love quotes between antonio and bassanio

When he believes that he is about to die, Antonio instructs Bassanio: Say how I lov’d you, speak me fair in death; And when the tale is told, bid her be judge. And for those scholars who either historically contextualize or draw interesting parallels between the play and contemporary economics, they overlook how the play charts the moral, social, and political implications of a politics where its public sphere is the domain of calculation, commerce, and contract. Love is regulated, sacrificed, betrayed, and generally built on rocky foundations in the play. As a result, Antonio mistakes money as the essence rather than as a symbol of non-monetary values like friendship and engages in irrational behavior to the point of literally risking self-annihilation as proof of these moral values. Antonio and Bassanio are very close and Antonio does all that he can - in Act 1 Scene 1 - to help his friend. It is entirely possible and very likely that Bassanio ultimately submitted to Portia’s demands of valuing their marriage over his friendship not because he understands the value of marriage in and of itself but because he fears that he will lose his wife and his newly-acquired estate. I never did repent for doing good, Nor shall not now; for in companions That do converse and waste the time together Whose souls do bear an equal yoke of love, There must be needs a like proportion Of lineaments, of manners, and of spirit, Which makes me think that this Antonio, Being the bosom lover of my lord, Must needs be like my lord. After reading The Taming of the Shrew, Bassanio and Portia’s relationship actually seems somewhat normal.Because Kate and Petruchio’s relationship was so very unconventional, Portia and Bassanio seem like a dynamic couple. Although Bassanio initially resist Balthazar’s request for the wedding ring, he eventually confers it to Balthazar after Antonio’s urging (IV.i.452-54). Thus, The Merchant of Venice reveals the moral limitations of a commercial regime based on contract and the corrosive effects it has on non-contractual relationships like friendship, love, and marriage. Bassanio’s sexuality can be examined and scrutinized despite his seemingly heteronormative actions and intentions. [7] Sigurd Burckhardt, “The Merchant of Venice: The Gentle Bond,” English Literary History 29 (1962), 239-62; MacKay, “The Merchant of Venice: A Reflection of the Early Conflict between Courts of Law and Courts of Equity”; Robert Hapgood, “Portia and the Merchant of Venice: The Gentle Bond,” Modern Language Quarterly 28 (1967), 19-32; John P. Sisk, “Bondage and Release in The Merchant of Venice,” Shakespeare Quarterly 20 (1969), 217-23; E. F. J. Tucker, “The Letter of the Law in The Merchant of Venice,” Shakespeare Survey 29 (1976), 93-101; Jan Lawson Hinely, “Bond Priorities in The Merchant of Venice,” Studies in English Literature 20 (1980), 217-39; William Chester Jordan, “Approaches to the Court Scene in the Bond Story: Equity and Mercy or Reason and Nature,” Shakespeare Quarterly  33 (1982), 49-59; Lars Engle, “’Thrift is Blessing’”: Exchange and Explanation in The Merchant of Venice,” Shakespeare Quarterly 37 (1986), 20-37; Charles Spinosa, “Shylock and Debt and Contract in The Merchant of Venice,” Cardozo Studies in Law and Literature 5 (1993), 65-85; “The Transformation of Intentionality: Debt and Contract in The Merchant of Venice,” English Literary Renaissance 24 (1994), 370-409; Frederick Turner, Shakespeare’s Twenty-First-Century Economics. Millions of books are just a click away on BN.com and through our FREE NOOK reading apps. Every offence is not a hate at first. – I give them with this ring” (III.ii.170-71). To love a friend is, in the best sense, to love “one’s other self” and thus be able to participate in the perfect economy of both sentiment and virtue. [9] For those who argue that the practice of humans being used as collateral was a common one during Shakespeare’s time, refer to Theodore B. Leinwand, Theater, Finance and Society in Early Modern England (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999); Linda Woodbridge, ed., Money and the Age of Shakespeare: Essays in New Economic Criticism (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2003); Valerie Forman, Tragicomic Redemptions: Global Economics and the Early Modern English Stage (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2008); Natasha Korda, “Dame Usury: Gender, Credit, and (Ac)counting in the Sonnets and The Merchant of Venice,” Shakespeare Quarterly 60 (2009), 129-53; Amanda Bailey, “Shylock and the Slaves: Owning and Owning in The Merchant of Venice,” Shakespeare Quarterly 62 (2011), 1-24. By examining each of these characters, I will illustrate how a world of commerce and contract has a tendency to reduce all relationships to motives of self-interest, utility, and profit. In other words, Portia presents herself as type of investment that appreciates value over time and can be redeemed at some point in the future. Answer: What Antonio and Bassanio’s relationship reveal about their characters Bassanio and Antonio’s friendship is a vital piece to the foundation of the entire play, The Merchant of Venice. Antonio's Love for Bassanio in The Merchant of Venice Antonio feels closer to Bassanio than any other character in The Merchant of Venice. Loeb Classical Library (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1990), 1156b8-19. [29] As a successful model of a mixed constitution, Venice had developed an elaborate system of governance to reduce the influence of fraction and enjoyed an economic prosperity that appeared to follow from its political organization. But on what foundation friendship should and can be based is one of the questions that Shakespeare’s play seems to be asking us. Sharp, “Gift Exchange and the Economies of Spirit in ‘The Merchant of Venice,’” Modern Philology 83 (1986), 250-65; William Kerrigan Shakespeare’s Promises (Baltimore: John Hopkins University Press, 1999); Richard Harp, “Love and Money in The Merchant of Venice,” Modern Age (Winter 2010), 37-44. Antonio is ungrudging in giving to Bassanio, his best friend, even when his wealth is at risk. This spiritual and physical unity is symbolized in the wedding ring which should be accorded the highest honor. In connection with mercy and generosity, The Merchant of Venice also explores love and friendship between its characters. Therefore, I am going to discuss the homosexual relationship between Antonio and Bassanio in terms of their extremely close finance implications. [21] For more about a feminist interpretation of the play, refer to the critics listed in the first, nineteenth, and twenty-third endnotes. For the other types of Aristotelian friendships, utility and pleasure, refer to 1156a6-30. For other themes in the play, refer to Barbara K. Lewalski, “Biblical Allusion and Allegory in The Merchant of Venice.” Shakespeare Quarterly 13 (1962), 327-43; Thomas H. Fujumura, “Mode and Structure in The Merchant of Venice,” PMLA 81 (1966), 449-511; Peter G. Phialas, Shakespeare’s Romantic Comedies (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1966); Danson Lawrence, The Harmonies of The Merchant of Venice (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1978); Isabella Wheater, “Aristotelian Wealth and the Sea of Love: Shakespeare’s Synthesis of Greek Philosophy and Roman Poetry in The Merchant of Venice,” The Review of English Studies, New Series, 44 (1993), 16-36. 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