and reputation. Portia s personality portia s actions and decisions character. The merchant of venice, characters in the play the folger. The merchant of venice by william shakespeare summary. The prince of arragon is a prince of spain and a suitor to portias hand. Portia if i were a costumer designer, i would keep portia in the renaissance era in venice and dress her in big. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one. The play has been made into television programs many times and also into some movies. In this lively comedy of love and money in sixteenthcentury venice, bassanio wants to impress the wealthy heiress portia but lacks the necessary funds. As bassanio points out, hes not the only guy whod like to land the heiress. Here she draws critical comparisons between a prince, a count, and a lord. The merchant of venice is a play written by the famous playwright william shakespeare. Commentary on the merchant of venice heres a fascinating and insightful look at different ways to interpret the merchant of venice, especially with respect to antisemitism.
Also notable is portia s speech about the quality of mercy. Also notable is portias speech about the quality of mercy. Portia in the merchant of venice is one of the strongest and wisest characters found in william shakespeares plays. Works such as the merchant of venice may seem to todays audience as antisemitic while extolling christian virtues, or at least the perceived virtues of what it meant to be christian. See below for a full list of all the characters in the merchant of venice. Act 1, scene 3 in venice bassanio goes to shylock, a jewish moneylender, to borrow, in antonios name, 3,000 ducats. Bassanio asks antonio for a loan and antonio agrees to this loan, however all his money is tied up in shipping ventures. The merchant of venice characters portia luckily, as an unsuccessful suitor must swear to never marry, most of them refuse to go as far as the ordeal, but she is still not overly glad of her circumstances. The merchant of venice characters portia portia is an extraordinarily rich heiress of belmont constrained by her fathers will to accept in marriage whichever suitor successfully passes the test of the three caskets. The role of portia in the merchant of venice, sample of essays. This makes her a memorable character in the play the merchant of venice. Portia, the wealthy heiress of belmont in shakespeares comedy the merchant of. On stage, it is shylock who makes the play, and almost all of the great actors of the english and continental stage have attempted the role.