Corruption of power in The Merchant of Venice, The Tempest, and Julius Caesar

Corruption of Power in the Merchant of Venice, The Tempest, And Julius Caesar

Absolute and less-than-absolute power: Both are corrupting forces in Shakespeare

William Shakespeare's plays the Merchant of Venice, Julius Caesar, and the Tempest, all are plays about power: the power of money, the power of politics, and the power of the intellect. Shakespeare conceptualizes power not as a singular force in all of these plays, but instead shows how different characters of different echelons of society can use and manipulate others to realize their desires. Corruption is inherent in the exercise of power, although no character possesses absolute power, or uses it effectively in every circumstance.

In the Merchant of Venice, the asymmetrical nature of power is first evidenced in an exchange between the merchant, Antonio, and the moneylender Shylock. Shylock is a despised and ostracized member of society because he is Jewish. But Antonio is vulnerable, even as a wealthy Christian, because of his need for money. Like any businessman, Antonio is dependant upon credit to survive, so he must placate Shylock. Antonio wishes to make a loan to his friend Bassanio, so Bassanio can woo the wealthy Portia.

Portia is powerful because of her money -- but powerless because, as a woman, she is beholden to her dead father's wishes that she use a complicated 'screening' method for all future husbands. Portia cannot choose whom she wants to marry. Also, upon marriage, she confers some of her power to her husband, specifically control over her fortune. But while it might seem that money is the greatest source of power in Venetian society, Shylock quickly learns that the fact he has money does not buy him justice in the court of law. After being robbed by his daughter Jessica when she marries a Christian, he tries to revenge himself upon Antonio by extricating a pound of flesh for an unmet debt. Portia, disguised as a lawyer, is able to twist the law so that Antonio is spared and Shylock is forced to convert. Shylock's power provoked him to behave cruelly, but Portia's more skillful exercise of power in the venal Venetian courts ultimately wins.

The law, just like the ethics of power, is pliable in Shakespeare's plays. This is also true of Julius Caesar, which begins with Brutus and Cassius in a state of extreme anxiety because of Caesar's apparent intent to destroy the republic and become king. They attempt to enforce their conception of the true Roman law by murdering Caesar. They want to use the controlled power of violence to restore order. This fails miserably and ultimately Mark Anthony uses the power of persuasion in his funeral oration to turn the Roman mobs against the conspirators and to establish his own authority as a tyrant in Rome.

In Julius Caesar, using one's influence is not about holding a political office. Influence is about the power of being able to craftily use one's position, as a respected senator, as a trusted friend or as a rhetorical speaker with a captive audience. While the triumvirate later uses violence as a way of bolstering their power in the wake of the political instability after the death of Caesar, the failure of the assassination shows that displays of force alone are not enough to secure political influence. Violence must be used skillfully, in a manipulative way, to be effective. Brutus' attempt to make violence clean, rational, and honorable makes him look weak rather than strong.