Materialism in the Merchant of Venice

There is no doubt that Merchant of Venice takes place in a very materialistic world where many characters equate the worth of a person to the money they have. However, there are some characters who consider money to be everything. In Merchant of Venice, Shakespeare differentiates these people and their values by showing that characters succeed or fail based on whether they equate the 'worth' of a person with their wealth.

Money and worth are brought up so many times throughout The Merchant Of Venice, it has become one of the core foundations for the play as well as many of the characters. However, the characters who fall into this category ultimately have their views of money and worth be their downfall. For example, Antonio assures Bassanio that he can use his “purse” and “person” in order to go see Portia (1,1, 136). By grouping himself and his money together, he is telling Bassanio that their friendship is not only measured in their person but also in the money he can provide to him. Another example of Antonio using money as his friendship with Bassanio by saying Bassanio will get the money for his “trust or for [his] sake”(1,1, 185). Antonio also equates friendship to money with Shylock when he ask who would “take a breed for barren metal of his friend” (1,3, 128-129). The Prince of Morocco also equates someone’s worth to money when he chooses the gold casket because the lead is “gross” (2,7, 50) and the silver is “undervalued” (2,7, 52) for someone who is “so rich a gem” (2,7, 54) as Portia is. This materialistic thinking caused Morocco to learn that “all that glitters is not gold” (2,7, 65) after he chose the wrong casket.

Though there are many characters who allow money to control their lives, there are also people who learn that money isn’t everything. Although he started with the idea that money was the only way, Bassanio became someone who thought of money as a luxury instead of a necessity. It started when he told Antonio that he’d rather “dwell...