Among the Merchants of Venice, Shakespeare used love to cover up betrayal, and friendship to cover up presume upon others. Hiding the bad with the good, but burying the bad doesn't mean it doesn't exist. For Antonio, what he experienced was the exploitation behind the friendship. Antonio says in act1 Scene1: “My purse, my person, my extremest means, Lie all unlock’d to your occasions.” This is a part of the hidden tragedy. On the surface, Antonio was willing to sacrifice everything for his friends.  This shows that in Antonio's opinion the friendship between him and Bassanio was precious enough to sustain with life.  Sadly, Bassanio did not respect him equally.  “You shall not seal to such a bond for me:
I’ll rather dwell in my necessity.” Bassanio says in Act1 Scene3. Antonio was willing to borrow 3,000 ducats from Jews who were despised by Christians at the time so that Bassanio could pursue the beautiful Portia. In addition, Antonio is willing to agree to Shylock's malicious request: if the money is not repaid in three months, he will give Shylock a pound of flesh. When his friend's life may be in danger, Bassanio only has this symbolic word to stop him. In Bassanio's mind, Antonio's life was probably no match for the beauty he sought. This is the truth beneath the surface of friendship, a relationship in which one person is giving selflessly while the other is enjoying what is rightfully theirs.

“I may neither choose whom I would nor refuse whom I dislike; so is the will of a living daughter curbed by the will of a dead father. ” Portia's marriage tragedy is not hidden. Her tragedy comes from the fact that women do not have the right to choose their own life under the patriarchal society. Even though her father was dead, even though she was rich, she had to be determined by these ridiculous caskets made of three different materials. In Act 3, Scene 2, Portia said “One half of me is yours, the other half yours, Mine own, I would say; ” As a shy young girl, she should have been more reserved. From this sentence, we can see that she is unable to extricate herself from her love for Bassanio. In the end, he chose the right lead box for Bassanio, which made Portia extremely happy. However, it is predictable that the tragedy of Portia's future life is hidden under the beautiful love. Bassanio has no financial resources. He even borrowed the money to marry Portia. Bassanio was also a man who liked to live in luxury and was not thrifty at all. Portia's father's estate may one day be on the verge of bankruptcy.

Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice is a tragedy because there are often tragic emotions between the characters hidden beneath a veil of comedy. The first is the tragedy that Antonio is not treated equally in friendship, even when his life is in danger his friend Bassanio does not care. The second point is that Portia does not have the freedom to marry, even if her love Bassanio chooses the right casket, her future will face tragedy. People should pay attention to the deeper meaning, try to analyze Shakespeare's purpose, not just stay at the surface.