In “The Merchant of Venice”, William Shakespeare explores the contrasting cities of Venice and Belmont. These two locations in Italy are so antithetical that even the characters' behaviors fluctuate from city to city due to this disparity between them. This Shakespeare play begins in Venice, which is the world of reality. Therefore, the scenes played in the real world focus on wealth, commerce, history and urban life. So the use of language is more formal in terms of decorum and they use a lot of conceits. Additionally, Venice is a male-dominated society, unlike Belmont, which is dominated by women. Moreover, Belmont which is a fantastic place represents ideality. Here, love trumps other rational things like money. So people use simpler and more humorous language, which is more suitable there than in the commercial city of Venice; In total, Shakespeare presents the reader with two places in strong opposition in this play. Say no to plagiarism. Get a Custom Essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get an Original EssayTo begin with, the author of the play uses parallel scenes between Venice and Belmont in “The Merchant of Venice”. One of the biggest differences between these two places is the clash of money and love. Venice is a city that is the center of commerce in Italy. Everything is financial and this situation even reflects people's speeches. Act I Scene I begins in the street with the dialogue between Antonio, Salerio and Solanio. From the first line, Antonio says "I'm so sad."[1] and the reason is because he risks losing his ships in the open sea, even though he thinks he doesn't know why he feels sad. Also, in Act I, Scene III, when Bassanio wants a loan from Shylock, he says that if he can't pay his money back, Antonio will and Bassanio shows Antonio as collateral for himself so that he can't refund the money. And Shylock continues; “He is a good man so that you understand me that he is enough.”[2], meaning that if a person has wealth, he is reliable in this mall. On the other hand, Belmont where Portia lives is a fantastical place created by Shakespeare himself. It is a place of poetry, of soft music, of spheres, of classical literature.[3] This city is also rich, but this property is inherited just like Portia's wealth from her father unlike the Venetians who bargain to be rich and reach their level. Plus, this city is built on love. For example, in Act II Scene I, Portia tells of the Prince of Morocco; “In terms of choice, I am not guided only / By the fair guidance of a maiden's eyes; »[4]. She hints that men's physical appearance is not the only path to her heart, there are also other conditions for her to marry. She is looking for the right man and wants to fall in love with him, but her father's will does not allow it. She has everything except love because of her father who still controls her life. Additionally, Bassanio goes to Belmont to resolve his financial problems while Portia goes to Venice to resolve her romantic problems. Portia loves Bassanio and he uses her feelings to make money. In Act I, Scene I, when he finally begins to talk about Portia after much talking, the reader understands that money is his real goal. He mentions a girl who is rich and likes him a lot, which he finds out from her appearance. Bassanio: “In Belmont there is a lady richly left, And she is beautiful and, more beautiful than the word, Of wonderful virtues. Sometimes from his eyes I received messagesspeechless. »[5] Furthermore, beautiful language is the symbol of decorum. Venice is a commercial center and these people haggle for a living; so they need to use appropriate language to be in a good situation in public. Additionally, they try to show each other their intelligence by using this kind of language. Once again, in the first scene, when talking about the shipwreck, Salerio even personifies it; "And see my Andrew moored in the sand, / Vailing high top lower than his ribs, / To kiss his burial"[6]. However, at Belmont, ladies do not need to use as much ornamental language and therefore prefer simpler, more humorous language. They speak freely as they wish without thinking of being sophisticated. Whether the city is ideal may also be a factor in this. To give an example, in Act III, Scene IV, Portia says in response to Nerissa's question: "Fi, what a question that is, / If you were near an obscene performer!" »[7]. She doesn't like the question and she adds that if she had a dirty mind, she would understand it as if she wanted to turn to a man for sex. She doesn't hesitate to say it and says it directly. Additionally, these two worlds differ from each other in terms of their predominant gender roles. It can easily be said that Venice is a patriarchal society while Belmont is a feminine society. At the same time, this play reveals the sexual discrimination at that time. In Act V, Scene I, after the courtroom scene of Act IV, Bassanio and Grationo go to Portia's house in Belmont. However, the ladies, Portia and Nerissa, blame them; that's why gentlemen don't take their relationships seriously and lose their rings or give them other women. Usually in patriarchal societies men don't care about these issues, they start saying that they are absolutely right and say that women can't talk to men that way. Here, gender roles are reversed by Shakespeare and men begin to fight back. Gratiano first swears that he gave the ring to the judge's clerk, then he mentions his physical appearance as "a young man, a kind of boy, a polite little boy"[8] so that the ladies will believe what he is saying. 