Portia is the heroine of William Shakespeare's The Merchant of

Venice. A rich, beautiful, and intelligent heiress, she is bound by the

lottery set forth in her father's will, which gives potential suitors the
chance to choose between three caskets composed of gold, silver and
lead. If they choose the right casket – the casket containing Portia's
portrait and a scroll– they win Portia's hand in marriage. If they
choose the wrong casket, they must leave and never seek another
woman in marriage. Portia is glad when two suitors, one driven by
greed and another by vanity, fail to choose correctly. She favours
Bassanio, a young Venetian noble, but is not allowed to give him
any clues to assist in his choice. Later in the play, she disguises
herself as a man, then assumes the role of a lawyer's apprentice
(named Balthazar) whereby she saves the life of Bassanio's friend,
Antonio, in court.

Portia is one of the most prominent and appealing of the heroines in

Shakespeare's mature romantic comedies. She is beautiful, gracious,
rich, intelligent, and quick-witted, with high standards for her
potential romantic partners. She obeys her father's will, while
steadfastly seeking to obtain Bassanio. She demonstrates tact to the
Princes of Morocco and Aragon, who unsuccessfully seek her hand.
In the court scenes, Portia finds a technicality in the bond, thereby
outwitting Shylock and saving Antonio's life when everyone else
fails. It is Portia who delivers one of the most famous speeches in
The Merchant of Venice:

"The quality of mercy is not strain'd.

It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven
Upon the place beneath. It is twice blest:
It blesseth him that gives and him that takes."

Despite Portia's lack of formal legal training, she wins her case by
referring to the details of the exact language of the law. Her success
involves prevailing on technicalities rather than the merits of the
situation. She uses the tactics of what is sometimes called a
Philadelphia lawyer. However, the concept of rhetoric and its abuse
is also brought to light by Portia – highlighting the idea that an
unjust argument may win through eloquence, loopholes and
technicalities, regardless of the moral question at hand – and thus
provoking the audience to consider that issue.

Shylock is a character in William Shakespeare's play, The Merchant

of Venice. A Venetian Jewish moneylender, Shylock is the play's
principal antagonist. His defeat and conversion to Christianity forms
the climax of the story.

In The Merchant of Venice, Shylock is a Jewish moneylender who

lends money to his Christian rival, Antonio, setting the security at a
pound of Antonio's flesh from next to his heart. When a bankrupt
Antonio defaults on the loan, Shylock demands the pound of flesh.
This decision is fuelled by his sense of revenge, for Antonio had
previously insulted, physically assaulted and spat on him in the
Rialto (stock exchange of Venice) dozens of times, defiled the
"sacred" Jewish religion and had also inflicted massive financial
losses on him. Meanwhile, Shylock's daughter, Jessica, falls in love
with Antonio's friend Lorenzo and converts to Christianity, which
adds to Shylock's rage and hardens his resolve for revenge. In the
end - due to the efforts of Antonio's well-wisher, Portia - Shylock is
charged with attempted murder of a Christian, carrying a possible
death penalty, and Antonio is freed without punishment. Shylock is
then ordered to surrender half of his wealth and property to the
state and the other half to Antonio. However, as an act of "mercy",
Antonio modifies the verdict, asking Shylock to hand over only one-
half of his wealth - to him (Antonio) for his own as well as Lorenzo's
need - provided that he keeps two promises. First, Shylock has to
sign an agreement bequeathing all his remaining property to
Lorenzo and Jessica, which is to become effective after his demise,
and second, he is to immediately convert to Christianity. Shylock is
forced to agree to these terms, and he exits citing illness.

In Shakespeare's 'The Merchant of Venice,' Shylock is a stereotyped

Jewish merchant who is bent on revenge. In this lesson, you'll have
the chance to hear some of Shylock's monologues, which provide
clues to his character and the unusual bargain he strikes with a
fellow merchant.

Who Is Shylock?

Shylock is one of the main characters in William Shakespeare's The

Merchant of Venice, a Jewish merchant living in a predominantly
Christian environment. As the merchant, he exemplifies many
negative character traits that we abhor in others and in ourselves:
greed, jealousy and vengeance. Shylock's life revolves around
money. In fact, he has a reputation for charging too much interest on
loans.

