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ICSE Class 10 English The Merchant of Venice Summary
We have provided below a summary of Chapter The Merchant of Venice. This is an important chapter in Standard 10th ICSE English. The summary provided below has been prepared by expert English faculty for ICSE based on the latest ICSE books. You should refer to all Chapter Summaries ICSE Class 10 English which will help you to understand all chapters and to get more marks in exams.
The Merchant of Venice ICSE Class 10 English
About the Author
William Shakespeare was born on 26th April, 1564. He was the son of John Shakespeare and Mary Arden. He was born and brought up in Stratford-upon-Avon. At the age of 18, he married Anne Hathaway and they had three children.
William Shakespeare was an English poet and a playwright. He is regarded as the greatest writer in the English language. He wrote 37 plays, 154 sonnets, two long narrative poems. His plays are divided into four main categories: comedies, tragedies, histories and romances. His characters were always fresh and life-like.
About the Play
“The Merchant of Venice” written by the great Elizabethan dramatist, William Shakespeare, between 1596 and 1598, is a comedy exploring the themes of love, money, prejudice and social injustice.
The play is classified as the comedy, because it shares the basic elements typical of all Shakespeare’s comedies. However, in words of Nicholas Rose, “There appears in [The Merchant of Venice] such a deadly spirit of revenge, such a savage fierceness and fellness, and such a bloody designation of cruelty and mischief, as cannot agree either with the style or characters of comedy.”
Bassanio, a noble but penniless Venetian, asks his wealthy merchant friend Antonio for a loan so that Bassanio can undertake a journey to woo the heiress, Portia. Antonio, whose money is invested in foreign ventures, borrows the sum from Shylock, a Jewish moneylender, on the condition that, if the loan cannot be repaid in time, Antonio will forfeit a pound of flesh.
Antonio is reluctant to do business with Shylock, whom he despises for lending money at interest unlike Antonio himself, who lends money without charging any interest; Antonio considers that lending at interest violates the very spirit of Christianity. Nevertheless, he needs Shylock’s money in order to be able to assist Bassanio.
Bassanio goes to Belmont and is able to successfully fulfil the terms of Portia’s father’s will’ by selecting from three caskets the one that contains her portrait. Two previous wooers, the Princes of Morocco and Arragon, have failed the casket test by choosing “what many men desire” or “what the chooser thinks he deserves”; Bassanio knows that he must paradoxically “give and hazard all he hath” to win the lady.
Bassanio and Portia marry; news arrives that Antonio’s ships have been lost at sea. Unable to collect all his loan, Shylock attempts to use the signed bond to enforce a terrible, murderous revenge on Antonio: he demands his pound of flesh.
Part of Shylock’s desire for vengeance is motivated by the way in which the Christians of the play have conspired together to enable his daughter Jessica to elope from his house, taking with her a substantial portion of his wealth, in order to become the bride of the Christian Lorenzo.
Shylock’s revengeful plan is foiled by Portia, who disguised as a lawyer, turns the tables on Shylock by a legal quibble: he must take flesh only, and Shylock must die if any blood is spilled. Thus, the contract is cancelled, and Shylock is ordered to give half of his estate to Antonio, who agrees not to take the money if Shylock converts to Christianity and restores his disinherited daughter to his will. Shylock has little choice but to agree. The play ends with the news that some of Antonio’s ships have arrived safely.
The character of Shylock has been the subject of modern scholarly debate over whether the playwright displays anti-Semitism or religious tolerance in his characterization, for, despite his stereotypical depiction as a shrewd and greedy moneylender, Shylock is depicted as understandably full of hate, having been both verbally and physically abused by Christians, and he is given one of Shakespeare’s most eloquent speeches (“Hath not a Jew eyes?…”).
Shylock is the embodiment of justice. His nature knows no mercy as none is ever shown to him. In business and religion, Shylock is under a ban. The object of centuries of injustice and abuse, he is the very incarnation of hatred. He holds rigidly to the law, for the reason that it is all the protection he has, and for the further reason that his religion is one of stern obedience to form. He would murder Antonio, legally, because Antonio stands for all that he hates, and personally, because of Antonio’s ill-treatment of himself.
