Shakespeare frequently liked to refer to life as a play and the world as a stage. In the comedyAsYou Like It(Act II, Scene 7) Shakespeare includes a famous speech that begins with “All the world’s a stage.” And in the tragedy ofHamlet, Shakespeare reflects reality through a play within a play. In these lines fromThe Merchant of Venicethe character of Antonio sees the world simply in black and white, as comedies and tragedies. In drama there are comic characters and tragic ones; and Antonio believes that he is just one of the tragic characters. He believes that such is his fate. Of course, Shakespeare realized that man is far more complex than what Antonio indicates here; and one of thecruxesfor the characters of this play is to get Antonio to realize that aswell.
If every man must play a part in the grand play of life, then Graziano wants to play the part of a clown orfool:
Let me play the fool.
With mirth and laughter let old wrinkles come, And let my liver rather heat with wine
Than my heart cool with mortifying groans.
(79-82)
At this point in the play Graziano is the direct opposite of Antonio. Where Antonio is sad and melancholic, Graziano is happy and joyous. The reference to theliverreflects the Renaissance belief that certain emotions were produced in that organ of the body. Strong and intense passions were often