The Nature of Contracts in The Merchant of Venice Essay

The Nature of Contracts in The Merchant of Venice nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;In Shakespeare’s play The Merchant of Venice there are two major contract’s made, a contract is any promise or set of promises made by one party to another for the breach of which the law provides a remedy. The promise or promises may be express (either written or oral) or may be implied from circumstances. The first contract in the play that I discovered is one between Portia and her father. Nerissa telling Portia : nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;â€Å"Your father was ever virtuous; and holy men at their nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;death have good inspirations: therefore the lottery, nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;that he hath devised in these three chests of†¦show more content†¦nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;The next contract I discovered is between Shylock and Bassanio. Shylock is speaking to Antonio: nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;â€Å"O father Abram, what these Christians are, nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Whose own hard dealings teaches them suspect nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;The thoughts of others! Pray you, tell me this; nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;If he should break his day, what should I gain nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;By the exaction of the forfeiture? nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;A pound of mans flesh taken from a man nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Is not so estimable, profitable neither, nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;As flesh of muttons, beefs, or goats. I say, nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;To buy his favour, I extend this friendship: nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;If he will take it, so; if not, adieu; nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;And, for my love, I pray you wrong me not.† nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;(Act. i, scene ii 786-989) The nature of the contract between Bassanio and Shylock( a Jewish moneylender), is if Shylock loans Bassanio 300 ducats he will waive it as long as Antonio promises him a pound of flesh as collateral. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;The question now becomes are these two contracts moral? In my opinion no they are not moral. In the contract between PortiaShow MoreRelated A Comparison of Justice in The Tempest and Merchant of Venice738 Words   |  3 PagesJustice in The Tempest and Merchant of Venice nbsp; In both Merchant of Venice and The Tempest, Shakespeare proposes ideas of justice and mercy that hold true in both plays. In order to see if the actions taken were just and/or merciful, definitions of these words must be set up. 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