Shylock is no stupid, brutal, miserly thief. Shakespeare has made him the mouthpiece for rallying against the anti-christian traits of those who proclaim themselves to be Christians.
Meanwhile, Shakespeare seems in Portia to have realized his best conception of womankind. There is in her a sweetness and dignity and tenderness that characterizes her as belonging to the highest type of womanhood. Wherever she moves there emanates, the grace of one “to the manor born,” the embodiment of wealth and luxurious elegance. Added to these is a fine intelligence. Self-reliance, wit, clear judgment, penetration, firmness, hopefulness and mercy, combine in her to form a superior character. Because she typifies the true wife, all Bassanio’s interests are hers, and she undertakes the most daring and difficult task to liberate Antonio.
Summary of the Play
Antonio, a leading merchant of Venice, is a wealthy, respected, and popular man. Among his many friends is a young man named Bassanio, who owes Antonio a good deal of money. Bassanio would like to repay his friend, but so far he has been unable to do so. However, he now feels that he may have find a way — but he will again need a loan from Antonio.
In Belmont, Bassanio tells Antonio, there lives a beautiful, young and wealthy heiress. Bassanio feels sure that he can win her hand in marriage, but he cannot go courting “hands-hanging.” If he is to make a good impression, he has to appear at least as well off as her other wealthy suitors.
Antonio tells his young friend that he would gladly lend him whatever amount of money he needs, but at the present time he himself is short of cash. All of his money is tied up in his merchant ships, which are still at sea. However, Antonio will not disappoint Bassanio. He knows of a moneylender who will probably lend him the necessary amount, and Bassanio can use Antonio’s good name as security for the loan.
At Belmont, Portia speaks to Nerissa, her confidante, telling her how tired she is of the constant stream of suitors, and how she wishes to be free of the perverse obligation of her father’s will: Portia cannot choose her own husband; she can marry only the man who chooses the correct one of three caskets — one gold, one silver, and one lead; one contains her portrait and that one is the lucky casket. So far, none of her suitors has decided to risk choosing one of the caskets, which is all for the good, because Portia has no liking for anyone of them. However, when Nerissa mentions the name of Bassanio, a possible suitor, Portia’s mood brightens. He, one once met a visitor at Belmont, and Portia, was impressed with him.
Meanwhile in Venice, Shylock, a rich Jewish moneylender who harbours a secret hatred for Antonio, has agreed to lend Bassanio three thousand ducats for three months, on Antonio’s bond. Foregoing his usual high interest rate, Shylock demands instead, that if the day for payment falls due and the money is not returned, he may cut off one pound of flesh from Antonio’s body. Antonio agrees, because all of his ships are due back in Venice a full month before the bond falls due.
A romantic subplot develops when Lorenzo, a close friend of Antonio and Bassanio,
falls in love with Shylock’s daughter, Jessica. He manages to elope with her by disguising as a boy, and she manages to take with her a goodly amount of her father’s ducats.
Of course, this infuriates Shylock, and he vows revenge. Shortly thereafter, Bassanio and Gratiano leave for Belmont, where the “fair Portia” has just sent away the Prince of Morocco and the Prince of Arragon, two more disappointed, unsuccessful suitors.
When Bassanio asks to choose one of the caskets, Portia falls immediately in love with him, and she begs him to wait a few days before choosing one of the caskets. He has fallen in love with Portia and insists on taking his chances. He rejects the gold one, then the silver one; he chooses, finally, the lead casket, and on opening it, he finds a portrait of Portia. Both, he and Portia, are overjoyed, and they make plans to be married at once, along with Nerissa and Gratiano, who have also fallen in love. Happiness reigns in Belmont until Bassanio is brought a letter from Antonio bidding him farewell since his ships have been lost at sea and, since it is impossible that he will live after Shylock collects his pound of flesh. Horrified, Bassanio leaves instantly for Venice with money which Portia gives him to pay the bond.
