The Themes of the Merchant of Venice

The play Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare has two major themes running through its story. Even though it was written in the late 1500s these themes still have significance today. The main characters of this play are Shylock, the Jew, who is a money lender charging interest to make living. Antonio is another character of this play and he is a fairly rich merchant. Antonio has a very good friend Bassanio, who wants to …

…me a few groups: for example, the white people versus black people, which is a problem mainly in the US. Here in the Czech Republic, there is a problem between the white people and the Roma people. Another example would be the Untouchables in India, and the list could go on and on. As to the other theme, loyalty is still considered to be a virtue. In this way, The Merchant of Venice is timeless.