1 Analysis of the Three Caskets

2 Background information:
3

4 In the city of Belmont, an extremely beautiful, fair, smart, educated, and rich woman named
5 Portia, is to be married. Her father, in the moments before his death, devised a lottery, a riddle of
6 sorts, to be solved for her hand. It consists of three caskets, one gold, one silver, and one lead, each
7 with a clue inscribed upon it. Only one casket contains a picture of Portia. He who choses it, will be
8 entitled to marry her. But he who choses wrong must promise to leave Belmont at once, never tell
9 anyone of his choice, and never to speak to any lady in the way of marriage (i.e., never to try to
10 marry).

11 The inscription on the first casket, that of gold, says: “Who chooseth me shall gain what many
12 men desire". The second, of silver, says “Who chooseth me shall get as much as he deserves”. The
13 third of lead, says “Who chooseth me must give and hazard all he hath”.

14 Considerations:
15 In the book (Merchant of Venice), two main factors have been considered by the candidates of
16 the lottery while choosing a casket. In the book (Merchant of Venice), two main factors have been
17 considered by the candidates of the lottery while choosing a casket. They are the material of the
18 caskets and the inscription on the caskets. This article too shall attempt to investigate these points as
19 well as possible. At the end it will also include an interpretation of the messages in the caskets,
20 showing Shakespeare’s view of it.

21 The Gold Casket:

22 Who chooseth me shall gain what many men desire

23 Material of the Casket:

24 Pro’s:
25 Value:
26 As previously mentioned, Portia is an extremely desirable lady, both by consideration of her
27 riches and her beauty. In addition, she is a Christian, which was considered a positive trait at the
28 time. The golden casket represents value, due to the preciousness of its material. No other material
29 present (neither silver nor lead) comes close to be worthy of containing the means to marry Portia.
30 The Prince of Morocco (one of the candidates of the lottery) mentions that no jewel is ever set in any
31 material but gold.

32 Con’s:
33 Greed:
34 Gold is a symbol of greed. Being valuable, it often attracts an eye that doesn’t stop to consider
35 fully what it means to choose it. The whole process of choosing casket may make a candidate forget
36 that this entire endeavour is intended to choose a husband for Portia and not for the husband to
37 choose. Many may choose gold, but does it mean that they will get it? A suitable husband for Portia
38 cannot be overly greedy, considering her vast fortune. Such a person might drain away her money,
39 and not be good for her. Greed is one of the seven Christian sins and considering that Portia and her
40 father are Christian it ought to be avoided.
41 Malleability:
42 Gold, as a metal, is extremely soft, and can be bent by bare hands. It is because of this property, that
43 it is so often chosen for jewellery. However, it’s malleability represents a weakness of character, it
44 displays a character bent to easily by the will of others. Now this is easily demonstrated by looking at
45 one of the suitors in Merchant of Venice, one who chose the gold casket, the Prince of Morocco. His
46 putting his faith in the inscription, the words many men shows that he is easily swayed by popular
47 opinion. This nature of being easily swayed, is hardly a desirable characteristic.

48 Shakespeare’s Thoughts:
49 In the Merchant of Venice, the gold casket does not hold the portrait of Portia, and the reason for
50 why is given below.

51 Proverbial:
52 Shakespeare invokes the proverb “all that glitters is not gold” to say that even though the casket
53 looks golden, appears attractive and its value is not assured. This betrays the person who chooses it
54 as one who places too much value on outward appearances, and not to the substance itself. In the
55 text, Morocco gets so carried away by the value of the gold, that he neglects to consider the lead
56 casket for more than a second, and though he considers the silver casket, the second he rereads the
57 inscription on the gold casket, he forgets entirely about it.

58 Inscription:
59 In this situation, the inscription merely furthers and confirms the interpretations made while
60 looking at the material of the casket, such as being related to the value of Portia, and to say that the
61 casket is chosen by those who desire, but do not deserve. The scroll inside also doesn’t have any
62 references related to the inscription. The inscription also helps in interpreting the material of the
63 casket, hinting at the desirability of gold.

64 The Silver Casket:

65 Who chooseth me shall get as much as he deserves

66 Inscription:
67 Pro’s:
68 Deservingness:
69 As the inscription on the casket literally spells out, a person who chooses it will get what he
70 deserves. As was mentioned in the section of this essay pertaining to the gold casket (check lines 35-
71 37) the objective of the entire casket system was to choose a husband for Portia. Only one deserving
72 of Portia deserves her hand in marriage. This point is illustrated beyond all doubt in this speech by
73 the Prince of Arragon.