In Venice, Shylock is no longer interested in the mere payment of the money due to him. He wants revenge. A Christian stole his daughter (and she took his money), and nothing will satisfy Shylock except the legal fulfilment of the bond. In the court of justice, presided over by the Duke of Venice, Shylock faces his enemy, Antonio. Antonio is surrounded by his friends and is quietly resigned to death. On all sides, Shylock is surrounded by enemies. Bassanio pleads with Shylock to accept double the money due to him, but Shylock refuses.
At this point, Portia, disguised as a lawyer, and Nerissa, dressed as her law clerk, enter the court and tell the Duke that they have been sent from Padua by a learned attorney, Doctor Bellario, to plead the defendant’s case. Portia entreats Shylock to be merciful, but he will not listen. She offers the moneylender triple the amount owed to him, but again Shylock will have none of it. She then solemnly informs the court that Shylock is entirely within his lawful rights.
She then informs Shylock that he must be very careful. He must cutoff exactly one pound of flesh, and he must not spill one drop of Antonio’s blood. If he fails, all of Shylock’s lands and goods will be confiscated. Shylock hastily decides that he will accept the triple payment of the bond, but Portia says no; Shylock then offers to take only the original three thousand ducats, but again Portia refuses, reminding him that it was he himself who demanded the strict interpretation of the law. Furthermore, she says, the law has another hold on him. Since he is an alien in Venice and since he tried to “seek the life” of a Venetian citizen, all his wealth can be divided between the citizen whom he attempted to destroy and the public treasury; in addition, Shylock’s own life is in peril because of what he attempted to do.
The Duke decides to spare Shylock’s life, but he does give half of Shylock’s money to Antonio, and he gives the rest of it to the State. Antonio says that he will not accept the money if Shylock will agree to become a Christian and if, in his will, he will agree to leave his money to his daughter, Jessica, and her new husband, Lorenzo. Shylock, broken and defeated, agrees to all these conditions and leaves the court.
Overjoyed, Antonio and his friends offer to pay the young lawyer whatever they can, but, oddly enough, the lawyer wishes only a certain ring which Bassanio is wearing. Bassanio is embarrassed because his wife gave this ring to him and asked him to wear it always. But the lawyer insists and, finally, Bassanio reluctantly gives away Portia’s ring. Nerissa likewise, cleverly manages to get from Gratiano a ring she gave him. The two ladies then hasten back to Belmont to tease their husbands about the rings.
When Bassanio and Gratiano, along with Antonio, return to Belmont, their wives inquire about the missing rings. Portia and Nerissa insist that the men, no doubt gave the rings away to two other women. The husbands swear that it is not true, and it is not until Portia and Nerissa have put their husbands through some long, comically agonizing moments of discomfort that they confess that they themselves were the “learned doctor” and the “clerk” to whom the rings were given. Thus, all ends happily, as Portia gives Antonio a letter informing him that three of his ships have arrived safely in port.
Major Characters
Shylock
Shylock is a Jewish moneylender in Venice who has been embittered by years of abuse at the hands of Venetian Christians and Antonio, the merchant, in particular. Shylock’s anger and bitterness lead him to sign a contract with Antonio, in which Antonio puts up a pound of his own flesh as collateral for a loan. When Antonio can’t cover his loan, Shylock refuses to show any mercy and insists that the law be upheld and that he get to take his pound of flesh. The other characters, including Shylock’s own daughter, Jessica, consider him to be inhuman—bestial or demonic. However, their treatment of Shylock helps illuminate the prejudice and hypocrisy that lies behind many of their stated ideals of human brotherhood and Christian fellowship.
Antonio
Antonio is a prosperous Venetian merchant, liked and admired by his fellow citizens. To help his friend Bassanio woo Portia, Antonio signs a contract with Shylock, guaranteeing a loan with one pound of his own flesh as collateral. Many critics argue that Antonio harbours an unrequited erotic desire for Bassanio. In contrast to the benevolence that he shows others, Antonio expresses an intense hatred for Shylock and the Jews, though at the end of the play he does agree that Shylock should be shown mercy and not be condemned to death.
