Analysis on “The Merchant of Venice” by William Shakespeare Essay

In life, things be non constantly what they seem. People may appear to be one way foster pass verboten to be an entirely different. The romantic-comedy, The merchant of Venice, by William Shakespeare, shows the deliberate work of phantasy by the characters. Deception is a motherfucker that is economic consumptiond for m whatsoever purposes. The purposes can be harmful, protective or for personal gain. In The merchant of Venice, Portia, Jessica, and Shylock are all(a) characters who use caper to carry out their proclaim motives.Shylock, the hated Jew, makes his living through the practice of usury and uses fast one when Antonio asks to acquire money from him. Shylock agrees to lend Antonio iii hundred ducats if Antonio is willing to sign a bond that would allow Shylock to admit an equal pound of his fair skeleton(I, iii, 145-146). He expresses the bond in a merry sport(I, iii, 141) and uses this bond to overly show that he would be friends with Antonio, and have hi s lamb(I, iii, 134).Though Shylocks explanation of the conditions in the bond makes it seem as if Shylock does not mean harm, his intentions are to harm and humiliate Antonio. Antonio says that he neither lends nor borrows by talking nor by giving of extravagance(I, iii, 57-58) and is willing to do that for his dear friend, Bassanio. At first, Antonio is not blinded Shylocks friendly pretence, aware that Shylock is wish well a villain with a grimace face and a goodly apple rotten at the heart(I, iii, 96-97). However, in the end Antonio accepts the terms of the bond. The cruel use of deception from Shylock is to help suffer his intention of revenge against Antonio.The deliberate use of cruelness in treasonablyhood is in like manner shown in Shylocks own young woman, Jessica. Jessica runs off with her Christian lover, Lorenzo. Jessica is ashamd to be her aims child(II, iii, 17) and describes that her kin is hell(II, iii, 2). Jessica lies to her commence when he asks her w hat his servant, Launcelot, give tongue to to her as he left the house. Launcelot truly told Jessica to watch out for Lorenzo who would be climax by the house later, but she tells her amaze that Launcelot just said farewell to her. Shylock, of course, trusts his daughter and does not know that she is deceiving him. Another deception by Jessica is when at the darkness of her elopement, she is masked as a page boy. She moldiness do this for womenare not allowed to be out in the streets at night du take a hop the Elizabethan times. While leaving, she steals and gives Lorenzo some of her fathers valuable possessions. Later on with the jewels she stole from her father, her mothers ring is among them and uses it to purchase frivolous things like a monkey. Jessicas use of deception causes frequently grief for Shylock not only if because of the stolen jewels and ducats but also the loss of his daughter.Portia is another(prenominal) woman who is involved some deceptive plots many wh ich occur during the lottery of the caskets. The choosing of the caskets is bestowed upon her from her father who past away. The lottery involves suitors taking the notice of Portias hand in marriage. A break awayicular suitor, the Prince of Morocco arrives to take this risk. In this scene, Morocco pleads Portia to mislike him not for his touch(II, i, 1). Portia tells Morocco that she does not mind the complexion of his skin and that he is then stood as fair as any turning point she has lookd on to that degree for her affection(II, i, 20). Once he leaves, however, Portia says, permit all of his complexion choose me so(II, vii, 78-79). Portia sets an innocent and admirable face when Morocco or any other suitor is choosing the casket, but the minute he leaves, she mocks them all drop Bassanio.Although this scene shows a cruel deception by Portia, she did it to be polite as was expected of her. Portia uses this deliberate deception further in the play but in a more(prenominal) dignified way. In Act 4 scene 1, Portia dresses as a male lawyer in social club to deceive the court and give up her husbands friend, Antonio. She must mask herself because in Elizabethan times, women were not allowed to go into in law or any other profession. This time, Portias deception is not harmful, but is a far more selfless act. Portia sees that disguise is the only manner to save Antonios life that is truly dear to her husband, Bassanio. Dressed as a young lawyer, Portia manipulates the law with her intellect and saves Antonios life from certain death by of Shylock.Shakespeare made use of deception and treasonably face in The Merchant of Venice because it is part of our everyday lives. All three characters by design use deception in order to achieve their goal. There are many different motivations for the use of a mistaken face and these are shown in The Merchantof Venice. Whether it is Shylock using it for revenge, Jessica to search for a happier life or Portia to encourage peace, Shakespeares use of deception is for the audience to take in that for our own expediency, society takes advantage of the false face.