The Young Lovers in Merchant of Venice

Marking points

1. 1 Explore at least two well-selected moments and more than one relevant young couple or use one couple to support a clear wider argument.
2. 2 Develop a critical judgement about whether youthful ingenuity is romantic, manipulative, ruthless or a mixture.
3. 3 Analyse comic form, structural marriage plots, disguise, wit and language for their effects.
4. 4 Integrate relevant audience, gender, religious or hierarchical context into the interpretation.
5. 5 Use accurate spelling and punctuation and controlled vocabulary and sentence structures.

Full-mark answer

Shakespeare presents the young lovers as witty and resourceful, but their pursuit of love is entangled with money, manipulation and prejudice. Bassanio seeks Portia while needing Antonio’s wealth, so his romantic language can seem sincere yet materialistic. Portia is constrained by her father’s casket test, but she uses emotional intelligence and possible hints to help Bassanio, then tests him through the ring plot. Their relationship therefore depends on ingenuity and on unequal power. Jessica and Lorenzo appear more openly transgressive: Jessica escapes a controlling father disguised as a boy, but she also steals Shylock’s wealth and abandons his faith, so an audience may question whether romantic freedom justifies the means. Gratiano and Nerissa support their friends and complete the comic pattern of three marriages, while their ring dispute echoes the main couple. Structurally, the casket, bond, disguise and ring plots move the young couples towards union, and comedy places wit and improvisation on their side. A young Globe audience might enjoy their challenge to paternal and social barriers, while a modern audience may be more critical of Bassanio’s dependence, Portia’s prejudice and Jessica’s treatment of Shylock. The lovers are therefore attractive agents of comic renewal, but Shakespeare leaves their integrity open to judgement.