Bassanio's Friendship In The Merchant Of Venice

Bassanio and Antonio’s friendship is a vital piece to the foundation of the entire play, The Merchant of Venice. When we take a close look at many of the scenes, the situation will be heavily linked to their relationship, one way or another. There are several examples in the play that signal to us, as the audience, their closeness and dearness of each other and what that illustrates about their respective characters.
Antonio is a very understanding person. In Act 1 scene1, Bassanio is alone with Antonio and they have a discussion on Bassanio’s desire to take his chance on marrying Portia. To do so, he will need sufficient funds (which he does not have) hence, he comes to Antonio for help. Antonio says, “Thou know’st that all my fortunes are at sea…To have it of my trust or for my sake.” This speech by Antonio shows the audience his strong relationship with

This suggests to the audience that Bassanio has a very loving and caring character.
In the same scene, Bassanio says, “But life itself, my wife, and all the world, are not with me esteem’d above thy life”. This quote stresses Bassanio’s love for Antonio and how deep their friendship is because he said he would give up everything he has to save his life from the ‘devil’; Shylock.
In conclusion, I believe it is fair to say that the relationship between Antonio and Bassanio heavily influenced their characters throughout the play and that it had also played a key role in most of the events that took place. Their relationship reveals to the audience that Antonio has a generous, willing and caring character and Bassanio has elements of naivety and lack of wisdom at the beginning of the play but develops as the play