Free Merchant of Venice Essays: The Price is Right :: Merchant Venice Essays

When I start read The Merchant of Venice, I had a lot of mixed reactions. ane of them, surprisingly enough, was that it was too short How can this be? We all distinguish that Shakespeares plays are notoriously too long.  In reading it over, I think back this perception comes from a number of sources.  One is the idea that the two humbug lines, that of Portia and her suitors and that of Shylock and his money-grubbing ways, are only loosely held together by the agnomen character, Antonio.  The other reason is that when we finally get to the trial mental picture, the supposed play up of the play, we notice that the trial is only a very small fortune of the whole play.  It is not what the play is about in my opinion. Many state have suggested that the play should have ended after the trial, that the final scene served no purpose.  I saw it more than like the hurriedly thrown together conclusion to a choppy paper.  We have talked about swing music versions of literature as they make their way to the screen. This seems to me as though it is a choppy version of an idea that didnt work out as strong as the playwright had hoped.  As I read even more closely, I may find I change my mind.   Since it didnt seem to be about what I thought it was supposed to be about, I headstrong to try to figure out what it really is about. Based on my catamenia understanding (subject to further enlightenment), the play is (at least partially) about the merchandising of people.  slew can be bought or sell for Three thousand ducats, strong (Act I Scene 3 Line 1), or chests of gold, silver and make pass (I.ii.30). Every one has a price.  All are bought or sold at one time or another. Lets look at some(a) of the leading characters and see what price they require.    Antonio sells a pound of his flesh for terce thousand ducats in Act I Scene 3.  Bassanio sells his marriage vows to get the lawyer/ judge for defe nding Antonio (Act IV Scene 2).  Grationo sells his vows, by expectant away the ring that represented them, and his friendship to Bassanio at the same time. Portia sells herself as property in marriage