The Merchant of Venice - Act 2, scene 9 | Folger Shakespeare Library (2024)

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What is the importance of Act 2 Scene 9 in Merchant of Venice? ›

Act 2, scene 9 At Belmont the Prince of Arragon attempts to win Portia by choosing the silver chest, but finds in it the picture of a blinking idiot. He leaves. A messenger announces the arrival of a splendid envoy from another suitor. Nerissa prays that this one is Bassanio.

One version of the story is told by the Italian, Ser Giovanni Fiorentino, in his collection of tales, Il Pecorone (which means 'the big sheep' or 'the simpleton'). He wrote this in the late fourteenth century and it was printed in 1558. This Italian (and untranslated) version is Shakespeare's main source for his play.

The Merchant of Venice is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1596 and 1598. A merchant in Venice named Antonio defaults on a large loan taken out on behalf of his dear friend, Bassanio, and provided by a Jewish moneylender, Shylock, with seemingly fatal consequences.

Shylock, the Jewish moneylender in Shakespeare's comedy The Merchant of Venice. Shylock is a grasping but proud and somewhat tragic figure, and his role and Shakespeare's intentions continue to be the source of much discussion.

This scene focuses on the Prince of Arragon's choice of the three caskets. The Prince of Morocco's choice was straightforward and simple. He chose the gold casket; it seemed to be the most obvious, most desirable choice. In contrast, the Prince of Arragon's choice is done with more prudence.

"Worthless" in this context means "unworthy." In referring to herself as "worthless," Portia invokes a monetary term: unlike unworthy, worthless is related to something having no market value. In this way, Portia paints herself as a thing that can be bought an sold, but should not be purchased because she has no value.

Shylock is not necessarily a villain in The Merchant of Venice but he is an antagonist. He could be classified as a victim as well, particularly of discrimination, but his role as a victim in the play is of his own doing. Shylock wants revenge against Antonio because, as Shylock puts it, he hates Jews.

Antonio, the merchant in The Merchant of Venice, secures a loan from Shylock for his friend Bassanio, who seeks to court Portia.

Jessica is the daughter of Shylock, a Jewish moneylender, in William Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice ( c. 1598). In the play, she elopes with Lorenzo, a penniless Christian, and a chest of her father's money, eventually ending up in Portia and Bassanio's household.

What is Shakespeare's message in Merchant of Venice? ›

On the one hand, the play tells us that love is more important than money, that mercy is better than revenge, and that love lasts forever. On the other hand, more cynical voices tell us that money rules the world, that mercy alone can't run our lives, and that love can disappear after marriage.

Shakespeare's intention was not to make Shylock a tragic figure; instead, Shylock was meant to function as a man who could be vividly realized as the epitome of selfishness; he must be defeated in this romantic comedy. In a sense, it is Shakespeare's own brilliance which led him to create Shylock as almost too human.

Definitions of shylock. someone who lends money at excessive rates of interest. synonyms: loan shark, moneylender, usurer. type of: lender, loaner. someone who lends money or gives credit in business matters.

Shylock is a Jewish moneylender in Venice. He is unpopular with other characters who accuse him of practising usury. This means lending money with outrageously high rates of interest. The merchants, such as Antonio, curse and spit at Shylock because they believe this way of making money is immoral.

Things take an even more grim turn for Shylock when it is decided that for conspiring to murder a Christian, Shylock is forced to surrender his estate, half to Venice and half to Antonio and is forced to convert to Christianity.

It is the more dark and serious aspect of all the affairs in Venice (and especially Shylock) that seem to prevail. The final act of a play is when all plots come together in a grande finale.

Here are some very important scenes from Merchant of venice : Act 1 - Scene 1,2,3 These are the introductory to every main characters in play and are important.

The casket scene is an important scene because of the role it plays in throwing light on Portia and Bassanio's characters, bringing Bassanio and Portia together and so getting Portia involved in the plot, and adding tension to the plot by putting Bassanio in a difficult situation.

Act 2 Scene 2

Old Gobbo asks Lancelet for directions towards Shylock's house. Lancelet plays a trick on his father by pretending to be someone else, giving Gobbo the wrong directions and pretending that Lancelet is dead. When he finally reveals to his father who he is, Gobbo shares his decision to leave Shylock.