Portia
Portia is a beautiful, clever, and wealthy noble woman who lives at a country estate in Belmont, outside Venice. Portia is bound by a clause in her father’s will, which obligates her to marry whoever solves the so-called riddle of the caskets, by choosing the correct chest from, one of gold, one of silver, and one of lead. After despairing over a parade of suitors whom she finds distasteful, Portia does get to marry her true love, Bassanio, who happily makes the correct choice. She also saves Antonio’s life, during his trial with Shylock, dressed up as a lawyer named Balthazar. For centuries, Portia was admired as an ideal of feminine virtue. However, many modern critics have pointed out that Portia, though seemingly a genius and a perfect wife, regularly displays a vicious prejudice toward non-Christians and foreigners.
Bassanio
Bassanio is a nobleman from Venice, who is a kinsman, close friend, and long-time debtor of the merchant, Antonio. Because he wants to woo the noble Portia, but cannot afford to do so, Bassanio borrows 3000 ducats from Shylock, with Antonio as his guarantor. His status as Portia’s suitor and, later, her husband, makes Bassanio the romantic hero of the play. However, his character is deeply flawed. At best clueless, and at worst consciously selfish and manipulative, he always manages to avoid earning his own way : first, he exploits the generosity of his friend Antonio, and then he freely passes on the money and gifts that Portia gives him.
Minor Characters
Gratiano – is a notoriously vulgar Venetian and friend of Bassanio. While Bassanio courts Portia, Gratiano falls in love with Nerissa and eventually marries her.
Jessica – is Shylock’s daughter, who moves from merely disdaining her father to actually robbing him, eloping with a Christian Venetian, Lorenzo, and converting to Christianity.
Lorenzo – is a Venetian and friend of Bassanio and Antonio, who is in love with Shylock’s daughter Jessica. Lorenzo elopes with Jessica, taking money and precious items that she has stolen from her father.
Nerissa – is Portia’s servant and confidante, Nerissa ultimately marries Bassanio’s companion, Gratiano.
Launcelot Gobbo – is a clownish servant, who leaves Shylock in order to work for Bassanio.
Salerio – is a Venetian nobleman, friendly with Antonio, Bassanio, Gratiano, and Lorenzo.
Solanio – is a Venetian nobleman and who is also a good friend of Salerio.
Prince of Morocco – is a Moorish prince who comes to woo Portia at Belmont. He asks Portia not to judge him by the colour of his skin, but incorrectly picks the gold casket.
Prince of Arragon – is a Spanish nobleman who woos Portia at Belmont. He incorrectly picks the silver casket.
Duke of Venice – presides over the trial of Antonio. Though the Duke attempts to persuade Shylock to show Antonio mercy, he knows that Venice’s commercial interests depend on a consistent application of its laws, so he can’t make an exception to help Antonio.
Old Gobbo – is Launcelot’s blind father
Tubal – is a Jew in Venice, and Shylock’s sole friend and confidante during the course of the play.
Doctor Bellario – is Portia’s cousin and a well-respected lawyer in Padua. He never appears on stage.
Balthazar – is the servant Portia sends to obtain her letters of introduction and costume from Bellario. Balthazar is also the name Portia takes when she impersonates a lawyer at court.
Act Wise Summary of the Play
ACT I, Scene I.
Venue — Venice
Characters — Antonio, Salerio, Solanio, Bassanio, Lorenzo, Gratiano
Antonio, a Merchant of Venice, talks of his sadness with his friends Salerio and Solanio, who believe that his heavy investments at sea must cause him worry. When he says that it doesn’t bother him, since his wealth isn’t invested in just one ship, they claim he must be in love. Antonio shrugs this off as well. When Bassanio enters, he tells Antonio of Portia, a rich and beautiful woman he has fallen in love with, and, although he has borrowed money from Antonio before and hasn’t paid it back, asks to borrow money again so that he may court her, and thus, have enough money to pay Antonio back completely. Even though Antonio’s money is tied up in the ships, he allows Bassanio to see what kind of loan he can secure with Antonio’s credit.
