In William Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice, Shakespeare shows the contrast of the two worlds, Belmont and Venice, by representing Venice as a masculine world of commerce and competition, which is dominated by the language of money, and representing Belmont by a feminine world of marriage and love, and also by Portia. The fact that both the worlds are given gender roles does indicate that perhaps Shakespeare was trying to communicate his observations of both sexes and the way they conduct themselves.

An obvious way in which the two cities contrast is in their reality. Venice is a very realistic place. The people living and working in the town have real problems, such as debt and hostility from others. Belmont is a city that one would see in a fairytale. Everything is happy and nobody has any real problems. The most upsetting occurrence in Belmont was that Portia did not like the method in which her husband was going to be picked. However, depending on how you read the play, Portia may have "rigged" the process by telling Bassanio which casket to pick anyway, therefore leaving her contented in the end. In Belmont, everything always seems to work out

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One of the most important contrasts between Venice and Belmont is their gender roles. Venice in a very masculine city. It is politically run by men, and is entirely based around work and business. The first scene of the play opens with Solerio and Solanio discussing Antonio's business affairs. Belmont, on the other hand, is very feminine. The city is based almost solely on the topics of love and marriage. The first time the reader comes in contact with Belmont, Portia and Nerissa are discussing Portia's suitors, and quite humourously discarding each one. The fact that Venice and Belmont have been given such obvious gender roles suggests that Shakespeare was a very "traditional" thinker. He had an obvious mind-set that females were a much more delicate sex

Another manner in which the two cities are contrasted has to do with money. In Venice money is continually the topic of conversation. They are always worried about it, borrowing it, lending it, or touching it. Shylock is a character in Venice that deals directly with money. He does not just have others touch his money for him. He actually touches it and pays for the things that he buys by himself. Whereas in Belmont, none of the characters have anything to do with money. It is never a concern to them. It is

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 904
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)