Friendship By William Shakespeare s The Merchant Of Venice

Friendship is an idea which spans all cultures, but is expressed differently across cultural boundaries. In William Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice, the idea of friendship is critical, not only to the plot, but also for character development. A friend is, â€Å"A person with whom one has developed a close and informal relationship of mutual trust and intimacy; (more generally) a close acquaintance. Often with adjective indicating the closeness of the relationship, asbest, good, close, etc.†(Oxford ) Friendship is the display of trust and intimacy as well as caring for one another. Antonio and Bassanio are the best of friends. Although both Antonio and Bassanio’s characters possess different motivations for their actions, it is their strong†¦show more content†¦However, it can be seen that Bassanio does feel guilt over his actions. â€Å"To you, Antonio, I owe the most, in money and in love† (I, I, 177-178). Bassanio is expressing his remorse over having lived a lifestyle far beyond that which with his wealth permits, but is grateful for the support that Antonio has provided him. Although Bassanio may use Antonio for his coffers, he also owes Antonio in love. This in turn displays that camaraderie is important to Bassanio and although he may be careless with his money, he is a loyal and caring individual. However, it is clear that at the beginning of the play, Antonio is far more invested in Bassanio than Bassanio is Antonio. At the beginning of the play it appears that although they may be genuine friends, Bassanio may be using Antonio for his generosity rather than brotherhood. Their friendships and characters are further expanded upon when Antonio goes to meet Shylock and settle the terms of Bassanio’s loan. Act I, Scene 3 is arguably the most important scene in The Merchant of Venice. As it not only sets up the development of the plot but also furthers the development of Antonio and Bassanio’s friendship. In this scene, Antonio and Bassanio meet with Shylock to discuss terms of a loan that Bassanio may use to attempt to pursue Portia. Instead of having to pay usury, Shylock opts to take a pound of Antonio’s flesh if the debt is paid late. Upon hearing this, Antonio is confident that he