The first suitor, the Prince of Morocco, chooses the gold casket, interpreting its slogan, "Who chooseth me shall gain what many men desire", as referring to Portia. Bassanio is an aristocratic but poor young man of Venice. With this film, Weber became the first woman to direct a full-length feature film in America. [28], Kean and Irving presented a Shylock justified in wanting his revenge; Adler's Shylock evolved over the years he played the role, first as a stock Shakespearean villain, then as a man whose better nature was overcome by a desire for revenge, and finally as a man who operated not from revenge but from pride. The last suitor is Bassanio, whom Portia wishes to succeed, having met him before. Bassanio's favorite comfy outfit. Bassanio's favorite comfy outfit. [24], Jewish actor Jacob Adler and others report that the tradition of playing Shylock sympathetically began in the first half of the 19th century with Edmund Kean,[25] and that previously the role had been played "by a comedian as a repulsive clown or, alternatively, as a monster of unrelieved evil." It was published again in 1619, and then in 1623 in the First Folio, a collection of all of Shakespeare's plays. This comfortable costume is perfect for a avid traveler like Bassanio. In love with Shylock’s daughter Jessica, he helps her run away from her father’s, with the aid of Graziano and Salerio. There is one other such idolator in the play: Shylock himself. Whoever picks the right casket wins Portia's hand. Defeated, Shylock consents to accept Bassanio's offer of money for the defaulted bond: first his offer to pay "the bond thrice", which Portia rebuffs, telling him to take his bond, and then merely the principal; but Portia also prevents him from doing this, on the ground that he has already refused it "in the open court". Both Antonio and Shylock, agreeing to put Antonio's life at a forfeit, stand outside the normal bounds of society. It was printed again in 1619, as part of William Jaggard's so-called False Folio. She says that Shylock's bond is cruel. Lecture by James Shapiro: "Shakespeare and the Jews". Shylock is at first reluctant to grant the loan, citing abuse he has suffered at Antonio's hand. He demands his pound of flesh from Antonio. He has fallen in love with Portia, a beautiful young lady of Belmont. They talk in a friendly way of Bassanio… In Bassanio’s eyes, Portia is a prize to be won so that he can pay off his debts. [3] The story of the three caskets can be found in Gesta Romanorum, a collection of tales probably compiled at the end of the 13th century.[5]. 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. [17] In the trial Shylock represents what Elizabethan Christians believed to be the Jewish desire for "justice", contrasted with their obviously superior Christian value of mercy. Antonio - a merchant from Venice; Christian 2. Antonio and Bassanio were true friends.They were so great friends that they were willing to sacrifice their lives in order to help each other. Another interpretation of Shylock and a vision of how "must he be acted" appears at the conclusion of the autobiography of Alexander Granach, a noted Jewish stage and film actor in Weimar Germany (and later in Hollywood and on Broadway).[30]. At Venice, Antonio's ships are reported lost at sea, so the merchant cannot repay the bond. He hath disgraced me and hindered me half a million, laughed at my losses, mocked at my gains, scorned my nation, thwarted my bargains, cooled my friends, heated mine enemies – and what's his reason? The characters who berated Shylock for dishonesty resort to trickery in order to win. GRATIANO. The Hero of the Caskets Story. The case goes to court. For other uses, see. He asks his friend Antonio, the merchant of Venice, for a loan. BASSANIO: But life itself, my wife, and all the world Along with Portia and Nerissa, Bassanio is the most honourable and sympathetic characters in the play. The play has been made into television programs many times and also into some movies. Bassanio is a legendary jumpship. Shylock has become more determined to exact revenge from Christians because his daughter Jessica eloped with the Christian Lorenzo and converted. The title page of the first edition in 1600 states that it had been performed "divers times" by that date. The Bassanio Heights refers to the large area above the cliffs overlooking the Portia plains and the Collapsed Wasteland, separated from the Eufaula Heights by the Portia River. Portia disguises herself as a lawyer. Bassanio's shoes. The play continues the story of Shylock's daughter Jessica, who lives in an anti-semitic Venice and practices her Jewish faith in secret. Shakespeare's source was Il Pecorone by Ser Giovanni, a 14th century Florentine writer. [9], Shakespeare's play may be seen as a continuation of this tradition. One of the reasons for this interpretation is that Shylock's painful status in Venetian society is emphasised. Bassanio, a relative and close friend of Antonio's, enters with his friends Lorenzo and Gratiano. It is the basis of the text published in the 1623 First Folio, which adds a number of stage directions, mainly musical cues.[6]. [8] In Venice and in some other places, Jews were required to wear a red hat at all times in public to make sure that they were easily identified, and had to live in a ghetto. One example is the Shakespeare-aficionado Chang in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991), a Klingon, who quotes Shylock. Antonio says he is content that the state waive its claim to half Shylock's wealth if he can have his one-half share "in use" until Shylock's death, when the principal would be given to Lorenzo and Jessica. With money in hand, Bassanio receives a letter telling him that Antonio has been unable to a! 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