74 Cons:
75 Arrogance:
76 The desirability of Portia has been established several times over in the Merchant of Venice.
77 However, another way of looking at it is that no one is deserving of her, and that to presume so,
78 would be the height of arrogance. This reasoning might be supported by the fact that a father,
79 especially an extremely old one on his deathbed may have a higher opinion of their loved ones than
80 they (the loved ones, that is) merit.
 81 Material of the Casket:
82 Pro’s:
83 Purity:
84 Silver has always been associated with purity, especially with Christians, which is useful information
85 considering that the majority of Europe at that time was Christian, including Portia and her father.
86 Silver’s purity is such a fundamental thing to Christians, that the word of their God itself is compared
87 to it, as shown in Psalm 12:6-8 of the King James Bible given below here:

88 The words of the Lord are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified
89 seven times.

90 This pure character may refer to either the purity of Portia or the purity required of the lotteries
91 participants.

92

93 Cons:
94 Impressionability:
95 Like gold, silver too is very impressionable, and in Europe, it was fashioned into ducats, and used as
96 currency. While it is harder than gold, it is still soft, and cannot help but have its character changed
97 under heat and pressure. It too is easily swayed and doesn’t provide the stability required for a
98 sound relationship.

99 Lead Casket:
100 Who chooseth me must give and hazard all he hath

101 Inscription:
102 Pros:
103 Intrinsic Nature of Love and Marriage:
104 Marriage is a gamble, perhaps one made after long thought, careful consideration, and good
105 idea of the cards one holds, but a gamble nonetheless. This is especially true in the context of a
106 catholic marriage, considering the impossibility of divorce. And a very high stakes gamble none the
107 less, for it is a commitment to spend the rest of one’s life with a person, and if that person is not all
108 you expected them to be, than indeed you have lost in the field of love. This gamble is brought to
109 higher emphasis in the casket enterprise of Merchant of Venice, as the stakes have been increased.
110 Marriage with a rich beauty desired by all, or no marriage at all.

111 And what is love but eternal giving? What does a person in love do but give everything to the
112 other, strive for the other, be for the other. For a person truly in love would desire the happiness of
113 the other. Not happiness that can be bought, like expensive gifts, for those happiness’s are small and
114 last not for long, but the happiness that comes from the small everyday things that require total and
115 constant effort to do. Personally handpicking flowers to be hid around the place, small notes to bring
116 joy to the heart. Love is giving small things that come from a place of genuineness, constantly. The
117 giving of one’s heart and soul to lighten up the other person’s life, that is love.
118 Cons:
119 Material of the Casket:
120 Pros:
121 Hardness:
122 Unlike gold and silver, lead is hard enough to withstand pressure, and is used for everyday items. It
123 cannot be changed and remains true to it’s original character. It can withstand wear and tear
124 without being scratched and is hard to damage.

125 Cons:
126 Shakespeare’s Thoughts:
127 In the Merchant of Venice, the lead casket holds the portrait of Portia, and the reason for why is
128 given below.

129 Elimination:
130 Shakespeare mainly cites a few reasons not to choose the other caskets, and since they must not be
131 chosen, the lead casket must be the right answer.

132 A choice of three women:

133 Another way of approaching this is to look at the casket lottery as choosing different versions
134 of Portia, and the person who chooses the same version of her that her father saw her as would win
135 her hand in marriage. One version is the golden, desirable Portia, unattainable, fair, and the most
136 valuable bride to be had. This Portia is almost to be worshipped, rather than married. The next, the
137 approachable, homely bride, kind, but not unreachable. This is a Portia that can be deserved. The
138 last Portia is one who needs, who needs companionship, a young lonely woman in need of a person
139 to love her with all his heart, and would give his all to her. This is a Portia who is asking, rather than
140 demanding. Now, this view can be furthered by looking at the way Portia portrays herself in the
141 three different scenes where caskets are chosen.

142 In the scenes where Morocco arrives at Belmont and makes his choice, Portia commands him,
143 and tells him exactly what to do.

144

145 Bibliography/Citations:
146 https://www.sparknotes.com

147 https://symbolism.fandom.com/wiki/Silver

148 Pages 291 and 292 of “The Standard Edition of the Complete Psychological Works of Sigmond
149 Freund” – Translated from German to English by James Strachey.