Summary 1:

Antonio was a merchant who lived in the city of Venice. One day, his friend Bassiano asked him for a loan of
3.000 ducats. Bassiano planned to use the money to court the beautiful and wealthy Lady Portia of Belmont.
Antonio didn’t have the money, so he suggested they visit a moneylender called Shylock. Shylock was
despised by the people, who called him a dog and even spat upon him. He, in turn, hated the Venetians,
especially the merchant Antonio, who lent money free of charge.
But the three met and agreed on a deal. Antonio could have the money for 3 months. But if he failed to repay
it, Shylock would claim a pound of flesh cut from Antonio’s body in return. This was his revenge to for being
so ill-treated.
Bassiano got his loan and married Portia. But in the meantime, Antonio’s merchant ships were lost at sea and
he couldn’t raise the 3.000 ducats to pay back Shylock. This meant certain death.
So, at the end of three months, Shylock brought Antonio to court to claim his pound of flesh. But no one knew
that Bassiano’s new and cleaver wife, Portia, had disguised herself as the judge.
She agreed that Shylock could have the pound of flesh he claimed – but no more and no less. He wasn’t
allowed to spill even one drop of Antonio’s blood or he himself would die.
So Shylock’s plot to kill Antonio was foiled, and for his greed, he was ordered to pay half his money to the
government and half to Antonio. Shylock’s desire for revenge had ruined him.
Summary 2:
Antonio, a Venetian merchant, had invested all his money in foreign trade and when his friend Bassanio asked
him for some money so that he could woo corteggiare the woman he loved, Portia, Antonio reluctantly borrowed it
from Shylock. However, Shylock, who resented the Venetian attitude towards him, demanded that if Antonio
failed to repay him, he would have to give him ‘a pound of his flesh’. To win Portia, Bassanio had to choose
from three caskets, one made of gold, one of silver and the other one of lead. He chose the leaden chest and
won Portia. Meanwhile Antonio’s ships had failed to return, so he could not repay Shylock. The Jew was
determined to claim his pound of flesh from Antonio and so he took him to court. Antonio was arrested and
while he was in jail, Portia disguised herself as a lawyer and saved Antonio by arguing that Shylock was
entitled to his pound of flesh but had to take it without any blood as that had not been included in the
agreement. If he had taken any of Antonio’s blood, he would have been committing a capital crime. Shylock
was thus defeated and found guilty of threatening a Venetian with death. The Duke of Venice confiscated half
of Shylock’s remaining wealth to give it to his daughter Jessica and her love, Lorenzo. He then obliged Shylock
to become a Christian. The play ends with a meeting of all the positive characters of the play, accompanied
by music.
Summary 3:
Originally classified as a comedy, The Merchant of Venice is now considered Shakespeare’s most controversial
play. The plot is organised on two levels: the main plot is the dispute about a financial loan between the
Venetian Antonio and the Jewish moneylender Shylock. The subplot regards the choice of a husband by the
rich lady Portia, who lives in Belmont.
Act I
In a street in Venice the Christian Antonio was telling his friend Bassanio that he had invested all his money
in foreign trade. Bassiano was about to travel to Belmont to win Portia’s love. Before dying, Portia’s father
arranged for her suitors to choose among three caskets, or chests – one of gold, one of silver, and one of lead.
The suitor who chose the casket with Portia’s picture in it would get to marry her. Bassanio needed money for
his courtship, but Antonio couldn’t help him. They decided to ask Shylock, who agreed to lend him three
thousand ducats on condition that he will return them after three months. If Bassanio failed to repay him, then
Antonio would have to give a ‘pound of (his) flesh’ to Shylock.
Act II
Two of Portia’s suitors chose the wrong casket. The Prince of Morocco chose the gold one and the Prince of
Aragon selected the silver chest. At Shylock’s house in Venice his daughter, Jessica, gave the servant-clown
Launcelot a letter for her lover, Lorenzo, in which she promised to elope fuggire with him.
Act III
In Venice, Shylock was furious because Jessica had run away, taking his ducats and jewels. In Belmont,
Bassanio chose the lead casket and found the portrait of Portia in it. She agreed to marry him. Meanwhile,
Antonio’s ships had been shipwrecked, so he couldn’t repay the three thousand ducats. Shylock claimed his
flesh, and Antonio was put in jail in Venice.
