At the start of the play, Bassanio already owes Antonio a great deal of money. He gives Antonio an analogy to prove that he will be better able to pay him back with an additional loan. He says that when he was younger, he shot an arrow and lost it. He shot a second arrow with the same strength and in the same direction. The second time, he watched more closely, figuring that the second...
At the start of the play, Bassanio already owes Antonio a great deal of money. He gives Antonio an analogy to prove that he will be better able to pay him back with an additional loan. He says that when he was younger, he shot an arrow and lost it. He shot a second arrow with the same strength and in the same direction. The second time, he watched more closely, figuring that the second arrow would end up in the same place as the first. He means to suggest that he was careless with the first loan, but he will be more careful with the second.
Antonio scolds him for using this analogy because he would help Bassanio without this unnecessary lesson. Bassanio tells him of a beautiful, rich heiress named Portia. Bassanio needs money to compete for Portia's hand in marriage. Bassanio wants to compete with Portia's other suitors. They have more money than Bassanio, so he will need money for nicer clothes, funds for the trip to Belmont, and possibly even gifts for her. He wants to present himself as a successful man.
O, my Antonio! had I but the means
To hold a rival place with one of them,
I have a mind presages me such thrift,
That I should questionless be fortunate. (I.i.178-81)
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