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Antonio. The merchant whose love for his friend Bassanio prompts him to sign Shylock’s contract and almost lose his life. Antonio is something of a mercurial figure, often inexplicably melancholy and, as Shylock points out, possessed of an incorrigible dislike of Jews.
Some distance grows between Antonio and Bassanio as Bassanio leaves Venice and his friend in order to go to Belmont and woo Portia. However, when Bassanio receives a letter detailing Antonio’s lost ships, he is full of concern and explains to Portia that Antonio is his ‘dearest friend’ (3:2).
Antonio and Bassanio are the closest of friends, and it is their relationship in William Shakespeare ’s The Merchant of Venice that provides the foundation of the play’s two-pronged plot....
- Gratiano. Gratiano is Antonio and Bassanio’s friend and Nerissa’s suitor. He accompanies Bassanio to Belmont. Gratiano is described as “wild,” “rude,” and “bold.”
- Nerissa. Nerissa is Portia’s “woman-in-waiting.” After Bassanio successfully completes the casket test, Nerissa weds Bassanio’s friend Gratiano. Throughout the play, Nerissa serves as Portia’s closest friend, ally, and co-conspirator.
- Launcelot Gobbo. Launcelot Gobbo begins the play as Shylock’s servant and ends it as Bassanio’s servant. He is a bright young man who enjoys wordplay. He resents the treatment he receives from Shylock and helps Jessica elope with Lorenzo.
- Gobbo. Old Gobbo is Launcelot’s aged, blind father. He cares deeply for his son, going so far as to bring gifts to Shylock, Launcelot’s master. When Launcelot wants to become Bassanio’s servant instead, Old Gobbo agrees to help him.
In William Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice, Antonio is the Venetian merchant for whom the play is titled. He is Bassanio’s wealthy, loyal, and anti-Semitic friend.
Bassanio is a character in Shakespeare’s play, The Merchant of Venice. Although his role is important he is not as fully drawn a character as one would usually find in Shakespeare’s major characters, unlike Shylock and Portia, on whom the drama focuses, who are.
