Analysis of The Merchant of Venice William Shakespeare's play "The Merchant of Venice" is based on a fairly simple plot, but it gives a more complex view of the characters involved. It describes each character's attitude, opinions, and actions and shows how they affect other characters. ================================== ================= ====================== Shylock is perhaps the most notable character. It is centered on most of the events of the play. Throughout the play he is portrayed as both a villain and a victim and is used to emphasize a number of themes in the play such as greed, revenge, prejudice and racism. The play begins with Antonio, the merchant of the play's title, unable to repay a deposit he had taken on behalf of his friend Bassanio, with the Jewish moneylender Shylock. The bond stated that failure to repay the money lent would allow Shylock to claim some of Antonio's flesh. The climax of the play being the trial which decides whether the bond should be executed.All c...