Antonio

Play

The Merchant of Venice

Summary

Antonio is the merchant of Venice who gives the play its title, a wealthy trader whose ships are at sea when he needs cash to help Bassanio woo Portia. He has long publicly insulted Shylock in the Rialto, and now borrows from him on the notorious pound-of-flesh bond. He opens the play with unexplained but profound melancholy — "In sooth, I know not why I am so sad" — and his willingness to literally give his flesh for Bassanio speaks to a bond of friendship (and perhaps something more) that the play never fully explains. He is saved by Portia's legal ingenuity.

Notable Quotations

"In sooth, I know not why I am so sad; / It wearies me; you say it wearies you." *(I.i)*

"I am a tainted wether of the flock, / Meetest for death." *(IV.i)*

Cross-references

• The Merchant of Venice — the play
• Comedies — genre
• character_bassanio — his dearest friend, for whom he risks his life
• character_shylock — the moneylender who holds his bond and seeks his flesh
• character_portia — the lawyer who saves him