Shylock and Antonio in

A detailed Summary of Shylock and Antonio in


One of the main themes of 'The Merchant of Venice' is 'Good verses Evil'. By incorporating characters into this theme, the two I see as most fitting are Antonio, representing good, friendship and honesty and Shylock as Antonio's enemy, represents evil and dishonesty. Therefore the character of whom I most admire is Antonio, as he stands for all that is good. As much as I admire Antonio, I dislike Shylock, who has no mercy for those around him and would probably exact a harsh revenge even on his best of friends.

We first meet Shylock in (Act I (scene iii)) where Bassanio seeks out Shylock for a loan in Antonio's name, it is the first we hear of the Jew's hatred for Antonio,

'I hate him for he is a Christian.' (Act I (scene iii) )

This shows the reasons for Shylock's hatred towards Antonio, both financially and religiously. Any chance he can get, he will destroy Antonio's life and fortune. This is proved by what he says later on in Act I scene iii,

' If I can once catch him upon the hip, I will feed fat the grudge against him.'

While the bond is being decided Shylock hides his hate for Antonio and instead misleads him to believe their differences have been forgotten and that friendship has sh


Also in this scene we hear of Shylock's daughter, Jessica, running away with Lorenzo and so characteristically Shylock gives reference only really to the money Jessica took with her and not the loss of his daughter,

'I'll follow him with no more bootless prayer. His reason well I know: I oft delivered from his forfeitures many that have at times made moan to me; therefore he hates me.'

Now that I have talked of my dislike for Shylock, I must now talk of my admiration for Antonio. To me Antonio represents an honest, true and generous man who faces bankruptcy and death from an obsessed man.

In contrast to what I think of Shylock, I think Antonio is a well-mannered, merciful, trusting, honest and intelligent gentleman who places his friends above himself. He is willing to die for his friends, which shows to me that he values friendship very highly. Taking a loan for the sake of Bassanio also shows Antonio's generosity.



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Approximate Word count = 3046
Approximate Pages = 12 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Arts

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