In “The Merchant of Venice”, William Shakespeare explores the cities of contrast that are Venice and Belmont. These two places in Italy are so antithetical to each other 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, trade, history and urban life. And so, the use of language is more formal in terms of decorum and they use a lot of presumptions. Furthermore, Venice is a predominantly male society as opposed to female-dominated Belmont. Also, Belmont, which is a fantastic place, represents the ideal. Here, love surpasses other rational things like money. So a simpler and more joking language is used, which is more suitable there than in Venice, a commercial city; Overall, there are two places introduced to the reader in stark opposition by Shakespeare in this play. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay To begin with, the playwright uses parallel scenes between Venice and Belmont in “The Merchant of Venice.” One of the biggest differences between these two locations is the breakdown of money and love. Venice is a city that is the center of trade in Italy. Everything there is financial and this situation also reflects people's speeches. Act I Scene I begins in the street with the dialogue between Antonio, Salerio and Solanio. In the very first line Antony says “I am so sad”[1] and the reason is that he might lose his ships in the open sea even though he thinks he doesn't know why he feels sorrow. Also, in Act I, Scene III, while Bassanio wants a loan from Shylock, he says that if he cannot return his money, Antonio will and Bassanio shows Antonio as collateral for himself so that he cannot return the money. And Shylock continues; “It is a good man to make me understand that it is enough.”[2], which means that if a person has wealth, he is reliable in this shopping center. On the other hand, Belmont where Portia lives is a fantastic place created by Shakespeare himself. It is a place of poetry, of sweet music, of spheres, of classical literature.[3] This city is also rich, but this property is inherited just like Portia's wealth coming from her father, unlike the Venetians who trade to be rich and reach their level. Furthermore, this city is built on love. For example, in Act II, Scene I, Portia tells the Prince about Morocco; "In terms of choice I am not guided solely / by the beautiful direction of a maiden's eyes;"[4]. She implies that men's physical appearance is not the only way to her heart, there are also other conditions for getting married. She searches for the right man and wants to fall in love with him, but her father's will doesn't allow it. He has everything except love because of his father who is still in control of his life. Furthermore, Bassanio goes to Belmont to solve his financial problems while Portia goes to Venice to solve her love problems. Portia likes Bassanio and he uses her feelings to get money. In Act I, scene I, when he finally, after much talking, begins to say something about Portia, the reader understands that for him the real goal is money. He mentions a girl who is rich and loves him very much, which he finds out from her appearance. Bassanio: “At Belmont there is a lady richly left, and she is beautiful and, more beautiful than the word, of wonderful virtues. Sometimes I received beautiful and silent messages from his eyes".[5] Furthermore, beautiful language is a symbol of decorum. Venice is a commercial center and these people trade to earn a living; therefore, they should use languageappropriate to be in a good situation in public. Also, they try to show their intelligence to each other by using that kind of language. Once again, in the first scene, Salerio, speaking of shipwreck, even personifies it; “And see my Andrew moored in the sand, / Veiled above, lower than his ribs, / To kiss his grave”[6]. However, in Belmont, women are not forced to use such ornamental language, so they prefer a simpler and more fun one. They speak as freely as they want without thinking about how to be sophisticated. The fact that the city is ideal can also be a factor in this regard. To give an example, in Act III, Scene IV, Portia says in response to Nerissa's question; “Hey, what kind of question would this be, / If you were around an obscene performer!”[7]. She doesn't like the question and adds that if she had a perverted mind, she would understand it as if she wanted to approach a man for sex. She's not shy and says it directly. Furthermore, these two worlds differ from each other in terms of the gender roles predominant in them. 