The Merchant of Venice:Act 1 Sc 1

Plot point
1. The bond: This act explores the reason for the bond's existence. Bassanio needs the money but Antonio cannot provide it.
Sequence of events
1. Salarino and Salanio try to figutre out the cause of Antonio's sadness.
  1. Bassanio arrives with his friends.
    1. Bassanio talks to Antonio about his debt and then asks for money.
      1. Antonio cannot lend him the money so he tells Bassanio to look for other lenders using his name as collateral.
Key quotes
1. "Thou knows't that all my fortunes are at sea;/Neither have I money, nor commodity/To raise a present sum:" - Antonio to Bassanio
2. "In sooth, I know not why I am so sad./It wearies me; you say it wearies you;" - Antonio to Salarino and Salanio
Themes
1. Fortune
  1. The act shows that Antonio's fortunes are tied to his ships which are at sea. Through this, the act explores the unpredictability of fortune.
2. Love/Friendship/Loyalty
  1. This act demonstrates love/friendship/loyalty between Antonio and Bassanio.
Characters
1. Antonio
2. Bassanio
3. Salarino, Salanio
4. Gratiano, Lorenzo

Resource summary

	Created by Rijuta Das about 4 years ago