How Is Dramatic Tension Created In The Trial Scene Of 'The Merchant Of Venice'?

How does Shakespeare create dramatic interest for the audience in the trial scene, Act 4 scene 1 in 'The Merchant of Venice'?

In the trial scene (act 4 scene 1), Shakespeare uses many different dramatic techniques to make the tension in the court room rise and build. He also uses dramatic irony and many other techniques to engage an audience in this particular scene in the play. These techniques would work have worked on an Elizabethan audience or a modern day audience. Although, these two eras do not share the same views on some of the things Shakespeare wrote about, the same mood and ideas are given across through Shakespeare's use of dramatic techniques.

The previous knowledge which the audience holds about the previous acts and scenes makes the tension build because the audience knows of the bond which is held between Antonio and Shylock. This fear of the bond is even stronger when we enter the trial scene because the audience can see just how determined Shylock is to receive his pound of carrion flesh. Shylock is persistent to get his bond from Antonio. Shylock's determination to get his flesh from Antonio makes him seem even more villainous and evil than the audience previously though.

Another thing which the audience previously knows is the fact that Antonio has called out Bassanio to tell him his final words; this indicates to the audience that Antonio is expecting himself to be killed by Shylock. This builds the tension because the audience is unsure when Shylock will kill Antonio, or if he will have mercy on him and spare his life.

We already know from our precious knowledge that Venice's legal system is strong and cannot be altered. Shylock uses this as an advantage to himself because he understands that he will be allowed to take his bond. If they do not let him, then others will see a flaw in Venice's legal system and they too will try to find ways of escaping their punishments.

The trial scene is set in a court in Venice, a male dominated society where the law is strongly upheld. Venice has a very strong legal system and although they find the situation which Antonio in very difficult and would spare his life, they could not because of how their legal system is run. It is very strict and is just, they would not let a man free of any crime, because it would make their law seem weak or to have a 'dent' in it. The law has to be strict because Venice is a male dominated society where the main trade is money lending and the selling of goods.

The first character that we meet in the trial scene is The Duke, and he plays an important role in the scene because he tries to make Shylock understand the severity of his deeds. The Duke, as head of the court is meant to be impartial to the decision, but because of the deed which has been made, and the fact that Shylock is a Jew, he is biased towards Antonio, as would an Edwardian, Christian audience. They would obviously have anti-Semitic feelings towards Shylock because he is a Jew. The Duke is an important character and is against Shylock in the trial and tries to make Shylock spare Antonio's life, yet when he tries to persuade Shylock into sparing Antonio's life, Shylock will not listen and insists on receiving his bond. This makes the tension build because the audience soon begins to understand just how severely determined Shylock is to receive his bond from Antonio.

6000 Ducats is offered to Shylock, yet he still will not take the money. Shylock is exceedingly determined to get his flesh off Antonio. Money is an extremely important part of Shylock's life, yet still does not take the money from Bassanio and Gratiano, which shows that he is deadly serious and will receive his bond. He makes a very clear fact that he will not have the money, but he will have his bond. The audience would soon begin to wonder when Antonio's death will occur, because it is starting to look like a certainty. Shylock says that the amount is meaningless. If he were offered thirty-six thousand ducats he wouldn't take it, since the pound of Antonio's flesh is Shylock's property and he can do whatever he wants with it. The audience's tension and general interest in the scene would have built up because they are now beginning to understand just how much Shylock wants Antonio's flesh. The idea of him being determined to receive the pound of flesh is repeated over and over so that the audience understands Shylock's stubbornness and his determination.

The dramatic tension continues building when Portia or 'Balthazar' enters the court. Balthazar is the doctor who can save Antonio from Shylock's bond. The tension rises as the audience wonder if she will be recognised by her husband, Bassanio. Because Venice is a male dominated society, Portia and Nerissa had to dress as males to enter and to be accepted into the society. In order to leave Venice, Jessica (Shylock's daughter) also had to dress as a male. This shows that women are not accepted into the society and to gain any respect around the men, they too have to become males. This is interesting and creates dramatic interest in the scene because it would be interesting for the audience to see if Portia can save Antonio's life and outsmart Shylock at the same time. The audience will be interested in the scene because they will wonder if the women will get away with tricking their husbands and if Antonio or Gratiano realise that they are in fact their wives. Portia holds some of the qualities of a man (quick thinking, intelligence and wit), and this is interesting to the audience as they can see her act as a man and get away with this. When they enter the courtroom, Shylock is fondling with his knife and sharpening it on the side of his shoe. This emphasises the fact that Shylock is overly excited and that he can't wait for his opportunity to cut the flesh from Antonio, which emphasizes how determined Shylock is to get his revenge and take his anger out on Antonio. Also it makes the audience believe Shylock is an evil villain for wanting to commit such a gruesome deed. The dramatic interest rises because the audience still wonders if Antonio will be killed. The vision of Antonio being killed is influenced by the props shown on stage and described by Shakespeare in the play. The only two objects which are shown are the scales and the knife. This makes the audience believe that Shylock will kill Antonio soon because of the idea that these props are brought in or are on show as though they were expecting death.

Portia makes a plea to Shylock about mercy and the importance of it to Shylock in a hope that this will extinguish his thoughts and ideas of killing Antonio. This speech is well known and famous, so this would create dramatic interest with a modern audience