The Merchant of Venice

The Merchant of Venice is a play by English playwright William Shakespeare. It is one of Shakespeare’s many comedies, which include As You Like It, Twelfth Night, and The Taming of the Shrew. Written in the 1590s, it concerns a Jewish moneylender in Venice named Shylock who is determined to extract a pound of flesh from a merchant who failed to pay a debt on time. As the narrative unfolds, it considers themes like The Cyclical Nature of Dehumanization, Mercy as a Privilege of an In-Group, and How Appearances Deceive with Shiny Surfaces and Vice Versa.

The play remains controversial due to the antisemitic stereotypes it perpetuated in its time and for centuries thereafter. Despite this, the play continues to be read and performed frequently, with many directors opting to frame Shylock as a tragic hero rather than a villain.

Citations for this study guide are sourced from the Folger Shakespeare Library.

Content Warning: This study guide and source text contain depictions of antisemitism.

Plot Summary

Bassanio is a Venetian nobleman seeking to marry a wealthy heiress named Portia. With his finances in shambles, he calls on his best friend Antonio to lend him the 3,000 ducats needed to sail to Portia’s home in Belmont and present himself as a suitor. All of Antonio’s assets are tied up in ongoing shipping ventures.

Expecting a cash infusion once his ships return from their voyages, Antonio borrows the 3,000 ducats from Shylock, a Jewish moneylender he frequently antagonizes with antisemitic comments. Given that Shylock rightly perceives Antonio as his enemy, the moneylender forgoes interest on the loan and instead demands a pound of Antonio’s flesh if the merchant fails to repay the loan within three months.

As Bassanio, Antonio, and Shylock negotiate the terms of the loan, Shylock’s daughter Jessica plots to rob her father, elope with Bassanio’s friend Lorenzo, and convert to Christianity. Lorenzo and Jessica escape with thousands of ducats worth of jewelry and travel to Belmont, where Bassanio is headed to woo Portia.

Meanwhile, at Portia’s Belmont estate, the heiress is forced to pick a husband based on an odd scheme stipulated in her deceased father’s will. Suitors must choose either a gold casket, a silver casket, or a lead casket. If the suitor chooses correctly, he will marry Portia. If he does not, he is sworn to secrecy and forced to leave Belmont immediately. So far, Portia has shown little interest in any of her suitors, who all fail to pick the correct casket.

When Bassanio arrives at Belmont, Portia is thrilled, having met him and deemed him worthy years earlier. Rejecting superficial appearances, he picks the dull lead casket, the correct choice, and secures Portia’s hand in marriage. Bassanio’s friend Gratiano and Portia’s waiting maid Nerissa also decide to marry.

Just then, Bassanio receives a letter from Antonio, who writes that his ships are likely wrecked, leaving him no money to repay Shylock. Shylock, meanwhile, is adamant that he collect the pound of flesh as stipulated in the contract. When pressed why, he says it is revenge against Antonio for denying his humanity as a Jew. He says, “I am a Jew. Hath not a Jew eyes? [...] If you prick us, do we not bleed?” (3.1.57-64).

After the weddings, Portia gives Bassanio 9,000 ducats and instructs him and Gratiano to rush to Venice to save Antonio’s life. After they leave, Portia hatches a scheme to pose as a prominent male lawyer chosen by the duke of Venice to help mediate the dispute between Shylock and Antonio. Nerissa accompanies her, dressed as a male clerk.

During the proceeding, the duke defers to Portia’s supposed legal expertise, vowing to follow her ruling. When she and Nerissa enter the courtroom dressed as men, no one recognizes them.

Bassanio offers Portia’s 9,000 ducats—three times the principal—but Shylock insists on obtaining a pound of Antonio’s flesh. Portia seizes on Shylock’s adherence to the precise language of the contract and rules that while Shylock is entitled to the pound of flesh, the contract does not entitle him to any of Antonio’s blood. If he spills even a drop of Antonio’s blood while cutting off the pound of flesh, this will violate the contract.

Moreover, Portia finds Shylock guilty of attempted murder, the penalty for which involves forfeiting half his assets to Antonio. When Portia asks Antonio if he would like to display the mercy Shylock denied him, Antonio says Shylock can keep his assets as long as he bequeaths them to Jessica and Lorenzo upon his death. Antonio adds that Shylock must convert to Christianity or the agreement is void.

After the proceedings, Bassanio tries to give Portia—still posing as the lawyer—the 3,000-ducat principal for helping Antonio. The disguised Portia and Nerissa say all they want in return are the rings they gave Bassanio and Gratiano on their wedding day, which they promised never to take off. With great reluctance, Bassanio and Gratiano agree to give up the rings.

Back at Belmont, an undisguised Portia and Nerissa feign outrage over their husbands’ choice to give away the rings. After verbally torturing the men for a few minutes, Portia and Nerissa finally show them the rings, revealing that they were the lawyer and clerk all along.