(2004) Know you not this play - "A stage, where every man must play a part" - of William Shakespeare from high school or college? It takes place in Venice, 1596, when Jews were restricted to the ghetto unless they wore upon their heads a red cap. Since they were forbidden to possess property, some earned a living by means of usury, a sin for Christians.

Bassanio (Joseph Fiennes) tells his great friend Antonio (Jeremy Irons) of his desire for Portia (Lynn Collins) of Belmont, though he lacks the means to impress, gain entrance, & win her heart. Antonio, whose funds & fortune are dependent on returning ships upon the seas ("Your mind is tossing on the ocean"), nevertheless, goes to Shylock the Jew (Al Pacino) for a loan of 3000 ducats for three months. Whereupon Shylock questions Antonio's previous revilement of his person in public, whereat Antonio shamed the Jew, calling him "misbeliever, cut throat, dog," & spat in his face. Instead of charging interest, Shylock asks for a bond in which Antonio will pay "an equal pound of fair flesh" if the money is not repaid when due. Antonio, having no doubt that his ships will bring him ten times the loan, agrees.

In Belmont Portia's future is ruled by her dead father's will, requiring she marry the man - whether foul, obese, drunk, or suitable - who chooses from among three caskets ("I am locked in one of them") - one of gold, one of silver, & one of lead - the one bearing her painted resemblance. The prince of Morocco with black complexion chooses the gold; the foppish prince of Aragon picks the silver; Antonio arrives & selects the lead box ("Thy paleness moves me more than eloquence"), containing the prize of Portia, "wise, fair, & true."

Back in Venice, news has reached Antonio of the wreckage of each of his hoped-for ships. Shylock - whose daughter Jessica has eloped with Lorenzo, a Christian youth among Bassanio's comrades, taking some of her father's gold with her - demands payment, "I'll have my bond"; & when Antonio's friends, outraged of the Jew's intent, leave their whores to upbraid Shylock for his lack of ethics & humanity, he confronts them: "I am a Jew. Hath not a Jew eyes? Hath not a Jew hands, organs, dimensions, senses, affections, passions?... If you prick us, do we not bleed? … and if you wrong us, shall we not revenge?" To Antonio he says, "Thou call'dst me dog before thou hadst a cause,/ But, since I am a dog, beware my fangs." Further, with the Christians coming to the defense of one of their own, "What judgment should I fear," exclaims Shylock, "having done no wrong? … If you deny me, fie on your law…. I stand for law."

A trial takes place, as gripping & suspenseful as any legal legerdemain in literature, before the duke at which "a young and learned doctor" Balthazar appears to judge the contents of the bond & its penalty. After initially acknowledging the legitimacy of Shylock's claim, Balthazar first asks Shylock to be merciful: "mercy is above this scepter'd sway,/ It is enthroned in the hearts of kings,/ It is an attribute to God himself,/ And earthly power doth then show likest God's/ When mercy seasons justice. Therefore, Jew,/ Though justice be thy plea, consider this,/ That in the course of justice, none of us/ Should see salvation …" Portia has granted her husband Bassanio permission to offer 6000 ducats, more if necessary, to rescue his friend; but Shylock refuses the money & repeats his demand for Antonio's flesh. As he raises his knife to take a cut of meat from Antonio's breast, an image like that of Abraham about to slay his child, his hand is stayed, for Balthazar has found an argument the Jew cannot deny.

I'll not reveal the climax here but recommend you give rapt attention to the roles of three rings in this story. While Shylock behaves no worse than any grieved man who has lost his daughter & his treasury, who has been cursed & shunned by those whom he agreed to assist in their time of need, he is tragic in that he fails to transcend the conduct of his enemies, making the fatal mistake of turning his valiant foe into his victim. Portia is the play's magnificent, munificent, magnanimous heroine, saying in her role of disguise: "He is well paid that is satisfied."

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Copyright © 2007 Patrick Ivers. All rights reserved.
Reproduced with the permission of the copyright holder.

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