Bassanio was a character of Shakespeare's play, "merchant o Venice. He was a man who was in the court of Antonio, a wise man. Bassanio lived beyond his means in order to keep up his personality. borrowed money from Antonio. He was in love with a lady named Portia. In this play many suitors wish to marry her but only Bassanio remained successful
There is no masked ball in the Merchant of Venice. Sorry. Not in Shakespeare's play, anyway.
Clearly Shakespeare thought that Antonio was a more important character than Shylock. Or Bassanio and Portia for that matter.
Portia.
Some people think that Antonio's attitude to Bassanio is more affectionate than is normal for two men and that Antonio was in love with Bassanio. When he says "In sooth I know not why I am so sad" it is really because his love for Bassanio is not reciprocated, since Bassanio is clearly after Portia. He then puts his life on the line to borrow money for Bassanio to chase Portia, a selfless act indeed if he wanted Bassanio for himself. That subtext can give an interesting reading to Antonio's character, but is by no means necessary. Elizabethan men were in the habit of expressing their affection for each other in pretty extravagant terms, knowing that it would not be understood as expressing homosexual desire since homosexuality was absolutely taboo. Of course homosexuals did exist and people knew about it (as shown in Marlowe's Edward II and Shakespeare's Troilus and Cressida) but it was not spoken of openly in any kind of positive light and it was a serious offence to engage in homosexual acts. Elizabethans felt about homosexuals about the same way we feel about child molesters. In other words, Shakespeare probably did not intend Antonio to have any love interest in the play, apart from his brotherly and totally non-sexual affection for Bassanio. But for modern audiences, reading that relationship as sexual may resonate with us.
Bassanio.
Tales from Shakespeare was created in 1807.
Shakespeare The Animated Tales - 1992 is rated/received certificates of: UK:PG
There is no masked ball in the Merchant of Venice. Sorry. Not in Shakespeare's play, anyway.
Almost all of Shakespeare's plots are borrowed from elsewhere. The only original "tales" are The Tempest and A Midsummer Night's Dream.
Shakespeare The Animated Tales - 1992 Macbeth 1-3 is rated/received certificates of: UK:U
Clearly Shakespeare thought that Antonio was a more important character than Shylock. Or Bassanio and Portia for that matter.
Toshikazu Oyama has written: 'Fantastic tales of Shakespeare' 'On translating Shakespeare into Japanese'
Shakespeare The Animated Tales - 1992 Julius Caesar 2-4 is rated/received certificates of: UK:U
Shakespeare The Animated Tales - 1992 The Winter's Tale 2-5 is rated/received certificates of: UK:U
Shakespeare The Animated Tales - 1992 Romeo and Juliet 1-4 is rated/received certificates of: UK:U
Shakespeare The Animated Tales - 1992 A Midsummer Night's Dream 1-1 is rated/received certificates of: UK:U
Tales from Shakespeare