Question

What is the reason for Antonio's sadness in The Merchant Of Venice ?

Answer 1

Antonio expresses an unnatural grief in the first scene of the play. Actually in the play there is no such information regarding Antonio's sadness, so we can conclude that it was only a simple mood fluctuation at that point of time.Moreover, as Salarino and Salanio, the friends of Antonio tries hard to make out his sadness, Antonio himself tells that their reasoning s are not justified.Thus, Antonio simply was sad as he was not happy.