Merchant Of Venice Essay, Research Paper

In this drama two characters have a bigger function than one might conceive of. Salerio

and Solanio are the narrators in The Merchant of Venice. They fill in

of import information that the audience needs to full understand the drama.

First, the two names differ by merely a few letters, they are so near that one

might confound the two and think that they are the same individual. I feel that this

is Shakespeare & # 8217 ; s purpose in this drama. He makes the two similar so that they

are non really of import to the secret plan of the drama. At the same clip they are two

different people, non merely a storyteller. I feel that Shakespeare does this so that

he can hold the two characters talking to each other. It is through their,

Salerio and Solanio, interactions that the audience learns of import information

to the secret plan of the drama. At the gap of the drama three characters are on

phase, Antonio, Salerio, and Solanio. Through the duologue, Salerio informs the

audience of Antonio & # 8217 ; s ships: “ Your head is fliping on the ocean/There where

your argosies [ i.e. , great merchandiser ships ] with portly [ i.e. , stately ] canvas ( I.i.

8-9 ) . While in the same scene Solanio helps the audience set up that Antonio

has no major love involvement: “ Why so you are in love, ” to which

Antonio answers, “ Fie, fie! ” ( I.i. 46-47 ) . Through their

conversations, the two have given the audience a footing for the drama: that

Antonio is a merchandiser and that he is non concerned about being in love. An

full scene ( eight ) in Act II is given wholly to a conversation between

Solanio and Salerio. Here they tell of many events that have happened:

Bassanio & # 8217 ; s

ship puting off and Gratiano traveling with him ; Shylock’s reaction to

Jessica and his ducats being gone ; a Venetian ship that is wrecked in the

English Channel ; and besides the farewell between Antonio and Bassanio. Here,

through the conversation of Solanio and Salerio the audience is told what has

happened. Therefore they have merely one manner to obtain the information. They all have

the same ideas about what has happened since they did non see the scenes and

were merely told about them. Solanio and Salerio are the narrators in the drama

but they are merely used for approximately two tierces of the drama. The scene that either

one of them is in is scene two of Act III. Here merely one of the two is present.

Salerio & # 8217 ; s business for the scene is to acquire the secret plan of the drama back to

Antonio. Since the action of the drama has largely been affecting Bassanio and

Portia, Salerio arrives to state Bassanio of the problem Antonio is in back in

Venezia: “ Not ill, my Godhead, unless it be in mind/Nor well, unless in head.

His [ i.e. , Antonio ‘s ] missive there/Will show you his estate [ i.e. ,

status ] ” ( III.ii. 234-236 ) . From this scene on Solanio and Salerio are

ne’er to be seen in the drama once more. I feel that this is because their occupation as

narrators is complete. There is merely the tribunal scene and the concluding scene left

in the drama. Those two scenes tell their ain narrative with no interruptions in the action.

There is no usage for the two narrator characters because everything else is

acted out. These two characters have a critical function in the drama. When there is

information that has to be told it is at that place occupation. They keep the action of the

drama traveling without the audience holding to watch a batch of scenes.