William

Shakespeare’s

An
Introduction
• Written by William Shakespeare
around 1597, The Merchant of
Venice is a "comedy" about a
bitter and detested Jewish
moneylender (Shylock) who seeks
revenge against a Christian
merchant who has defaulted on a
loan.
• Merchant's controversial and
painful subject matter has earned
it a reputation as a "problem play"
that continues to ask a series of
difficult questions 400 years after
it was first staged.
• For Shakespeare, writing to an English
audience about a Jewish moneylender
might have seemed unusual.
• Officially, there were no Jews in 16th
century England because they had
been banished in 1290 under the
Edict of Expulsion.
• Some studies suggest there were
fewer than 200 Jews in Elizabethan
England (only about 100 have been
identified by historians).
• Most of these Jews were outwardly
practicing Christians and many of
them were probably Marranos (Jews
who practiced their religion in secret).
• Antonio – a merchant of Venice
• Bassanio – Antonio's friend, in love
with Portia
• Gratiano, Solanio, Salarino, Salerio –
friends of Antonio and Bassanio
• Lorenzo – friend of Antonio and
Bassanio, in love with Jessica
• Portia – a rich heiress
• Nerissa – Portia's waiting maid- in
love with Gratiano
• Shylock – a rich Jew, moneylender,
father of Jessica
• Tubal – a Jew; Shylock's friend
• Jessica – daughter of Shylock, in love
with Lorenzo
• The story takes place entirely in
Venice, Italy.
• Although there’s no evidence that
Shakespeare ever travelled
abroad, he often set his plays in
foreign lands, and Italy was his
most-used destination.
• The Italian cities of Rome, Venice,
Padua, Verona, Mantua, and
Milan, all make appearances in
Shakespeare plays such as: The
Tempest, Two Gentlemen of
Verona, Much Ado About Nothing,
Julius Caesar, and Romeo & Juliet.
• Bassanio, a young Venetian of noble rank, Bassanio Portia
wishes to woo the beautiful and wealthy
heiress Portia of Belmont.
• Having squandered his estate, Bassanio
approaches his friend Antonio, a wealthy
merchant of Venice and a kind and
Antonio
generous person, who has previously and
repeatedly bailed him out, for three
thousand ducats needed to subsidize his
expenditures as a suitor.
Shylock
• Antonio agrees, but since he is cash-poor -
his ships and merchandise are busy at sea -
he promises to cover a bond if Bassanio
can find a lender, so Bassanio turns to the
Jewish moneylender Shylock and names
Antonio as the loan's guarantor.
• Shylock, who hates Antonio because of
his Anti-Judaism and Antonio's
customary refusal to borrow or lend
money with interest, is at first reluctant, Shylock Antonio
citing abuse he has suffered at Antonio's
hand, but finally agrees to lend Antonio
the sum without interest upon the
condition that if Antonio is unable to
repay it at the specified date, he may
Bassanio
take a pound of Antonio's flesh.
• Bassanio does not want Antonio to
accept such a risky condition; Antonio is
surprised by what he sees as the
moneylender's generosity (no "usance"
– interest – is asked for), and he signs
the contract.
• Meanwhile in Belmont, Portia is awash Portia
with suitors. Her father left a will
stipulating each of her suitors must choose
correctly from one of three caskets – one
each of gold, silver and lead. If he picks the Morocco Arragon
right casket, he gets Portia.
• The first suitor, the Prince of Morocco,
chooses the gold casket, interpreting its
slogan "Who chooseth me shall gain what
many men desire" as referring to Portia.
• The second suitor, the conceited Prince of
Arragon, chooses the silver casket, which
proclaims "Who chooseth me shall get as
much as he deserves", imagining himself to
be full of merit.
• Both suitors leave empty-handed.
• At Venice, Antonio's ships are reported lost
at sea.
• This leaves him unable to satisfy the bond.