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 gender discrimination of those times. In Act V, Scene I, after the scene in which the rings are exchanged in the courthouse 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. Generally, in patriarchal societies, men don't care about such issues, they start saying that they are completely right and say that women can't talk to men like this. Here gender roles are subverted by Shakespeare and men begin to defend themselves. Graziano first swears that he gave the ring to the judge's clerk, then mentions his physical appearance as "a young man, a kind of boy, a scruffy boy"[8] so that the women believe what he says. Likewise, Bassanio defends himself by saying that he too lost the ring by defending it. Then he continues; “…What shall I say, sweet lady? / I was forced to send it after him, / I was assailed by shame and courtesy;”[9] However, Venice is a city dominated by men and the women address the court of justice as if they addressed the men before that scene of defense. Here, Portia simultaneously challenges traditional gender roles by behaving like a man. Naturally their first aim is not to be recognized by Bassanio and Graziano at court but to help them. However, they could have done so without turning into men. The ladies probably know that no one would listen to them and they would not be able to defend Bassanio and Graziano in court if they were women. Furthermore, Venice and Belmont can be associated with the Old Testament and the New Testament. Since 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 should show mercy instead of insisting on getting a pound of flesh from Antonio to teach him a lesson. Therefore, Judaism is associated with the Old Testament in the work because of this strict emphasis on agreement. On the other hand, the ladies of Belmont show more God-like mercy, just like in the last act which talks about the rings of Bassanio and Gratian, and is related to Christianity and the New Testament. Furthermore, Venice is a historical place unlike Belmont, which is a fairytale construct. The reader can see the historical markers in Shylock's desire for Antonio's flesh and the historical anti-Semitism addressed in the play: Shylock is a Jewish man and the reason why he desires Antonio's flesh so badly isthat Antonio humiliated him before, and now he wants revenge, he wants his blood. In Act I, Scene III, when Shylock first sees Antonio as Bassanio's enforcer; “I hate him because he is Christian; But above all for this, with low simplicity, he lends money freely and brings down... He hates our sacred nation; and he rants,"[10] However, Shylock cannot get what he wants, which is Christian blood at the end of the play and he converts to Christianity. Shakespeare generalizes Shylock as Jewish people and Antony as Christian people. According to the Christian faith, one day in the future all Jews will convert to Christianity. By Shylock's conversion, the screenwriter means all Jews. However, the audience does not encounter such historical events in Belmont. People are totally free in terms of freedom of speech and thought in this ideal world. Although Portia has these freedoms, she is not completely free even in a fairy place. She must obey her father's will to marry a man. Susan Oldrive writes that in her article; veto her father's choice of husband, a right increasingly accepted in the Elizabethan era."[11] In short, every city has its problems, regardless of whether they are real or ideal. Finally, there is a difference between the possibility of pastoral life regarding cities. Urban life is dominant in Venice due to trade. There are numerous people from different cultures and they are like strangers to each other in urban areas. People don't have much with each other until they have to. This is seen in the relationships between Bassanio and Shylock, and Antonio and Shylock. Bassanio goes to Shylock to borrow money, his whole goal is to have money to reach Portia, not to become friends or something else. And Shylock knows Antonio as a man who lends money to people carelessly and hates Jews. Furthermore, their use of language is also appropriate for this urban life. However, rural life shifts to scale in Belmont. Generally, people are inherited in rural areas just like Portia who is rich due to her father's inheritance. Also, unlike Venice, there isn't much cultural diversity. The reader doesn't even see him in the Belmont scenes. Besides them, the shepherds and the peaceful atmosphere of Belmont could be good examples of this rural life. The shepherds symbolizing Jesus Christ are once again about religion. For this reason, considered holy, 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 discussions take place 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 opposite to each other. First of all, Venice embodies reality; therefore, the wealth that they think everything from the financial point of view, the mercantilism that is their way of earning money, the history, the urban life and the New Testament are concentrated in the city of Venice. In contrast, Belmont symbolizes ideality; so there they are given love, which is the most important thing for them, and the New Testament. The citizens of Belmont are more accommodating unlike those of Venice. These features complement the language people use. In Venice a more beautiful and financial language is used, especially necessary for mercantilism, while in Belmont a simpler and freer language is chosen. At the same time, these characteristics of cities are identified with culture which also includes language, and William Shakespeare successfully compares and contrasts these two different worlds in “The Merchant of Venice”. Works Cited Please note: This is just an example. 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