8Characters

Leading characters in the play

Antonio is a wealthy merchant and good friend to Bassanio. He has a great hatred for Jewish people. It is difficult to understand why he can be so good to Bassanio and others, yet so bad to Shylock. Is he bad to Shylock because Shylock charges interest to lend money. If so, how is this possible? Antonio is a businessman, he should understand such business ways as not getting something for nothing. In a way, Antonio is a character that you can love and hate.
 * Antonio**

On one hand, Bassanio does not seem to be a very reliable person or even a good friend to Antonio. He has wasted the money that Antonio has lent him and come back for more. His idea of borrowing more money so as to pay back what he has already lost seems to be a good example of the modern day problem of problem gambling. Moreover, with his money he is basically entering into a lottery or a form of gambling. He has to have good luck and choose the right casket. On the other hand, in the way that he behaves with Portia and chooses the right casket, as well as, tries to help his friend, Bassanio appears noble and honourable. Like Antonio, Bassanio appears to be a character that you can love and hate.
 * Bassanio**

Gratiano is a young man with a reputation for wild behaviour. He follows Bassanio to Belmont and wins the love of Portia's servant Nerissa. Gratiano's role in the play seems to be to lighten up the play and provide humour. When speaking to Antonio, at the beginning of the play, he seems to speak a load of rubbish because he is trying to be silly.
 * Gratiano**

Lorenzo is in love with Jessica, Shylock's daughter, and steals her from Shylock's house.
 * Lorenzo**

The most important character in the play. She is an heiress and is in love with Bassanio. She is intelligent, beautiful and wise. Her home is Belmont, and the peace and harmony here contrast with the tense business world of Venice.
 * Portia**

Nerissa is Portia's servant but she seems more than that. She seems to be Portia's conscience, especially when she reminds Portia of her duty to her father. She seems to be a good friend and companion to Portia, especially in her isolation at Belmont. She even seems to be a good buddy for Portia, especially in her participation in the courtroom scheme. She even seems to sometimes be Portia's equal. For example, in pursuing the man of her dreams and marrying on the same day as Portia. She is also cunning and scheming like Portia, especially in helping Portia win Bassanio so that she could have Gratanio.
 * Nerissa**

Shylock has his faults and his attractions. One probably has to love and hate Shylock. He does bad things motivated by his desire for revenge but it is kind of understandable why he does them.
 * Shylock**

These are very important characters in the play, although somewhat undeveloped. They are even right there at the beginning of the play before even Bassanio or Gratanio. Their role in the play seems to be to provide background or news to the characters and the audience so that they understand why things are happening. They even provide an audience themselves to various characters so that the characters can explain themselves. For example, they provide an audience to Shylock in the scene where he explains the motivation behind revenge. They, thus, give Shylock a reason to explain his desire for revenge. They give the bad news to Bassanio in Belmont about Antonio's bad situation. This provides Bassanio with a reason to tell all to Portia. Portia is then able to move into action.
 * Salarino and Salanio**