Tammy’s Reviews > The Merchant of Venice > Status Update
Tammy
is 15% done
Bassiano falls for Shylock’s smooth words while Antonio points out even the Devil can quote Scripture. Then Antonio and Shylock get testy with each other and the ugly comes out. Antonio is surprised that he will not charge interest if the bond is a pound of Antonio’s flesh. He thinks he is getting off cheap. What is interesting to me is that flesh is meat and therefore sacrifice. It cannot be eaten so it is useless.
— 15 hours, 13 min ago
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Tammy’s Previous Updates
Tammy
is 20% done
He asks to be lead to the casket and he pulls out his scimitar. He mourns that he’s fierce in battle and can beat any opponent, but, in this matter, the outcome is due to luck (fortune) and not skill. In this case, an unworthy opponent may win and he may die of grief. She tells him he will go to dinner first and try his fortune afterwards.
— 9 hours, 53 min ago
Tammy
is 20% done
AII SI There is more imagery of the sun. The Moroccan prince asks Portia to forgive his hue. He claims that maidens of his clime thinks he’s just fine. Portia tells him that she has no choice in the matter because his father set up this lottery. Then she says something hilarious: he’s just as good as anyone she’s seen so far. That’s not saying much. LOL The story is also full of risk, chance, and lottery.
— 13 hours, 40 min ago
Tammy
is 15% done
He acts kind and generous when deep down inside Shylock is seething (which is shown in his asides, which are always the true feelings of a character). There is some comedy in this scene and the tension between Jews and Christians is addressed here, too. Shylock retells the story about the piebald sheep and goats and I wonder if this is to foreshadow the choices of his daughter later in the play.
— 15 hours, 18 min ago
Tammy
is 10% done
AI SIII In the third scene, Bassiano borrow 3 thousand ducats for 3 months. Delicious! Earlier, Janus (two faces) is mentioned and it seems to foreshadow Shylock. He hates Christians and Antonio, in particular, for how he has treated Shylock in the past (spitting on him and calling him names). The generosity of Antonio also undercuts Shylock’s ability to make money. Shylock sees how overextended Antono is.
— 15 hours, 21 min ago
Tammy
is 10% done
Portia is safe. She hopes she will remain chaste as Diana (moon) and then Nerissa reminds her of the Venetian scholar that her foather knew. Portia remembers his name, Bassiano. Four strangers wish to take her leave and a fifth has arrived, the Prince of Morocco.
— 19 hours, 26 min ago
Tammy
is 10% done
The Scot wants to box the English baron with the French for his surety. I think there might be a political comment in that for it was written during QEI’s reign. The German is a drunkard. When sober, he’s a little lower than man. When drunk, a little higher than beasts. CHAIN of BEING. She could put a glass of wine on the wrong casket to solve that problem. Nerissa tells her that they have told her their selections.
— Jul 12, 2026 05:52PM
Tammy
is 10% done
The Neapolitan prince can only talk of horses and she wonders if his mother played false with the blacksmith. Count Palatine is melancholy and she’d rather marry a dead guy. The French lord doesn’t know who is his and seems to have many personalities and she thinks he’s mad. She cannot understand the English baron and he seems to have bought a different item of his ensemble from a different country.
— Jul 12, 2026 04:58PM
Tammy
is 10% done
Portia is upset because she is not allowed to choose her future husband nor can she reject the one chosen. There are three caskets made of gold, silver, and lead in true fairy tale fashion. The one who choses the casket with her picture will win her hand. She lacks the attitude of Charlotte Lucas who sees any marriage as a lotteruy, whether you love the guy or not. Nerissa asks her about each suitor, one by one.
— Jul 12, 2026 04:52PM
Tammy
is 10% done
AI SII In the first act, we meet the male lead (Bassiano) and, in the second act, we meet the female lead (Portia). It opens like a fairy tale and Jane Austen. Instead of an entail, she is required to marry according to her deceased father’s will. He set up three caskets ( Her friend Nerissa doesn’t think she is bad off because she’s rich but then she wonders if the middle way is better (moderation).
— Jul 12, 2026 04:43PM
Tammy
is 5% done
Being the good freind that he is, Antonio offers to get credit so that he can help Bassiano win Portia. Again, if we are thinking of Portia as an image of Christ, how many times are we dragged down by trying to help someone who is lost?
— Jul 12, 2026 02:13PM