When Portia learns about Antonio’s plight in Act 3 Scene 2, she has never met the merchant and yet she goes to great lengths to help him. When playing a role it is important for an actor to think about what motivates their character and drives them to do the things that they do in the play. For example, is Portia driven by a desire to help a friend of Bassanio because of her love, or because she feels threatened by Bassanio's close relationship with Antonio? Considering these dilemmas, one of the key questions for Portia is:

Why does Portia help Antonio?

We’ve started to think below about some of the reasons why Portia helps Antonio. See if you can complete the grid to make four points that could answer this question. It doesn’t matter if you agree or not, as long as you can back it up! Looking at the following scenes might also help you to collect evidence:

• Act 3 Scene 2: Explore Portia’s reactions when she finds out what has happened to Antonio. What are her main concerns and how does she act on them?
• Act 3 Scene 4: Look at how Portia talks about Bassanio and his friend Antonio to Lorenzo. How does she view Bassanio and his friends? Why does she think of them in this way?
• Act 4 Scene 1: After saving Antonio, look at the way in which Portia (as ‘Balthasar’) refuses payment. What justification for her actions does she give to Bassanio? What does this reveal about her motives and attitude to Antonio?

In the very first scene of the play Bassanio admits that he wants to go to Belmont to try and win Portia, ‘a lady richly left’, who he considers ‘fair and, fairer than that word / Of wondrous virtues’ (1:1). Bassanio succeeds in both winning her hand in marriage through her father’s ‘lott’ry’ and also winning Portia’s heart. In order to understand why Portia falls for Bassanio, we need to ask the following question:

What does Bassanio do to impress Portia?

We’ve started to think below about how Bassanio makes Portia fall in love with him. See if you can complete the grid to make four points that could answer this question. It doesn’t matter if you agree or not, as long as you can back it up! Looking at the following scenes might also help you to collect evidence:

• Act 1 Scene 2: Portia listens to Nerissa’s advice and opinions and places a lot of emphasis on that. Look at how Nerissa encourages Portia to prefer Bassanio. What are the reasons Nerissa gives for liking him? How does Bassanio differ from the other suitors that the ladies discuss?
• Act 3 Scene 2: Look at Portia’s ‘I pray you tarry’ speech and see if you can make inferences from what she says about why she likes Bassanio and how he has won her over. Why does she like him?
• Act 3 Scene 2: Examine the way in which Bassanio deliberates over the caskets. How is Bassanio’s reasoning different from the Prince of Morocco and the Prince of Arragon? Why is this impressive? Do you think that Bassanio’s reasoning makes him seem like a more appealing suitor than the others?

Antonio and Shylock's relationship is crucial to understanding The Merchant of Venice. In the early part of the play, Antonio is forced to ask Shylock for money, despite his dislike of the Jewish moneylender. However Shylock's hatred of Antonio leads him to demand a high price if he is unable to pay. This demand is Shylock's revenge but it is vital to consider why Shylock might want revenge and what Antonio has done to create this animosity. As a result, it is important for anyone writing about these characters and any actor playing Antonio to consider the question:

Why does Shylock hate Antonio?

We’ve started to think here about some of the reasons why Shylock so passionately dislikes Antonio. See if you can complete the grid to make four points that could answer this question. It doesn’t matter if you agree or not, as long as you can back it up! Looking at the following scenes might also help you to collect evidence:

• Act 1 Scene 3: Take a look at the reasons Shylock gives the audience for why he dislikes Antonio. What does he claim Antonio has done in the past? What does this reveal about Antonio?
• Act 3 Scene 1: Look at what Shylock says in response to Salerio, who wants to know why Shylock is so keen to take a pound of Shylock’s flesh. How persuasive are his arguments and why?

Numerous characters in the play make it very clear that they despise Shylock. When playing a role, actors often ask what motivates their characters’ feelings and actions and start to explore this. One way of starting this process is to look in the text for evidence that might explain their characters’ attitudes towards other characters in the play. In the case of Shylock, this involves looking at why so many characters feel so negatively about him and asking:

Why do so many characters hate Shylock?

We’ve started to think here about some of the reasons different characters dislike Shylock, including his own daughter and servant. See if you can complete the grid to make four points that could answer this question. It doesn’t matter if you agree or not, as long as you can back it up! Looking at the following scenes might also help you to collect evidence:

• Act 1 Scene 3: Look at what Shylock says to Antonio about how the merchant has treated him in the past. What might have driven Antonio to this kind of treatment?
• Act 4 Scene 1: Look at what the Duke and Bassanio say about Shylock and why they think it is unlikely he will show mercy towards Antonio. Where do you think these expectations come from? Do you think they are justified?
• Throughout the play many characters call Shylock derogatory names. Do you notice any similarities in the types of names and insults they use? What does this tell us about the way that they view Shylock?

It is worth noting that, while a lot of characters dislike Shylock, he has a strong friend and ally in Tubal. Shylock has also clearly been affected by the loss of his wife, Jessica's mother, and this needs to be taken into account to form a rounded view of the character. Could you perhaps include this consideration in a point below?