Shakespeare has struck a fine balance of love, romance and comedy in The Merchant of Venice. Bring out the truth of the statement. Can you elaborate it till 450 words.
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Answer:
The Merchant of Venice is a play that is known for its balance of love, romance and comedy. The play contains elements of all three genres and it is this balance that makes it so successful.
The play begins with a love triangle between Antonio, Bassanio and Portia. We see in this scene that Shakespeare is able to capture the essence of love in his writing by using words such as “faith”, “promise”, “tender”, and “truth”. However he does not allow the reader to forget that there is also a darker side to love; one where people can become jealous and even go so far as to kill their rival for their lover's affections.
Another aspect of romance in the play is seen through Portia's relationship with Nerissa. They share many similarities such as their love for reading and learning, which makes their friendship strong. Another example of this can be seen when Portia says "My dearest Nerissa..." (2.5) when discussing how lonely she feels without her friend there
The play revolves around Shylock, a Jew who lends money to Antonio, who is suffering from financial crisis.
Shylock's daughter Jessica marries Lorenzo and elopes with him. She leaves her father and her home for the sake of love. This is one of the most romantic scenes in the play.
On the other hand, it also shows the cruelty of Shylock towards Antonio when he demands that he should repay his loan with interest or else forfeit a pound of flesh from Antonio's body. This act can be considered as an act of violence against Antonio which makes it comical since he cannot pay back his loan due to financial crisis and thus his life is at stake if he doesn't return it on time because he has been forced by Shylock to accept this condition without any chance of escaping it otherwise he will lose his life which makes it comical because no one can expect such a thing happening even though we know that there are many people who are cruel enough to do so especially when they are desperate for money and they don't care how they get it as long as they get