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ThemeAnalysis:TheMerchantofVeniceTheme:LoveThesisStatement:AntonioandShylockboth“lovesomething”deeplyandtheyarewillingtosacrificeforthem.IntheplayofTheMerchantofVenice,Antonioisconsideredtobethe“justside”whileShylockisthesymbolofgreedandspite.However,theybothhavesomethingthattheylovedeeplyandtheywouldsacrificeforitifnecessary.Antonio’s“love”isfriendship,butShylock’s“love”ismoney.Atthebeginningoftheplay,thethesis“AntonioandShylockbothlovesomething”isintroduced.InAct1Scene1,BassanioisaskingformoneyfromAntoniobecausehewantstowintheloveofabeautifulwealthygirlnamedPortia.Atthattime,Antoniodoesn’thaveenoughmoneybecauseallhismoneyistiedupinthecargothatisstillatsea,buthesaid,“Butgoaheadandchargethingstomeoncredit,asmuchcreditasIcangetinVenice.I’lluseallmylinesofcredittohelpyougettoBelmont,toPortia.”(Ⅰ,i)Althoughhedoesn’thavecashforBassanio,hestilltriedhisbesttogetmoneyforhisfriend.EvenwhenShylockproposestocutAntonio’sfleshifAntoniodoesn’treturnthemoney,Antonioagreesimmediatelyjustforhelpinghisfriend,thisisconsideredtobeasacrificebecauseAntonioisriskinghislife.Also,AntoniovaluesthefriendshipbetweenheandBassanioverymuch,becausewhenapersoncan’tgetmoneydirectly,he/shewillrefusetolendmoneytoothers,evenhis/herclosestfriend,letaloneborrowmoneyfromotherstolendmoneytohis/herfriend.ButAntoniodoesit.SoitshowsthatAntonio’s“love”isfriendship,andhecansacrificeforit.Thisisthefirstappearanceofthethesis“AntonioandShylockbothlovesomethingdeeply”.Asthestorycontinues,theotherpartofthethesisisrevealed,thatisthe“love”ofShylock.Shylockisameanandgreedyman,inAct3Scene1,whenTubaltellsShylockthathecan'tfindShylock’sdaughterwhorunsawaywithherloveLorenzo,Shylock’sfirstreactionisnotthesafetyofhisdaughterbuthismoney,“Oh,oh,oh!OneofthestolendiamondscostmetwothousandducatsinFrankfurt!…Twothousandducatsinthatdiamond,andotherprecious,preciousjewels!Iwishmydaughterweredeadatmyfeetwearingthosejewels!Iwishshewereinhercoffinhere,withtheducatsinhercoffin!”(Ⅲ,i)Additionally,whenTubalsaysthatherdaughterspendsducatsanightinGenoa,heisevenmoregrieved,“Oh,you’restickingadaggerinme!I’llneverseemygoldagain.Eightyducatsinoneshot!Eightyducats!”(Ⅲ,i)Fromhere,wecanseethatShylockthinksmoneyismoreimportantthanhisdaughter,andheevenwantstosacrificeherdaughter’slifefromoneyandjewels.SoitisclearthatShylock’s“love”ismoney,andthetheme“AntonioandShylockbothlovesomethingdeeplyandtheyarewillingtosacrificeforthem”isshownhere.ThethingthatrevealedinthissceneisalsoastepstonetoShylock’sactioninthecourt.InAct4Scene1,AntonioacceptsthejudgemadebyPortia,“LetmehavejudgmentandtheJewhiswill.”(Ⅳ,i)WhenBassanioisunsolvableashisfriendAntonioisjudgedtobecut,Antoniofacesthedeathunflinchingly,hetoldBassanio,“Don’tbesadthatthishappenedbecauseofyou…Besadonlyatthefactthatyou’llloseyourfriend—yourfrienddoesn’tregretthathepaidyourdebt.”(Ⅳ,i)Evenwhenheisfacingthedeath,hestillthinksabouthisfriend.AntonionevergetsbenefitsfromhishelptoBassanio,buthevalueshisfriendshipandiswillingtosacrificehislifeforhisclosestfriend.Atthistime,thetheme“AntonioandShylockboth“lovesomething”deeplyandtheyarewillingtosacrificeforthem”isdevelopedbythedevelopmentofthestory,thesacrificeoftheir“love”becomesmoreandmoreprofoundandserious.Finally,Shylockshowshisardentlylovetomoney.Hewouldlikeotherskillhiminordertokeephismoney.Whenthefinalresultofthecasecomesup,Shylockisjudgedtotakeawayallhisproperty.WhenShylockhearsthis,hesaid,“No,goaheadandtakemylife.Don’tpardonthat.YoutakemyhouseawaywhenyoutakethemoneyIneedforupkeep.Youtakemylifewhenyoutakeawaymymeansofmakingaliving.”(Ⅳ,i)Shylockwasfullofvindictivenessafewminutesago,butwhenhismoneycomestotheequation,Shylockimmediatelysaysthathewouldratherdiewithouthisproperty.Heiswillingtosacrificehislifeformoney.Thereforethetheme“AntonioandShylockbothlovesomethingdeeplyandrathersacrificetheirlifeforit”isrevealedinthisscene.Inconclusion,throughthe“loves”ofthetwocharactersarecompletelytwodifferentthings,theylovetheminsameway–willingtosacrificetheirlife.