Symbols

This piece of literature has symbols which take on different forms. Some symbols are concrete objects while others are abstract ideas.

Shylock

More than being the antagonist in the play, Shylock embodies the aspect of selfishness and what results from only thinking about oneself. Shakespeare portrays Shylock as a character that only worries about profiting from his business. His practice of charging interest, while common and acceptable in the 21st century, was looked at as selfish and unreasonable to the Christian merchants during the Elizabethan period. Also, when his daughter ran away with his money, his primary concern was the loss of his money and jewels. This characteristic leads him to be disliked by majority of those that are around him, including his closest family members. Alienated and disliked by the other characters in the play, Shylock's selfishness results in him being completely alone. Leaving him to not have to think about anyone but himself.

Antonio

Antonio's character is the foil to Shylock. Rather than being selfish, Antonio represents selflessness. His willingness to sacrifice himself for his dear friend and his acceptance of his near death experience make Antonio the altruistic protagonist in the play's plot. While Shylock's selfishness lead to him losing everything and everyone, Antonio's selflessness not only permitted his friends to get married, but resulted in him receiving more than he had initially lost. His ships turned out to be okay, Bassanio married Portia, which meant that Antonio would get his loan back, and he was given half of Shylock's wealth by the court (which he had given to Shylock's runaway child, Jessica). Antonio's self-sacrifice brought him more benefits than losses.

Portia's 3 Caskets

Each casket that Portia's father left for her to make her future husband choose from had symbolic meaning. The prospective husband had to figure out which casket would lead him to the prize, Portia's hand in marriage. The gold box with the skull inside represented the attractive qualities of items that are shiny and beautiful on the outside, but actually have little value. The silver casket was a representation of those that do not look deep enough, but still look at objects for their surface value. The lead is dull, and simple, but holds the true treasure inside. Those that choose this box look at objects and life more profoundly to see things for what they really are on the inside. These caskets likely represented the idea that many men look at the more desirable option, but do not look at the more important qualities such as personality. Even more, one day Portia is going to grow old and loose this beauty, so the man that was able to look deeper to find the true treasure was the one deserving of her love. Each of the men that came to court Portia were either vain or trying to mask their vanity, Bassanio was the only one that was true and had real love for Portia.
Sources:

Shakespeare, William. The Merchant of Venice. No Fear Shakespeare: The Merchant of Venice. New

                York: Spark Publishing, 2003.

“The Merchant of Venice: Themes, Motifs, & Symbols.” SparkNotes LLC, 2015. Web. 3 Nov. 2015
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