Word Meanings :
ACT I, Scene II.
Venue — Belmont
Characters — Portia, Nerissa
In Belmont, Portia complains to her servant Nerissa that she cannot choose her own husband; her dead father has stipulated in his will that Portia’s suitors must pass a test in which they must choose among three caskets—one lead, one silver, and one gold, to find which one contains her portrait. The one who chooses correctly will become Portia’s husband and inherit her fortune, but if the suitors fail, they may never marry. Portia and Nerissa discuss the faults of suitors who have come and gone, and remembered Bassanio as one who might be worthy to be her husband.
Word Meanings :
ACT I, Scene III.
Venue — Venice
Characters — Bassanio, Shylock, Antonio
Shylock agrees to lend Bassanio three thousand ducats for three months based on Antonio’s credit but is skeptical, since all of Antonio’s assets are tied up at sea. He confesses in an aside that he hates Antonio, because he is a Christian who lends money without interest, which makes Shylock’s profession as a moneylender difficult. Shylock has also been offended by Antonio’s public, physical and verbal assaults against him for usury, which is considered a sin by Christians. When Shylock points out Antonio’s hypocrisy, Antonio points out he makes the exception for Bassanio, not for himself.
Word Meanings :
ACT II, Scene I.
Venue — Belmont
Characters — Portia, the Prince of Morocco
Prince of Morocco has come to take the casket challenge to win Portia’s hand, but she tells him that if he fails, he may never marry.
ACT II, Scene II.
Venue — Venice
Characters — Launcelot, the Old Gobbo, Bassanio, Lorenzo, Gratiano
Launcelot Gobbo, Shylock’s servant, ponders running away from Shylock to serve another master. He encounters his father, Old Gobbo, who is nearly blind and doesn’t recognize his son. Launcelot plays a trick on his father, misdirecting him and pretending that Launcelot is dead, but soon reveals himself and asks for his father’s blessings. During their reunion, Launcelot begs Bassanio to have him as a servant.
Bassanio then sees Gratiano, who asks to go to Belmont with Bassanio. Bassanio allows Gratiano to accompany him, making clear, however, that Gratiano needs to be at his best behaviour, since he has a reputation for being a wild man. Gratiano agrees, but asks that his behaviour not be judged on the basis of partying they plan to do that night.
Word Meanings :
ACT II, Scene III.
Venue — Venice
Characters — Jessica, Launcelot
Jessica tells Launcelot that she too, plans to run away from her father’s house with Bassanio’s friend Lorenzo.
Word Meanings :
ACT II, Scene IV.
Venue — Venice
Characters — Lorenzo, Gratiano, Salerio, Solario, Launcelot
Lorenzo, Gratiano, Salerio and Salanio make plans for the masquerade, a Shrove Tuesday (Mardi Gras) celebration, discussing whether or not they should arrange for torchbearers. Launcelot, on his way to invite Shylock to dine with Bassanio, arrives with Jessica’s letter detailing her plans for escape, which includes taking her father’s gold and jewels. Lorenzo tells Gratiano that Jessica will be disguised as a page and will serve as a torchbearer during the night’s festivities.
Word Meanings :
ACT II, Scene V.
Venue — Venice
Characters — Shylock, Jessica, Launcelot
Shylock reacts angrily to Launcelot’s leaving him, but accepts the invitation to eat with Bassanio despite some nagging premonitions. Launcelot hints to Shylock that there will be a Shrove Tuesday masquerade that night, and Shylock orders Jessica to lock up the house so as to avoid getting robbed by the revellers. Launcelot tells Jessica that Lorenzo will go through with their plans.
Word Meanings :
ACT II, Scene VI.
