This GCSE English Literature play takes a look at character in The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare. William Shakespeare’s play, The Merchant of Venice, brings together the merchant of the title, Antonio, with the Jewish moneylender, Shylock. These two characters resemble one another in many ways, especially in their isolation. Antonio begins the play sad and weary, despite being surrounded by friends, while Shylock’s isolation derives from his status as an outsider in Venetian society and is further increased through his abandonment by his daughter and his servant.
In addition to these two main characters, the play focusses on the courtship and marriage of Bassanio and Portia, the parallel marriage between Nerissa and Graziano and the secret elopement of Jessica and Lorenzo.