Merchant_Of_Venice

Merchant Of Venice Merchant of Venice Shylock and Portia are both sympathetic characters in The Merchant of Venice. Shylock is a man emotionally conflicted throughout much of the play. He is a study of a balancing act. Much like a clown, he shows the world a happy face on the surface, but when you look beneath the mask, he is a man suffering unbelievable pain. Within his soul, he harbors all of his sadness. Portia, on the other hand, suffers from far less conflict. She exudes a great sense of strength and character throughout the play. There is duplicity in Shylock’s character that Shakespeare eloquently weaves throughout. He is a shrewd businessman, yet he is kind. Shylock’s conversation with Antonio and Bassanio in act 1, scene 3 is representative of all the ambiguity in his life. While Shylock plans to work with Antonio and Bassannio, he will not dine with them because of his religious beliefs. Shylock is a Jew. Some would say his being a Jew was not intended to be of importance. However, his being a Jew links strong support to the internal conflicts within him. Concerning the conflicts of character within, Shylock makes a shylock, portia, reader, man, good, character, antonio, act, within, throughout, sympathetic, strong, strength, scene, play, jew, conflicts, characters, both, being, yet, woman, wishes, while, weaving, venice, towards, together, surface, shylock’s, shows, seems, romantic, pain, own