Shylock a Jewish moneylender However Shylock hates Antonio and wants to harm him He reveals his intention to the audience If I can catch him Antonio once upon the hip I will feed fat the ancient grudge I bear him So Shylock agrees to give Antonio the loan under a strange condition He says if Antonio fails to repay the loan in time Shylock will take a pound of flesh from Antonio s body Still Antonio agrees to this risky bond agreement This shows the true friendship between Antonio and Bassanio Bassanio s Loyalty Bassanio's loyalty to Antonio is also evident When Antonio is in danger of losing his life because he cannot repay Shylock Bassanio quickly comes to help He even offers Shylock two times that is owed to him He says to Shylock For thy three thousand ducats here is six But shylock wants to take revenge on Antonio Here Bassanio s actions show his gratitude to Antonio He shows a deep sense of responsibility to his friend He knows Antonio risked everything for him and he now stands beside his friend Portia s Role in Friendship and Loyalty Portia is Bassanio s beautiful and wealthy wife She also shows friendship and loyalty When she hears Antonio is in danger she decides to help She disguises herself as a young lawyer named Balthazar She travels to Venice with her maid Nerissa to save Antonio s life In the trial scene Portia makes a clever point that the bond agreement says a pound of flesh not blood So Shylock can take the pound of flesh but cannot shed any blood She says to Shylock Shed thou no blood nor cut thou less nor more But just a pound of flesh Since it is impossible Shylock loses the case Portia s quick wit saves Antonio s life Her act shows her deep sense of responsibility and loyalty Though she never met Antonio she is ready to help her husband s friend Love vs Friendship Friendship also creates a tricky situation in the play After the trial scene Portia still disguised as Balthazar asks for Bassanio s ring the one she gave him earlier as a sign of love This creates a dilemma for Bassanio He hesitates because he does not want to upset Portia by losing the ring Eventually he gives the ring to the lawyer for the sake of friendship This sets up a funny moment later when Portia reveals she was the young lawyer Shylock's Relationship with His Daughter There is no love trust or loyalty between Shylock and his daughter Jessica Shylock is very strict and loves money too much Jessica feels unhappy at home So she runs away with Lorenzo a Christian She also changes her religion Jessica says What heinous sin is it in me To be ashamed to be my father's child These lines show that without love and care family bonds can break Loyalty grows with kindness not with fear or strict control In conclusion the play shows that true friendship means sacrifice and love Loyalty brings people together and shows their real character Antonio Bassanio Portia and Jessica all show different sides of loyalty In the end love and friendship win over hatred and revenge