1st act: in venice the christian antonio is telling his friends that he has invested his

money in foreign trades. his friend bassanio is going to belmont to woo portia for
money. but he needs money to get to belmont, so he asks antonio for money. he
can't help him, so he asks shylock, a jewish moneylender, for money. he accepts
but tells him that if he won't return the money he will have to pay with a 'pund of
his flesh'
2nd act: bassanio got to belmont to woo portia, whom father, to
plot prevent her from an unsuitable marriage arranged the suitors to
choose between 3 boxes: a gold a silver and a lead one. one of them
has a portrait of portia inside, and the one that will find that will marry
portia. bassanio manage to find it. in venice shylock's daughter
jessica promise her love lorenzo to elope togethere.

3rd act: shylock is furious because jessica and lorenzo hava left
togethere. bassanio marries portia. antonio discovers that his ships
have been shipwrecked and can't repay shylock, so he ends up in
prison
love: for a friend such as bassanio and antonio. between
people with a different background such as jessica and 4th act: at court of venice portia ask shylock to accept her money in exchange of
lorenzo the freedom of antonio, but he refuses. so she tells him that he has to remove
only a pound of flesh, but with no blood, with is impossible. plus she poits that a
non citizen of venice is accusing a citizen. so the duke decides to confiscate
mercy, justice: mercy is presented in portia's shylock's lands and to give half of them to antonio and the other half to the state.
but antonio asks the duke to allow shylock to keep half of his lands if he converrts
speech and in antonio's suggestion to christianity and he also ask him to give the other half to jessica and lorenzo

themes characters
THE MERCHANT OF VENICE
greed: rapresented by shylock, who gives much more antonio: risks his wealth and reputation to
importance to his property and money than his own child help a friend

bassanio: wants to marry

venice: symbol of wealth and
portia only for her money
revenge: when shylock refuse portia's money and wants a associated with greed
pound of flesh of antonio instead of portia's money due to all
the discrimination he has been through shylock: is complex character. we can sense his humanity
throgh all the abuses he has been throght in a christian
belmont: a less serious setting, society. but his lack of mercy for antonio makes the viewer
where women have more power than cosidering him a bad character. he consider money more
in venice valuable then human relationships

setting