The Merchant of Venice

The Merchant of Venice is one of Shakespeare’s most celebrated plays. Shylock, a Jewish moneylender, agrees to lend Bassanio three thousand ducats to court his love Portia, provided the rich merchant Antonio act as his guarantor. However, should the loan go unpaid, Shylock will be compensated in the form of a pound of Antonio’s own flesh. This stipulation leads to one of the greatest dramatic monologues in theater history, Shylock’s “Hath a Jew not eyes?” speech. The Merchant of Venice bears all the hallmarks of a Shakespearean comedy, but with deeply moving scenes and a sympathetic villian, the play becomes one of the bard’s most complicated and interesting works of art.