True Love in The Merchant of Venice Essay -- Merchant of Venice Essays

True Love in The Merchant of Venice Among the various themes presented in the Merchant of Venice the most important is the reputation of truthful acknowledge. The casket plot helps exposit the theme. Through a variety of suitors the descriptions of the caskets, Shakespeare shows the reader how different people view true love. He also shows what is most important to the suitors and in some cases it is non true love, hardly material things and outward appearance. The first suitor who tries to win Portias hand is the Prince of Morocco. When he first arrives in Belmont, the reader can see how positive the prince is, He says, The best regarded virgins of our clilme/ hath loved it too... (2.1, 10-11). He is referring to the color of his ski n that is black. He is telling Portia that his complexion has won him galore(postnominal) women and he is dressed in all white. The fact that he is, suggests that he is only concerned with outward appearance, and not with more impor tant things such as true love. The Prince of Moroccos superficial nature shines through even more clearly when it comes time to choose the casket. He does not want to risk anything, and therefore he does not choose the breath casket whose inscription tells the suitor he must give up everything. The Prince, after looking at the inscription of the gold casket, which read who chooseth me shall gain what many men desire (2.7, 37), decides that what he desires most is the Portias hand so the gold must be the correct casket. He insists that the gold casket is the one holding Portias forecast because she is so much worthier than the lead casket. The Prince believes t... ...ove, however, is for Bassanio and she wants to marry him. Bassanio, by choosing to risk everything he has, shows the effects that true love can have on someone. True love can conquer any fears or apprehensions you may have. He was willing to risk everything he had in order to show his love for Portia. In the pl ay, Bassanio shows what true love really means and how one can not mistake outward appearances for true love. Put succinctly, one can do nothing but agree with the adage love conquers all. Works Cited and Consulted Barnet Sylvan. Introduction. The Merchant of Venice Ed. Sylvan Barnet. New Jersey Prentice-Hall Inc., 1970. 1-10. Granville-Barker, Harley. The Merchant of Venice. Shakespeare Ed. Leonard F. Dean. Princeton Princeton University Press, 1947. 37-71.