Shylock is even more determined to exact
revenge from Christians after his daughter
Jessica had fled home and eloped with the
Christian Lorenzo, taking a substantial Antonio Shylock
amount of Shylock's wealth with her, as
well as a prized turquoise ring which was a
gift to Shylock from his late wife, Leah.
• Shylock has Antonio brought before court
demanding that he be paid, not with
money, but with the pound of flesh
Antonio agreed upon, to be cut from his
living body.
• Between these two wildly disparate
plotlines, mixing both high comedy and
disturbing tragedy, audiences can easily
become uncomfortable, or confused by
what they’re supposed to be feeling while
watching the play.
• However, in the hands of a masterful
director and actors, the two halves of the
story compliment each other, each one
relieving the tensions created by it’s
opposite storyline.
• And the character of Shylock, who for years
was seen as an Anti-Semitic caricature, is
now seen as one of the most complex, and
sympathetic villains in Shakespeare’s
oeuvre.
 You have too much respect upon the world:
They lose it that do buy it with much care.
The Merchant of Venice. Act i. Sc. 1.
I hold the world but as the world, Gratiano,—
A stage, where every man must play a part;
And mine a sad one.
The Merchant of Venice. Act i. Sc. 1.
I do know of these
That therefore only are reputed wise
For saying nothing.
The Merchant of Venice. Act i. Sc. 1.
God made him, and therefore let him pass for a man.
The Merchant of Venice. Act i. Sc. 2.
I will buy with you, sell with you, talk with you, walk
with you, and so following; but I will not eat with you,
drink with you, nor pray with you.
The Merchant of Venice. Act i. Sc. 3.
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.
The Merchant of Venice. Act i. Sc. 3.
The devil can cite Scripture for his purpose.
The Merchant of Venice. Act i. Sc. 3.
A goodly apple rotten at the heart:
O, what a goodly outside falsehood hath!
The Merchant of Venice. Act i. Sc. 3.
All that glisters is not gold.
The Merchant of Venice. Act ii. Sc. 7.
Must I hold a candle to my shames?
The Merchant of Venice. Act ii. Sc. 6.
But love is blind, and lovers cannot see
The pretty follies that themselves commit.
The Merchant of Venice. Act ii. Sc. 6.
 If it will feed nothing else, it will feed my revenge.
The Merchant of Venice. Act iii. Sc. 1.
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.
The Merchant of Venice. Act iii. Sc. 1.
The villany you teach me I will execute, and it shall go
hard, but I will better the instruction.
The Merchant of Venice. Act iii. Sc. 1
There is no vice so simple but assumes
Some mark of virtue in his outward parts.
The Merchant of Venice. Act iii. Sc. 2.
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.
’T is mightiest in the mightiest: it becomes
The throned monarch better than his crown;
…It is enthroned in the hearts of kings,
It is an attribute to God himself;
…Therefore, Jew,
Though justice be thy plea, consider this,
That in the course of justice none of us
Should see salvation: we do pray for mercy;
And that same prayer doth teach us all to render
The deeds of mercy.
The Merchant of Venice. Act iv. Sc. 1.
• The Merchant of Venice contains one of
Shakespeare’s most powerful speeches,
called “The Quality Of Mercy” – it’s given
by Portia, who, disguised as a young, male
lawyer, is arguing the case against Shylock.
• It is saying that Mercy, like the rain, falls on
everyone. No matter what the person is or
has done, they are still given mercy. Kings
fear it because it doesn't make them better
than everyone else and both God and
Humans can offer mercy.
• Here’s an example of a young girl reciting
the speech from memory, as you might
hear it in the play:
• The Merchant Of Venice has been a
popular subject for adaptions on film and
television, with twenty films being made,
the first in 1908! Other notable films
include:
• A 1973 version with Lawrence Olivier
• A 1980 version for the BBC’s Complete
Works of William Shakespeare series.
• A 2001 television adaption directed by
Trevor Nunn.
• Despite it’s many good qualities, it’s still
considered a difficult play to stage, and it
often engenders controversy over its
sensitive racial subject matter.
 A Nutsy The Squirrel Production
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