The Merchant of Venice

A comedy with deeply dark undertones, The Merchant of Venice interweaves two plots: Bassanio's wooing of Portia through the casket test and Antonio's bond with the Jewish moneylender Shylock, which nearly ends in death. The trial scene, Portia's defense, and Shylock's fate have made this one of Shakespeare's most debated plays.

At a Glance

Dramatis Personæ

Character Description
THE DUKE OF VENICE Presides at the trial
ANTONIO The merchant; melancholy; lends Bassanio money; agrees to bond
BASSANIO Antonio's friend; loves Portia; somewhat mercenary
GRATIANO Friend to Antonio and Bassanio; marries Nerissa
SOLANIO and SALARINO Friends; bring news
SALERIO Messenger from Venice
LORENZO In love with Jessica; elopes with her
SHYLOCK Jewish moneylender; demands his pound of flesh
TUBAL Shylock's Jewish friend
JESSICA Shylock's daughter; elopes with Lorenzo; converts
LAUNCELET GOBBO Clown; Shylock's servant, then Bassanio's
OLD GOBBO Launcelet's father; near-blind
LEONARDO Bassanio's servant
BALTHAZAR and STEPHANO Portia's servants
PORTIA Rich heiress of Belmont; witty; disguises as a lawyer
NERISSA Portia's waiting-woman; marries Gratiano
THE PRINCE OF MOROCCO Fails the casket test; chooses gold
THE PRINCE OF ARRAGON Fails the casket test; chooses silver

Plot Summary

Act I: Antonio is inexplicably melancholy. Bassanio wants to woo Portia but needs money; Antonio agrees to stand surety. Since Antonio's wealth is at sea, he borrows from Shylock. Shylock proposes a "merry bond": if the loan is unpaid by a fixed date, Shylock may cut a pound of flesh from Antonio's body. Antonio agrees, confident his ships will return in time. Portia is bound by her dead father's will: suitors must choose from gold, silver, and lead caskets — the right one contains her portrait.

Act II: The suitors arrive. Morocco chooses gold ("All that glitters is not gold"); Arragon chooses silver. Jessica elopes with Lorenzo, taking Shylock's money and jewels. Shylock's grief over the loss of his daughter and his ducats becomes comically parallel: "My daughter! O my ducats!"

Act III: Bassanio arrives and chooses the lead casket correctly ("Who chooseth me must give and hazard all he hath") and wins Portia. Gratiano marries Nerissa. News arrives: Antonio's ships have all been lost; Shylock insists on the bond. Portia sends Bassanio to Venice with money; she and Nerissa follow, disguised.

Act IV (The Trial): Shylock demands his bond. The Duke urges mercy. Portia enters disguised as the young lawyer Balthazar. Her speech on mercy ("The quality of mercy is not strained...") moves the court but not Shylock. She then rules: Shylock may have his pound of flesh — but not a drop of blood, and not an ounce more or less. Shylock is trapped. Moreover, he has threatened the life of a Venetian citizen; his estates are forfeit. The Duke spares his life; Antonio demands only that Shylock convert to Christianity and leave his estate to Lorenzo and Jessica. Shylock, destroyed, exits.

Act V: At Belmont, the moonlit garden. Portia and Nerissa reveal their disguise to their husbands (who have given away rings they swore to keep). All is resolved in comedy. Lorenzo and Jessica receive Shylock's estate.

Key Themes

Notable Quotations

"The quality of mercy is not strained, / It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven." *(Portia, IV.i)*

"Hath not a Jew eyes? hath not a Jew hands, organs, dimensions, senses, affections, passions?" *(Shylock, III.i)*

"All that glitters is not gold." *(Scroll in the golden casket, II.vii)*

"How sweet the moonlight sleeps upon this bank!" *(Lorenzo, V.i)*

LibriVox Recording

The Merchant of Venice audiobook on LibriVox — Free public domain recording.

Cross-references