Detailed scene by scene analysis of Shakespeare's play the Merchant of Venice. Includes summaries, important quotes, rhetorical and thematic analysis and an overall full immersion into the work - everything you need for a Paper 2. I wrote these for IB in 2018-19 but they are also valid for college ...
! Exposition: characters, themes and motifs are established
! Plot points are introduced
! Antonio - the merchant of Venice
! In Shakespeare’s time love between men existed, but it was not labelled as homosexuality
! “In sooth i know not why I am so sad” - establishes motif of sadness and melancholy, but also self
questioning and confusion
○ Mental instability
! Shakespeare’s obsession with self - who am I, where do I come from
! He has a lot of work to do to understand himself - motif of self discovery
! Analogy between Antonio and the rocking of a boat - mood swings, he is in love and then not
! Salarino says that explicitly: “tossing in the ocean”
! Worried he is going to lose his money at sea
! Maritime early capitalism
! Key word: “venture”
! Friends try to give him a reason for his sadness
! Comparison to something more extreme: “my wind” = breath, Salarino talks about how worried he
would be if he was in Antonio’s position
! Shakespeare’s audience were auditory learners - language full of rich comparisons and imagery
was appreciated
! Verbose speeches - full of rhetorical effects, in order to create setting
! “Bassanio, your most noble kinsman” - irony, he does not have money
! “Worthier friends” “your worth is very dear” - early capitalist society, friendships should be
invaluable, but here they are for trade
! Monetary language
! “A stage where every man must play a part, and mine a sad one” - no choice, forced into the
economy and into society, bigger question about free will and choices
! Gratiano extends the metaphor: “let me play the fool”
! Gratiano acts as a foil character to Antonio
! “Maid not vendible” - prostitute, money for sex, human reproduction linked to monetary values
! Bassanio enters speaking prose, informal speech style
○ Shows his youth
! “His reasons are as two grains of wheat hid in two bushels of chaff: you shall seek all day ere you
find them, and when you have them, they are not worth the search.” - simile, and we find again the
motif of ‘worth’
, ! When Antonio speaks in verse, Bassanio replies in verse as well - he is trying to appease him, in
order to get money to marry Portia
! “Something too prodigal” - religious reference, Antonio is like his father
! “To you” instead of thou, informality and intimacy
! “I owe the most in money and in love”
! “The eye of honour” - feudal language instead of capitalist, trying to play a role
! “My purse” - pun on the scrotum
! Bassanio reminisces his schooldays
! “Adventuring” - venture, always hidden in words
! Bassanio’s arrow analogy
! “I owe you much” - repetition, emphasis on money
! “Hazard” - new word, risk
! Bassanio describes Portia - reference to Jason and the golden fleece
! Immediately associated to monetary worth - “richly left”
! “World ignorant of her worth” - reference to economic value, and that women were undervalued in
society
! He is trying to make her sound like a good investment to Antonio
! Antonio: “to fair Portia” - echoes his friend, pays attention
How does Shakespeare introduce the key ideas and themes of the play in the exposition?
In the exposition of The Merchant of Venice, Shakespeare introduces a number of themes and motifs to the
audience, such as the mental instability and melancholy of Antonio, the early capitalism, and the motif of
water and the ocean, and of ‘venture’. For example, the theme of Antonio’s mental instability is introduced
with the lament, “I have much ado to know myself”, which establishes Shakespeare’s desire for self
discovery and knowledge. The motif of the ocean is introduced by Salarino and Solanio, who describe an
extended metaphor for Antonio’s state using maritime imagery, saying “your mind is tossing on the ocean”.
Monetary language introduces the motif of economics and capitalism, as shown by “your worth is very dear
in my regard”, Antonio attributes an economic value to his friends. Shakespeare also introduces the
metaphor of the stage, saying “a stage where every man must play a part, and mine a sad one”, which
introduces the themes of free will and choices, as well as continuing the theme of Antonio’s melancholy. In
response to this, Gratiano says, “let me play the fool”, extending the metaphor and establishing himself as
a foil character to Antonio, emphasising his melancholy.
Next, Bassanio enters the scene, asking Antonio for money in order to go to Belmont and try to marry
Portia. We notice that he speaks differently than the other characters, in prose instead of verse, this shows
his young age and also that he is comfortable around Bassanio. The motif of money and worth is continued
in their dialogue, hidden in the word “adventuring”, and is also combined with their relationship - “to you I
owe the most in money and love”. Portia is also talked about using monetary values, “richly left”, and “wide
world ignorant of her worth” shows how he attributes an economic value to her but also how women were
undervalued in society. We notice that Bassanio’s speech style changes throughout the scene, when he
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