Gratiano

## Role In Merchant of Venice

In *The Merchant* *of Venice* Gratiano is an up and coming merchant who works under the merchant Antonio and alongside Bassanio, Lorenzo, and Salarino. The people around them view as puppies following their owner, Antonio. Gratiano isn't in seen throughout the play all that often and only appears for a small amount of time when Antonio is doing business. His main role in the story is going with Antonio multiple time to go and speak with Iago to discuss their future plans. He appears in small scenes in the middle of the story when Pocket goes and meets with them and tries to find Lorenzo in their group to give the letter to him from Jessica. He disappears for a bit but comes back when Pocket is delivering the ducats that Shylock has loaned to Antonio. Gratiano's main performance is towards the end of the book in two different scenes. The first main scene is when he and Bassanio first arrive at Belmont with the 3,000 ducats ready to see the caskets. He is their to support Bassanio in hopes of choosing the right casket but at the same time he is there to try and win over Nerissa if Bassanio succeeds in marrying Portia. Fortunately him and Bassanio got the luxury of their want-to-be lovers. The second and last main scene for Gratiano is closer to the end of the book. He is with Salarino as the happen to run into Shylock and learn of the news that the second of Antonio's ships have crashed. They run to Antonio to tell him of the news and are given to the instructions to go to Shylock and try to buy his third ship more time so that he can repay his debt and if the Jew said no they were to kill him. Unsettled about having to potentially kill Shylock they go to him to get more time, but things change when the monkey Jeff appears with a note for Shylock saying not to worry and a second later Viv the serpent jumps out of the water and bites of the heads of Salarino and Gratiano ending their time in the story of *The Serpent of Venice*.

## Characterization

### *The Merchant of Venice*

In *The Merchant of Venice* Gratiano is a good friend of the one of the main characters Bassanio. Shakespeare describes him as a great talker and able to connect with anyone that he comes into contact with. His life is a little different than compared to his life in *The Serpent of Venice*. Instead of mainly being an up-and-coming merchant he is more there to help out the people around him. He helps Lorenzo out with his plan to run away with Jessica but while doing this he almost misses the ship that takes him to Belmont where Portia’s lady-in-waiting, Nerissa, who has agreed to marry him if Bassanio chooses the correct casket.

### *The Serpent of Venice*

In *The Serpent of Venice* Gratiano is less of a side character to Bassanio and more of an apprentice merchant to Antonio. Moore keeps the description of him similar to that of Shakespeare’s Gratiano. He describes him as the tallest of the four and as broad shouldered as a dock slave, as they were about to mount the Rialto Bridge. He is much more involved in the different characters in the story. He is seen actually going with Antonio to speak of their plans with Iago and Rodrigo. As well as being seen with Antonio while he was making and receiving the deal that he made with Shylock for the ducats.

## Character Connections

Antonio

Bassanio

Shylock

Pocket, The Fool

Portia

Nerissa

## Work Cited

Moore, Christopher. *The Serpent of Venice*. New York: HarperCollins, 2014. Print.

Shakespeare, William. *The Merchant of Venice*. Ed. Leah S. Marcus. New York: Norton, 2006. Print.