The theme of the script is to praise kindness, friendship and love, and at the same time, it reflects the contradiction between the commercial bourgeoisie and usurers in the early capitalist period, and shows the author's humanistic thinking on money, law and religion in bourgeois society.
The plot of the play is unfolded through three lines: first, Portia chooses relatives; One is the love and elopement between Jessica and Lorenzo; There is also a contract dispute about "cutting a catty of meat". . An important literary achievement of the play is to create a typical image of Shylock, a mercenary and ruthless usurer.
Shylock is not written as a fable incarnation of pure evil, but while condemning Shylock's revenge, he also describes the discrimination Shylock suffered, reveals the "resentment" and "hatred" behind Shylock's "evil", and indirectly reveals the religious root of the conflict between characters in a realistic way, which makes this comedy imply profound tragic meaning.
Extended data:
The confrontation between Antonio and Shylock goes deep into the souls of both sides and reflects the spiritual world of both sides. Shakespeare's praise and criticism of Antonio and Shylock embodies the humanistic thought of the Renaissance. Just as the playwright asked the prince of Denmark to call man "the essence of the universe, the primate of all things" in his Hamlet towel.
In The Merchant of Venice, Shakespeare tried his best to make Antonio shape himself into a capitalized "person" because of his love for others, thus winning the universal respect of the Venetian people and the powerful help of a woman from Belmont.
What is rendered here is Antonio's noble personality and ability, and it is also Shakespeare's affirmation of human beings and praise of their noble qualities. In this sense, Antonio's victory is a "human" and humanitarian victory. Shojaei's failure is an "inhuman" failure and an "anti-humanitarian" failure.
Therefore, Shakespeare not only condensed vivid drama and strong comedy color in the confrontation between Antonio and Shylock, but also successfully raised the banner of humanism.
Baidu Encyclopedia-Merchant of Venice