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To court the rich and clever Portia, Bassanio needs money, and his friend Antonio, a Venetian merchant whose ships are all at sea, borrows three thousand…
To court the rich and clever Portia, Bassanio needs money, and his friend Antonio, a Venetian merchant whose ships are all at sea, borrows three thousand ducats for him from Shylock, a Jewish moneylender he has often insulted. Shylock asks, as if in jest, for a pound of Antonio's flesh if the loan is not repaid. In Belmont, Portia's suitors must choose between caskets of gold, silver and lead; in Venice, Antonio's ships are lost, Shylock's daughter flees with a Christian and his money, and he comes to court to demand his bond, where Portia, disguised as a lawyer, speaks of 'the quality of mercy'.
Context and significance
Written around 1596, the play is a comedy with a deeply troubling heart: Shylock's speech 'Hath not a Jew eyes?' makes him far more than a villain, and modern productions often stress the prejudice that surrounds him. This edition prints the play as it appeared in the First Folio of 1623. Venice is also the setting of the tragedy Othello.
About the author
William Shakespeare (1564–1616), born in Stratford-upon-Avon, actor, playwright and shareholder of a London company, wrote about thirty-seven plays and 154 sonnets.