Venue — Venice
Characters — Gratiano, Salerio, Lorenzo, Jessica
Gratiano and Salerio meet Lorenzo outside Shylock’s house, in order to help Jessica, now dressed as a young man, escape with a casket of Shylock’s gold and jewels. As Gratiano is about to leave for the revelries, Antonio catches him, saying that Bassanio’s ship is about to depart, so he’d better skip the festivities.
Word Meanings :
ACT II, Scene VII.
Venue — Belmont
Characters — Portia, the Prince of Morocco
In Belmont, Morocco
enters the lottery to win Portia’s hand in marriage. He reads the inscriptions on each of the casket and selects the gold one, whose inscription reads, “Who chooseth me shall gain what many men desire”. Since the gold casket is made of such a valuable material, he reasons, it is the only one fit to contain Portia’s image. When he opens the casket, he finds a skull with a scroll in the eye socket. When he leaves, Portia declares that she hopes that all “men of his complexion” choose the same way.
Word Meanings :
ACT II, Scene VIII.
Venue — Venice
Characters — Salerio, Solanio
In one of the most racially charged scenes
in the play, Solanio, recounts for Salerio, Shylock’s reaction to Jessica’s theft and elopement. Solanio hopes Antonio is able to pay his debt, but Salerio has heard a rumour that Antonio’s ships have capsized. Salerio remembers how hard it was for Bassanio to leave Antonio, and the two decide to tell Antonio what they’ve heard, but to try to break the news to him gently.
Word Meanings :
ACT II, Scene IX.
Venue — Belmont
Characters — Portia, The Prince of Arragon
Arragon undergoes the casket test and selects the silver casket, which reveals a portrait of a “blinking idiot.” As soon as Arragon leaves, word comes that Bassanio has arrived to try the test.
Word Meanings :
ACT III, Scene I.
Venue — Venice
Characters — Salerio, Solanio, Shylock, Salerio, Tubal
Solanio and Salerio have heard reports that confirm that Antonio’s ships have indeed wrecked, and they are concerned about his bond with Shylock. Shylock, still reeling from his daughter’s escape, hears from Salerio about Antonio’s bad fortune, and his grief turns to anger. Salerio questions whether Shylock will really take his pound of flesh from Antonio, and Shylock responds that he will take it in revenge, just as a Christian would (“Hath not a Jew” speech, ll.50-69). Tubal, another Jew, confirms Antonio’s shipwrecks and tells Shylock that he hasn’t found Jessica, but has heard that she has spent 80 ducats in one night and has traded her mother’s ring for a monkey.
Enraged, Shylock gets an officer to arrest Antonio in order to collect his bond.
Word Meanings :
ACT III, Scene II.
Venue — Belmont
Characters — Portia, Bassanio, Nerissa, Gratiano.
Bassanio arrives in Belmont to vie for Portia’s hand, and she tries to delay his choice so as to spend more time with him in case he chooses incorrectly. She wishes she could teach him how to choose, and in fact gives him clues in her song, but will not defy the letter of the law of her father’s will. When Bassanio chooses correctly, Gratiano reveals that he is in love with Nerissa, completing the third romantic couple of the play. Lorenzo, Jessica, Salerio, and a messenger arrive from Venice, and Bassanio receives the news that Antonio has been arrested. Portia offers to repay the debt even twenty times over, and Bassanio makes plans to return to Venice to try to rescue his friend.
Word Meanings :
ACT III, Scene III.
Venue — Venice
Characters — Shylock, Antonio, Solanio
Shylock takes Antonio to jail, with Antonio pleading for mercy in vain. Solanio and Antonio discuss whether the Duke will dismiss the case, but Antonio believes the law will hold.
Word Meanings :
ACT III, Scene IV.
Venue — Belmont
Characters — Portia, Lorenzo, Nerissa
Portia leaves her estate in the hands of Lorenzo while pretending to stay at a monastery a few miles away during
their husbands’ absence. Instead, she gets documents and legal clothing from her lawyer cousin so she and Nerissa may go to Venice. Portia promises that she will divulge her plan on the way to Venice.
Word Meanings :
ACT III, Scene V.