'he said. Likewise, Bassanio defends himself by claiming that he also lost the ring by defending it. Then he continues; “…What should I say, sweet lady? / I was obliged to send after him, / I was assailed with shame and courtesy; » [9] Nevertheless, Venice is a city dominated by men and the ladies go to the court of justice as if turning towards the men in front of this defense scene. . Here, Portia challenges traditional gender roles at the same time by acting like a man. Of course, their first goal is not to be recognized by Bassanio and Gratiano in court and to help them. However, they could have done so without transforming into men. The ladies probably know that no one would listen to them and that they would not be able to defend Bassanio and Gratiano in court if they were women. Additionally, Venice and Belmont can be associated with the Old Testament and the New Testament. Because Venice is a commercial center, there are many foreigners of different religions in this city and Shylock, who is Jewish, is one of them. He's supposed to show mercy instead of insisting on getting a pound of flesh from Antonio in order to teach him a lesson. Thus, Judaism is associated with the Old Testament in the play because of the emphasis on agreement. On the other hand, the ladies of Belmont show more mercy like that of God, just like in the last act which concerns the rings of Bassanio and Gratiano, and which is linked to Christianity and the New Testament. Additionally, Venice is a historic place.unlike Belmont, which is a fairytale building. The reader can see historical traits in Shylock's desire for Antonio's flesh and in the historical anti-Semitism addressed in the play: Shylock is a Jewish man and the reason he wants Antonio's flesh so much is because Antonio humiliated him beforehand, and now he wants revenge, he wants his blood. In Act I, Scene III, when Shylock first sees Antonio as Bassanio's guarantor; “I hate him because he is a Christian; But it is above all because he lends money for free, in base simplicity, and that he makes it fall... He hates our sacred nation; and he groans,”[10] However, Shylock cannot get what he wants, nor Christian blood at the end of the play and he converts to Christianity. Shakespeare generalizes Shylock as a Jewish people and Antonio as a Christian people. According to Christian belief, all Jews will one day be converted to Christianity. With Shylock's conversion, the playwright means all Jews. However, the public does not encounter such historical events in Belmont. People are completely free in terms of freedom of speech and thought in this ideal world. Although Portia also has these freedoms, she is not completely free, even in a fairytale place. She must obey her father's wishes to marry a man. Susan Olddrive writes this in her article; “Portia cannot even veto her father's choice of husband, a right increasingly accepted in the Elizabethan era. »[11] In short, every city has its own problems, whether real or ideal. Finally, there is a difference between the possibility of pastoral life with regard to cities. Urban life dominates in Venice thanks to commerce. There are many people from different cultures and they are like strangers to each other in urban areas. People don't have much between them until it's necessary. This is seen in the relationships between Bassanio and Shylock, and Antonio and Shylock. Bassanio goes to Shylock to borrow money, his only goal is to have money to reach Portia, not to become friends or anything else. And Shylock knows Antonio as a man who lends people money carelessly and hates Jews. Additionally, their use of language is also appropriate for this urban life. However, rural life takes on considerable importance in Belmont. Generally, people inherit rural areas, just like Portia who is rich thanks to her father's inheritance. Plus, there isn't much cultural diversity unlike Venice. The reader doesn't see this in the Belmont scenes either. Besides them, the shepherds and peaceful atmosphere of Belmont could be good examples of this rural life. The shepherds who symbolize Jesus Christ still talk about religion. For this reason, considered a saint, Portia can also be associated with the shepherd. In the sense of a peaceful place, there are almost never any problems in this place. Usually all the arguments happen in Venice, not Belmont. Venice and Belmont are two locations in Italy that William Shakespeare uses as scenes in “The Merchant of Venice.” These two places are opposed to each other. First of all, Venice embodies reality; therefore, the wealth that they think everything financially, the mercantilism that is their way of making money, the history, the urban life and the New Testament are concentrated in the city of Venice. On the contrary, Belmont symbolizes ideality; thus, love which is the most crucial subject for them and the New Testament are given there. The citizens of Belmont are more easy-going unlike those of Venice. These characteristics reflect the language people use. In Venice, people use language, 2011. [1]. 90.