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Bassanio serves as a kind of catalyst throughout The Merchant of Venice, provoking much of the play’s action. At the beginning, Bassanio is a good-natured but irresponsible young man who has gotten himself into debt by living beyond his means.
- Bassanio Quotes
Bassanio thinks aloud as he chooses among the boxes,...
- Portia
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- Antonio
Further evidence of the nature of Antonio’s feelings for...
- Bassanio Quotes
- Shylock
- Portia
- Antonio
- Jessica
- Bassanio
- Gratiano
- Lorenzo
- Nerissa
- Launcelot Gobbo
- The Prince of Morocco
A Jewish moneylender in Venice. Angered by his mistreatment at the hands of Venice’s Christians, particularly Antonio, Shylock schemes to eke out his revenge by ruthlessly demanding as payment a pound of Antonio’s flesh. Although seen by the rest of the play’s characters as an inhuman monster, Shylock at times diverges from stereotype and reveals h...
A wealthy heiress from Belmont. Portia’s beauty is matched only by her intelligence. Bound by a clause in her father’s will that forces her to marry whichever suitor chooses correctly among three caskets, Portia is nonetheless able to marry her true love, Bassanio. Far and away the most clever of the play’s characters, it is Portia, in the disguise...
The merchant whose love for his friend Bassanio prompts him to sign Shylock’s contract and almost lose his life. Antonio is something of a mercurial figure, often inexplicably melancholy and, as Shylock points out, possessed of an incorrigible dislike of Jews. Nonetheless, Antonio is beloved of his friends and proves merciful to Shylock, albeit wit...
Although she is Shylock’s daughter, Jessica hates life in her father’s house, and elopes with the young Christian gentleman, Lorenzo. The fate of her soul is often in doubt: the play’s characters wonder if her marriage can overcome the fact that she was born a Jew, and we wonder if her sale of a ring given to her father by her mother is excessively...
A gentleman of Venice, and a kinsman and dear friend to Antonio. Bassanio’s love for the wealthy Portia leads him to borrow money from Shylock with Antonio as his guarantor. An ineffectual businessman, Bassanio proves himself a worthy suitor, correctly identifying the casket that contains Portia’s portrait. Read an in-depth analysis of Bassanio.
A friend of Bassanio’s who accompanies him to Belmont. A coarse and garrulous young man, Gratiano is Shylock’s most vocal and insulting critic during the trial. While Bassanio courts Portia, Gratiano falls in love with and eventually weds Portia’s lady-in-waiting, Nerissa. Read an in-depth analysis of Gratiano.
A friend of Bassanio and Antonio, Lorenzo is in love with Shylock’s daughter, Jessica. He schemes to help Jessica escape from her father’s house, and he eventually elopes with her to Belmont. Read an in-depth analysis of Lorenzo.
Portia’s lady-in-waiting and confidante. She marries Gratiano and escorts Portia on Portia’s trip to Venice by disguising herself as her law clerk. Read an in-depth analysis of Nerissa.
Bassanio’s servant. A comical, clownish figure who is especially adept at making puns, Launcelot leaves Shylock’s service in order to work for Bassanio. Read an in-depth analysis of Launcelot Gobbo.
A Moorish prince who seeks Portia’s hand in marriage. The prince of Morocco asks Portia to ignore his dark countenance and seeks to win her by picking one of the three caskets. Certain that the caskets reflect Portia’s beauty and stature, the prince of Morocco picks the gold chest, which proves to be incorrect.
Bassanio is a character in Shakespeare’s play, The Merchant of Venice. Although his role is important he is not as fully drawn a character as one would usually find in Shakespeare’s major characters, unlike Shylock and Portia, on whom the drama focuses, who are.
Anthony Ainley played Bassanio in a 1969 Orson Welles film called The Merchant of Venice, but the footage was lost and the movie was never finished. Bassanio is played by Jeremy Brett in a 1973 TV movie of the play.
The Merchant of Venice: Directed by Michael Radford. With Al Pacino, Jeremy Irons, Joseph Fiennes, Lynn Collins. In 16th century Venice, when a merchant must default on a large loan from an abused Jewish moneylender for a friend with romantic ambitions, the bitterly vengeful creditor demands a gruesome payment instead.
- (38K)
- Drama, Romance
- Michael Radford
- 2005-02-18
Bassanio is the merchant Antonio’s “intimate friend” and the wealthy heiress Portia’s favored suitor. A young nobleman of Venice, Bassanio admits to living beyond his means. This has forced him...
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Bassanio, a young Venetian, wants to travel to Belmont to woo the wealthy heiress Portia. He approaches his merchant friend Antonio for 3000 ducats needed to subsidize his travelling expenditures. As all of Antonio's ships and merchandise are tied at sea, Antonio approaches the Jewish moneylender Shylock for a loan.