Venue — Belmont
Characters — Launcelot, Jessica, Lorenzo
In a scriptural debate, Launcelot tells Jessica that he believes that she is damned for her father’s sins, but she asserts that because of her husband, she will not be. Launcelot complains about the conversion of the Jews, which, since they will not be forbidden to eat pork, will raise the price of bacon. Lorenzo enters and berates Launcelot for getting a Moorish servant pregnant.
He suddenly tur ns to Jessica then and asks her, “How dost thou like the Lord Bassanio’s wife?” Jessica praises Portia as being without equal on earth. Lorenzo jokingly responds, “Even such a husband / Hast thou of me as she is for a wife.” Jessica is ready to comment to his teasing when he urges her to save her comments “for table-talk.” So with loving jests, they go in to dinner.
Word Meanings :
ACT IV, Scene I.
Venue — Venice
Characters — Shylock, The Duke, Portia, Nerissa, Antonio, Bassanio, Gratiano
Shylock refuses to dismiss the bond, even for repayment of twice the original loan. The Duke tries to reason with Shylock, asking him to have mercy in order to gain mercy, but Shylock argues that, since he has purchased his pound of flesh, it is his to do with as he likes.
Portia and Nerissa show up disguised, respectively as a young lawyer and a clerk, just as the Duke is ready to allow Shylock to claim his bond. Portia acknowledges the bond, but appeals to Shylock with her “quality of mercy is not strained” speech. When he refuses, Portia says the law must be upheld, but asks him to reconsider mercy. Still, he demands his bond.
As Shylock prepares his knife and the scales on which to weigh the flesh, Antonio bids a passion-filled farewell to Bassanio, who declares that he would give up his wife to keep Antonio alive, to Portia and Nerissa’s chagrin.
As the sentence comes down, Portia reveals the loopholes in the law: not a drop of blood may be spilled with the taking of the pound of flesh; and precisely a pound of flesh may be taken, no more or less. Otherwise, all his possessions will be confiscated by the state of Venice. When Shylock backpedals, trying to take the payment rather than the bond, Portia shows no mercy. Furthermore, since Shylock has essentially plotted murder, his property will be split between Antonio and the State, and he is subject to the death penalty. The Duke allows him to live but requires that not only should Shylock’s property be willed to Lorenzo and Jessica, but that Shylock become a Christian as well. Shylock assents, saying, “I am not well”.
Antonio and Bassanio offer to pay the disguised Portia and Nerissa for their help. They refuse, but Portia agrees to take Antonio’s gloves, asking Bassanio for his wedding ring. Bassanio initially refuses, but recants, sending Gratiano to deliver the ring.
Word Meanings :
ACT IV, Scene II.
Venue — Venice
Characters — Portia, Nerissa, Gratiano
Portia and Nerissa deliver the deed for Shylock to sign. Gratiano catches up to deliver Bassanio’s ring to them. Nerissa decides to get Gratiano to give up his ring, and both plot to make the men sorry for what they ever did.
Word Meanings :
ACT V, Scene I.
Venue — Belmont
Characters — Portia, Lorenzo, Jessica, Nerissa, Antonio, Bassanio, Gratiano
In Portia’s garden, Lorenzo and Jessica compare themselves to famous romantic couples of myth and literature. When servants inform them of their masters’ arrivals, Lorenzo asks for music with which to greet Portia, noting its power to charm.
Portia and Nerissa arrive, warning the servants not to mention their absence. Upon his return, Bassanio introduces the women to Antonio. Portia and Nerissa quarrel with Bassanio and Gratiano respectively, about their missing rings, withholding their husbands’ marital privileges until they have their rings back. In fact, both women confess they slept with the lawyer and his clerk to retrieve their rings.
Before the men are too shocked at their wives’ “unfaithfulness,” Portia shows them a letter from her lawyer cousin explaining their roles in saving Antonio’s life. In true romantic form, Antonio’s ships miraculously return, Lorenzo and Jessica learn they will inherit Shylock’s fortune, and everyone retires to bed as morning comes.
Word Meanings :
