Introduction:
“The Marchant of Venice” (1623) is a romantic tragi-comedy by William Shakespeare (1564 – 1616). The casket scene plays a vital role in the development of the drama. let’s discuss;
The casket scene in The Merchant of Venice:
Portia is the marriageable girl of Marcus porcius Cato Uticencis. His father owned many properties. Before he died, performed a marriage ceremony of his daughter. He decided that one of the three boxes would contain a picture of a Portia and that he would give marry his daughter to the person who would find it for the first time. In the story of the casket, Shakespeare shows a way to control romantic girls. Portia, as the daughter of a rich man in Belmont, has to follow her father’s three-casket strategy at her wedding. But the casket contest conditioned that if one failed the contest, he could never marry in his life. So only three out of all the competitors take up this challenge. They are; The Prince of Morocco, the Prince of Arragon, and Bossanio. The caskets were of gold, silver and lead, and one container contained a picture of Portia. The Prince of Morocco thinks that a jewel-like Portia’s picture cannot be kept in a casket worse than gold. So, he chooses the pot of gold and he fails the competition. The second chooser, the Prince of Arragon, chose the silver casket containing a blinking idiot he also failed. After the Prince of Arragon, Bassanio, the man at the heart of Portia comes to choose the casket. He chose the lead casket where the picture of Portia was contained and win the contest. At his success, both Portia and Bassanio felt boundless joy.
Conclusion:
From the casket scene we can understand that if one wants something from his heart and makes the right effort to get it, he will surely get it.