We can find clues to Shylock's tragic character through his

monologues, which reveal his innermost thoughts. A 'How like a
fawning publican he looks!
I hate him for he is a Christian,
But more for that in low simplicity
He lends out money gratis and brings down
The rate of usance here with us in Venice.
If I can catch him once upon the hip,
I will feed fat the ancient grudge I bear him.
He hates our sacred nation, and he rails,
Even there where merchants most do congregate,
On me, my bargains and my well-won thrift,
Which he calls interest. Cursed be my tribe,
If I forgive him!'

In this monologue, Shylock reveals his resentment toward Antonio.

First, he states that he hates Antonio for his religious beliefs, or
simply because he is not Jewish. Shylock also hates Antonio because
he is honest: Antonio doesn't lend money at interest. As a result,
fewer people borrow from Shylock, who does charge interest.
Shylock hopes to entrap Antonio when Bassanio, Antonio's best
friend, asks Shylock for a loan that Antonio guarantees.

Shylock accuses Antonio of hating Jews, and there is some evidence

that Antonio does discriminate. Antonio has made it clear that he
dislikes the way Shylock does business. Shylock swears he will not
forgive Antonio for his actions.

The Loan

Antonio's best friend, Bassanio, needs money to win the hand of the
beautiful Portia, a wealthy heiress. Antonio's money is tied up in his
merchant ships abroad, so he cannot give his friend any money.
Shylock agrees to loan Bassanio 3,000 ducats, or gold coins, for
three months but requires Antonio to sign a notarized agreement. If
the loan is not paid on time, Shylock will cut off a pound of
Antonio's flesh. Antonio must not feel too worried, because he signs
the agreement. Most of us are familiar with the practices of loan
sharks, but Shylock takes it even further! He seriously intends to cut
off a pound of Antonio's flesh should he default on the loan.

Antonio's Bad Luck

As the story progresses, Antonio's ships are lost at sea, leaving him
unable to pay the debt. In the meantime, Bassanio succeeds in
winning Portia's hand, partially by passing a test her father devised
for her suitors.

When Bassanio finds out about Antonio's hard luck, Portia gives
him 6,000 ducats to pay off the loan and save Antonio's life.
However, Shylock is far more interested in revenge than money.
When his own daughter, Jessica, runs off with a Christian named
Lorenzo, Shylock is only concerned about the money and jewels she
takes with her, and not her safety.

Shylock's Justification

Shylock shows the depth of his resentment toward Antonio in this

monologue from Act 3, when Salarino, a fellow merchant, asks him
why he would want a pound of flesh from Antonio. Shylock says:
'To bait fish withal: if it will feed nothing else,
it will feed my revenge. He hath disgraced me, and
hindered me half a million; laughed at my losses,
mocked at my gains, scorned my nation, thwarted my
bargains, cooled my friends, heated mine
enemies; and what's his reason? I am a Jew. Hath
not a Jew eyes? Hath not a Jew hands, organs,
dimensions, senses, affections, passions? Fed with
the same food, hurt with the same weapons, subject
to the same diseases, healed by the same means,
warmed and cooled by the same winter and summer, as
a Christian is? If you prick us, do we not bleed?
If you tickle us, do we not laugh? If you poison
us, do we not die? And if you wrong us, shall we not
revenge? If we are like you in the rest, we will
resemble you in that. If a Jew wrong a Christian,
what is his humility? Revenge. If a Christian
wrong a Jew, what should his sufferance be by
Christian example? Why, revenge. The villany you
teach me, I will execute, and it shall go hard but I
will better the instruction'.

In his heart of hearts, Shylock believes that Antonio hates him

because he is Jewish. Whenever his business deals fail and Antonio's
prosper, Shylock becomes more and more obsessed with revenge. In
his monologue, Shylock continues to plead for equality, saying that
Jews have eyes, organs and senses and are capable of love.
Poignantly, he asks: 'If we prick us, do we not bleed?'

At this point, we can almost sympathize with Shylock. He is

revealing deep inner hurts that no doubt stem from the prejudice he's
experienced, due to his race and religion. Shylock believes his only
recourse is revenge, and he blames Christians for teaching him
revenge by example. As a result, he cannot be talked out of taking
his pound of flesh.