Something that really affected me, or that I felt I could expand upon, was when Antonio says to Graziano: "I hold the world as the world, Graziano- / A stage where every man must play a part, / And mine a sad one"(1.1.77-79). Upon first reading this, I felt as if it evoked sympathy in the reader or audience. The play opens with the first character feeling sad, so of course the audience is most likely going to go along with it. It is as if Antonio is playing up his sadness. yes, he's sad, but he doesn't know why. Is there reason to dwell on it? Personally, I found it almost ironic that a character in a play would say something like that. An actor would be playing a character who is playing a different role themselves. Also, these lines made me think that someone who must "play a part" is definitely not being who they really are. Perhaps Antonio realizes that him being sad is not part of who he truly is. I also feel that the sadness may be hiding something more complex. Antonio's line "A stage where every man must play a part" also made me think of every other character's part in the play as I continued to read.
After reading Act Two, I questioned whether the plan Portia's father made will come into play later on in Merchant of Venice. Portia's father's idea was that her suitors must choose from three chests of gold, silver, and lead. If they choose the one with her portrait then they can marry her. Although Bassiano is after Portia, I somehow see (and I may be wrong) Antonio having to choose from the chests since he will need money to pay back Shylock. I also realized how Bassiano and Portia have thought of each other separately. As we can already see, Bassiano plans on going to Portia. I think that since Portia seems to realize he is most deserving, she will somehow go to him too. I believe that Portia already thinks Bassiano is the one since at the end both her and Nerissa seem to be relieved when his name is mentioned.
At the end of Act One, having not been very familiar with Merchant of Venice, I was left question the part of Shylock and how his pact with Antonio will go. Antonio agrees that if he cannot pay Shylock back he will have "an equal pound / Of [his] flesh to be cut off and taken / In what part of [his] body pleaseth [Shylock]"(1.3.145-7). Clearly, a pound of flesh is more than the money Antonio owes him. I think that at first, or at least at the end of this scene, Antonio only sees it as a joke. As Shylock began to mention Christians more and more I feel that the pound of flesh he wants is not just between him and Antonio but is more about his resentment towards Christians as a whole. The flesh seems more important than the money Antonio would owe him.
As a whole, I feel that Act One opened a lot of questions that will hopefully be answered as the play progresses. The main questions that I feel have been raised are: What is the root of Antonio's sadness? Will Portia choose Bassiano later on? and How will the pact between Shylock and Antonio end up playing out?
3 comments:
I agree with Erica's points about Antonio's line "A stage where everyman must play a part,and mine a sad one." I think Antonio is definitely is either hiding something from his friends or not being true to his self or both. Shakespeare's integration of this line about actors is a clever move on his part.
The quote you point out actually made me think about how Shakespeare's work manages to remain relevant. It reminded of feminist and post modernist ideas about how identity and gender and race are constructs and that made me want to determine the way in which each of these characters consciously or unconsciously construct their identities: like how Shylock's skepticism and suspicion of Bassanio and Antonio could be seen as a result of the structure of the anti-semitic society he is a part of, or how Antonio's generosity and mistreatment of Shylock could be seen as manifestations of his Christianity and his trying to adhere to the status quo that his religion establishes and perpetuates.
I really like the careful reading of Antonio's lines here, Erica, and agree that they have the effect of evoking sympathy from the audience. It will be interesting as we continue to read to see what happens to that sympathy. Even by the end of the first act, we see that Antonio is not always so melancholy--his behavior towards Shylock shows a different side of him. But maybe not. Could it be that the behavior he shows to Shylock is consistent with this opening characterization?
Post a Comment