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play, according to Harold Bloom
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is a complete loser.
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He's the one who needs the money to woo Portia,
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who's this beautiful woman living outside of Venice.
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And so he's got to borrow a huge amount of money.
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So when he enters he's described as a Venetian,
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a scholar and a soldier.
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Now, whenever Shakespeare says a scholar and a soldier,
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sometimes it's not a Venetian, when he says that the guy's
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always a great guy.
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So this occurs repeatedly.
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So anyway, Bassanio comes in as a star.