Cassi’s Blog

Throughout this play a reoccurring theme is that the reality isn’t always what it may appear to be. Portia’s 3 casket creation was a play on reality for her three suitors. Morocco was the first contestant to take a bite out of Portia’s false reality. He chose the golden casket relating the beauty of the gold with Portia’s gorgeous complexion. To his knowledge he thought he had won but after he opened his casket he was struck with reality, “all that glitters is not gold” (p.14). So he left and was to never be with another woman ever again. The next manly, bold figure to walk through Portia’s gates was Arragon. He chose the silver casket by concluding that if he chose the silver he would be receiving as much as he deserved. He opens his casket and is surprised by a, “blinking idiot presenting (him) a schedule,” (Arragon p.16). His reality began to sink in as he exited the scene with his train. Her last suitor was triumphant Bassanio who was only after her money. He decided to veer away from the bright and shinny temptation of the gold and silver and chose the leaden casket. “Thou meagre lead, which rather threatenest than dost promise aught, thy paleness moves me more than eloquence, and here choose I; joy be the consequence,” (Bassanio p.19). Luckily to Bassanio his reality was truthful and he became Portia’s suitor.

Later in the play Antonio’s ships are said to have shipwrecked at sea. This cold, harsh reality saddened many of Antonio’s friends because they assumed that Antonio was upon one of his ships. But this was soon proved false because later they are confronted with the truth of Antonio being alive! Furthermore the rumor of Antonio’s ships being cast away at sea was also untrue and the ship and the crew were perfectly fine.

An act of cruel unreality was presented by Portia in act 5, scene one. Antonio is put on the line and is going to have to put forth his one pound of flesh for Shylock like he promised. But Portia cheated Shylock out of his bond by making up a law of Venice saying that no Christian blood can be spilled and if Shylock were to cut off a pound of flesh it was to be no more or less then an exact pound. So Portia created a lie that Shylock thought was a reality. The twisting of words and changing views of someones reality is a constant theme in this play.

Throughout the reading Shakespeare has a comical voice behind the scenes of the marriage acts in the play. The comedy comes from the complication with held between each two partners. Weather it be Jessica and Lorenzo’s steeling away home or Portia’s various suitors the twisted obstacles that they are put in front of present Shakespeare’s idea of the crazed dynamics of marriage. When Jessica and Lorenzo decide to run away together and become eloped; Lancelot was trying to understand the problematic situation that had occurred. “Truly, the more blame he: we were Christians enow before; e’en as many as could well live, one by another. This making Christians will raise the price of hogs; if we grow all to be pork-eaters. We shall not shortly have a rasher on the coals for money”(Lancealot p.24). Comically, Lancelot is referring a Jew to a pig and simply raising the price because she is in company with a Christian. But the complication aspect settled in when he says to blame Lorenzo for her fleeing to her elopement with all her father’s money. Although nothing gets more difficult then Portia’s way of choosing her fiancé.

Casket of gold, silver, and lead, Shakespeare’s witty comical insight, of course, would have the winner choose the lead, because it’s the one that no one would have chosen. Then once Bassanio chose the leaden box and set out with Gratiano; Nerissa and Portia also set out dressed as men in disguise and followed them, also some humor there. “Sir, I would speak with you. I’ll see if I can get my husband’s ring, which I did make him swear to keep for ever” (Nerissa p.31). They watched them trade off the rings to the doctor and the clerk. Then even though the girls retrieved the rings back into their possession they were still livid with the men because they gave their promise rings away. Shakespeare introduced the complication and comedy of the never ending, lose-lose, situation that engagement brings.

So its all starting to click with me now. I’m finding the humor in the characters tones and the deeper meanings in the story line. Shakespeare was using stereotyping to form a comic plot but underneath the text, through Shylock, the true meaning of prejudice comes out.

Shylock brings up that he, as a human, has the same senses, feelings, and appearance as a Christian. He is warmed and cooled by the summer and winter seasons as well as a christian. So tell me why that when a christian spits upon a Jew its considered comical, but if a Jew were to do the same thing in revenge then he would be punished?

Poor Shylock, i truly pity him because of all the things he has to put up with in his life because he is labeled as a Jew. Not only that, his only daughter ran off with a boy, not any boy, a christian boy, and with them all of Shylock’s money. Now god be damned if Shylock wouldn’t want a pound of flesh from Antonio. Maybe his sweet revenge on a christian will help him cope with his difficulties in life that have been brought upon him by his daughter.  

If only people today could communicated in this Shakespearian jargon. Everyday conversations would be so much more amusing and poetic. It would make it a lot easier to understand the meaning behind what Shakespeare is trying to say if i new this lingo. I enjoy the comical aspect that is put into this play. I would love to see a production of this play on stage. I think that would give me a much better hands on feel with the story and the characters. That experience might make it easier to connect to the plot and punch lines of the play.

My favorite character is Portia. She has a lot of spunk and is very sassy and witty. I think the way that she will choose her husband is priceless and very well thought out. So far in the reading she has outsmarted every suitor. But now Bassonio is knocking at her door and i have the feeling that he is going to get the right casket. One prince, so far, has chosen the gold casket and hasn’t been chosen, and one prince has chosen the silver casket and not received Portia’s hand in marriage. On the flip side, I dislike Jessica very much for stealing from her father and running off to her elopement with Lancelot.