Why does antonio agree to accompany

Antonio is the one character who is authentically experiencing intense feelings for someone of the same sex. While everyone else eventually finds their way to an appropriate match, Antonio seems doomed to have his feelings unrequited and unresolved.

However, Antonio is also conspicuously left alone at the end of the play, when almost everyone pairs off. He drops out of the main action without any clear resolution or statement as to what his fate will be. SparkTeach Teacher's Handbook. Jessica, too, voices no real complaint about her father, other than the tedium of life with him, but she seems eager to escape her Jewish heritage, which she sees as a stain on her honor.

Her desire to convert would undoubtedly have been applauded by Elizabethan audiences, but here it is expressed as a kind of young recklessness that borders on selfishness. The negative impression that Shylock has given us with his first appearance is somewhat counteracted by the words of those closest to him, who feel guilty even as they speak ill of him.

Ace your assignments with our guide to The Merchant of Venice! SparkTeach Teacher's Handbook. How does Bassanio win the right to marry Portia? Summary Act II, scenes i—iv. Test your knowledge Take the Act 2, scenes i-iv Quick Quiz.

Read a translation Read a translation of Act II, scene i. Read a translation Read a translation of Act II, scene ii. Read a translation Read a translation of Act II, scene iii. Read a translation Read a translation of Act II, scene iv. Popular pages: The Merchant of Venice. Antonio, a prosperous Venetian merchant, is unable to explain his sadness to his friends, who suggest he must have business or love worries. When Bassanio arrives with Lorenzo and Gratiano, he asks his close friend Antonio to lend him some more money.

Bassanio explains that he needs the money to woo a wealthy heiress, Portia, in Belmont. Antonio is unable to advance Bassanio cash because all his money is invested in ships at sea but he gladly offers to guarantee a credit loan.

Bassanio approaches the Jewish money-lender, Shylock, for a loan of three thousand ducats for three months with Antonio as guarantor. Religion is another source of conflict: Shylock is a Jew while Antonio is a Christian.

When Antonio arrives, Shylock is polite but reminds him how he has criticised him for his money lending and insulted his Jewish faith.

Shylock agrees to the loan to his one-time enemy and to demonstrate his new friendship offers to waive interest charges. Antonio tells his friend not to worry because his ships will return a month before the bond expires, so the debt will easily be repaid. Young Gobbo pretends to be some-one else and tells his father that Lancelet is dead. After much confusion, Lancelet confesses his true identity and explains that he has run away from Shylock. He tells his father to give the present meant for Shylock to Bassanio instead.

Bassanio issues orders for his departure to Belmont and warns Gratiano to moderate his behaviour if he wants to accompany him. Disguised as a boy, Jessica joins her lover Lorenzo in the street and they leave for the masque. Gratiano parts from his companions to accompany Bassanio on the voyage to Belmont. Movingly he explains that a Jew is the same as other men with the same feelings and needs. In Belmont, Portia urges Bassanio to wait a day or two before choosing the casket, which will determine whether he can marry her or not, but he is determined to proceed.