Bassiano's Reversal of Religious Roles in "The Merchant of Venice"

A central theme in Shakespeares The Merchant of Venice involves the limning of Judaic and Christian ideals. The birdc each that Christians thrive on spiritism and bonds of fraternity rather than on materialism is expressly conveyed passim the gather by Christian characters. However, there are several(prenominal) characters where this claim proves false. Bassanio can be interpreted as bingle some(prenominal)(prenominal) character that strays from the established ideals of his religion on several occasions. The scream he uses may be interpreted as having mercenary(a) (rather than spiritual) undertones. A notable instance that implies Bassanios reversal of religious roles occurs when he opens the take aim casket (Act III, scene ii, lines 114-130). Upon discovering he has chosen correctly and has win Portia, he promptly begins to describe the ravisher of his brides likeness miscellaneous inside. He proclaims, Here in her hairs the cougar plays the spider, and hath wov en a golden mesh tuntrap the hearts of custody faster than gnats in cobwebs (Act III, scene ii, lines 120-123). This implies that Bassanio regards Portias beauty as something that, alone, could come to men gleam in love with her.

By Christian standards, a womans outer appearance is second to the beauty of her spirit, as evidenced by the Christian characters insistence that the condition of a persons spirit is all that is important (exemplified in one instance by Portias gallop to spare Shylocks life during the trial). Bassanio continues to dwell on the beauty of the depicting as he says, But her eyeball - how could [the artist] see to do them? Having m! ade one, methinks it should have power to splay both his and go itself unfurnished (Act III, scene ii, lines 123-126). The fact that Bassanio is abode so much on Portias outward appearance suggests that he puts materialism forwards of spirituality, whether he... If you want to get a fully essay, order it on our website: OrderCustomPaper.com

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