Bassanio et al

Today we looked at Antonio and Portia and their roles in the play: tomorrow Bassanio and Gratiano and a quick look at minor characters.

Characters are not just people. They are used in the play to represent different forces and opposing ideas. Think of them as threads in the tapestry of the play or notes or lines of melody in the symphony of its story. (After all, as real people, the play's characters are a little contradictory - if that's the right word.)

First, some fabulous links. Wikipedia has a most interesting entry on the play. Media students, you will finally understand "readings" when you look at it. It contains some very strong interpretations so you have to take it with a pinch of salt. It also contains info about characters.

Here is a link to OpenSource Shakespeare in which you can search for all the lines said by Bassanio etc