Although The Merchant of Venice is often described as a romantic comedy, and although the play does have comic and romantic elements, an analysis of the characters, especially the central figures of Shylock, Antonio, and Portia, reveals the play to be far more dramatic and tragic than comedic.
A. He is ruled by a greed which alienates him from others.
B. He is shown to be in part a character wronged by others and justified in his desire for revenge against Antonio.
C. The complexity of his character shows Shakespeare himself to be ambivalent about him, but at no time is he shown to be a comic villain.
A. He is melancholy and self-absorbed from the beginning to the end of the play.
B. He is ignorant of the cause of his melancholy.
C. He is shown to be at least in part deserving of Shylock's hatred.
III. Portia is a dramatic and idealized character.
A. She is a woman true to herself, her ideals, and to the pledge she made to her father.
B. She is generous and worthy of her suitors' love.
C. She is a wise judge capable of beautiful expressions in favor of mercy.
IV. An analysis of the three central characters of The Merchant of Venice shows the play to be a dramatic, even tragic, piece.
This study will analyze the major characters in William Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice. Although the play is often described as a comedy or a romantic comedy, an analysis of the characters, especially the central figures of Shylock and Antonio (the merchant of the title), reveals the play to be far more dramatic and tragic than comedic. To be sure, there are comedic, and romantic-comedic, elements in the play, including the casket sub-plot, and the courtroom scene in which the disguised Portia plays a judge. However, the casket plot is at best hardly related to the dispute between Shylock and Antonio which serves as the heart of the play, and the disguise of Portia in the courtroom scene is oddly un...