Act IV
The trial took place at the court of the Duke of Venice. Portia, disguised as a lawyer, offered Shylock a huge
sum of money and tried to persuade him to drop the charge against Antonio, but Shylock refused. She therefore
agreed that he could have a pound of flesh from Antonio, but without spilling blood. Shylock realised he had
been tricked and moreover was now seen as a non-citizen of Venice who had threatened the life of one of its
citizens, Antonio. He was therefore subject to the death penalty. The Duke of Venice spared his life and allowed
him to keep half of his remaining wealth. However, he would have to convert to Christianity and give the
other half to Jessica and Lorenzo.
Act V
All of the positive characters were in front of Portia’s Belmont mansion and commented upon some of the
themes raised in the play. The play ended on a happy note with a musical accompaniment.
Domande:
• What did Bassanio need? He needed some money to travel to Belmont and woo Portia.
• Why did Shylock hate Antonio? Because Antonio was a Christian, because he lent out money gratis and lowered the usurer’s rate.
He also hated Shylock’s race and abused him both verbally and physically many times.
• How did Antonio call Shylock? He called Shylock a misbeliever and a cut-throat dog.
• What kind of test had Portia’s father planned? Her suitors had to choose among three caskets or chests: the suitor who chose the
one containing Portia’s picture would marry her.
• How much did Shylock lend Bassanio? Three thousand ducats.
• What would Shylock had demanded if he failed to repay him/What penalty did Shylock establish? If Antonio failed to repay him
in three months, Shylock would cut off a pound of Antonio’s flesh from where he pleased.
• Who eloped with Jessica? Her secret lover, Lorenzo.
• What chest did Bassanio choose? The leaden one, which contained Portia’s picture.
• Who disguised herself as a lawyer? Portia.
• What was Shylock forced to do at the end of the play? To convert to Christianity and give half of his wealth to Jessica and Lorenzo.
• What are the settings of the play? There are two settings in the play, that represent different attitudes to life: the merchant town of
Venice and Belmont, where Portia’s home is. In the 16th century, Venice was seen as a symbol of wealth and trade, but also
associated with greed by the English. Jews lived in the ghetto and had to wear a red hat to identify themselves. The town had strict
laws and was a world largely dominated by men. Belmont is a world of ideal love, where women seem to have more power than
in Venice. Portia’s house is the setting for the less serious scenes of the play, and it is where the lovers come together. While Venice
is full of business matters, Belmont is full of music, an idyllic place where love reigns.
• How can the characters be described? The Christian characters present an ambiguous picture. Antonio lent money free of interest,
and he risked his wealth and reputation for his friend Bassanio. Bassanio wanted to marry Portia mostly because he was in debt.
We also see that Christians like Antonio hated Jews simply because of their religion. While they may talk about mercy, love and
charity, they did not always show these qualities in their behaviour. Portia is a beautiful, clever heiress who embodied some heroic
features. She also showed courage by dressing up as a young man named Balthasar and presenting herself at court as a legal
scholar ruling on Antonio’s penalty. Jews had been banned from England in 1290, so Shakespeare’s contemporaries were familiar
only with stereotypes, which portrayed them as villains, usurers and objects of mockery. Shakespeare certainly drew on anti-
Semitic prejudice in portraying Shylock, but also created a complex character. The play humanised him by giving him a daughter,
a beloved wife who had died, and a friend he trusted, and also by depicting a society that despised him. Shakespeare showed that
his hatred of Christians was born out of the mistreatment he had suffered. He elicited pity and compassion rather than simply
scorn and derision. However, Shylock’s refusal to be merciful with Antonio prevents us from viewing him in a completely positive
light.
• What are the themes of the play? The play explores various types of love: the love between the friends Antonio and Bassanio,
parental love, and the romantic love that brings together people from different backgrounds. The play is also full of hatred.
Christians and Jews hate each other at all levels of society. Mercy is presented as an ideal and seen in its relationship with justice.
There is a Christian idea of mercy from the New Testament which says to ‘turn the other cheek’ rather than look for revenge.
Shylock’s view of justice, which seems to be derived from the Old Testament, is the complete opposite: it is ‘an eye for an eye’. The
theme of appearance vs reality is developed through the various disguises and deceptions and is also linked to the theme of value
and worth. The gold casket contains the famous line, ‘All that glisters is not gold’ while the lead casket, which has the least
monetary value, contains the prize.