Sacred and Secular in The Merchant of Venice

Abstract

Although Bakhtin restricted his dialogic theory to the novel, his perception that there exists a tension between text and countertext applies no less effectively to drama. The tension arises, he argued, from a conflict between the “centripetal” element reinforcing traditional assumptions and the “centrifugal” impulse serving to resist or modify them.¹ The mingling of sacred and secular in The Merchant of Venice conforms closely to that distinction, the sacred impulse in the play reinforcing inherited notions of behavior while the secular impulse contests or modifies them in accordance with urgent contemporary needs.

Suggests that the basic theme of the The Merchant of Venice is the clash between the precepts of Christianity denouncing financial acquisition and the demands of the burgeoning world of commerce, a conflict that Shakespeare brilliantly confronts by merging two disparate figures in the character of Antonio—the contemporary merchant engaged in profit-making with the ascetic Christ-figure, in a play reenacting the Crucifixion in a contemporary setting By that device, Shakespeare attempted to validate his own current commercial ventures. Recognition of that purpose reveals a profound unity between the main plot and such seemingly peripheral elements as the casket scene and the exchange of rings.