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Antonio is a wealthy and respected merchant of Venice. When his friend (and debtor) Bassanio, having squandered his own estate, approaches him with a proposal to reverse his fortunes, Antonio promises any assistance within his power. Bassanio describes a beautiful and virtuous -- and rich -- heiress named Portia, and begs a loan from Antonio with which to outfit himself to woo her.
His resources all tied up in various commercial ventures, Antonio agrees to borrow in his own name in order to supply Bassanio. The only lender they can locate is the rich Jew Shylock, who, despite years of abuse heaped upon him by Antonio and his circle, agrees to lend the required sum, with only a "merry bond," namely a pound of Antonio's flesh, as surety for the loan. Bassanio balks, but Antonio accepts the bargain as an act of unexpected kindness.
Meanwhile in Belmont, Portia's home beyond Venice, the lady bewails her peculiar fortune to her waiting gentlewoman, Nerissa. Portia's deceased father has decreed that his daughter can only be won in marriage by a kind of test: the man who chooses rightly from among three different caskets, of gold, silver and lead, can claim her, while he who fails must forever abjure the company of women. And though many noble suitors flock to Belmont, Portia remains unmoved by any. In her heart she remembers meeting Bassanio many years before.
There is trouble in the Venetian home of Shylock. Not only is his servant Lancelot debating whether to quit his service, but his daughter Jessica is secretly betrothed to Lorenzo, a Christian gentleman and friend to Antonio and Bassanio. Lancelot, assisted by his blind father, decides to flee his master and take service with Bassanio, who is preparing to sail to Belmont in the company of another friend, Graziano. Despite nagging worries, Shylock leaves home to dine with Antonio, not knowing that Jessica has already arranged by letter to elope with Lorenzo.
To win the hand of Portia, first the Prince of Morocco, then the Prince of Aragon, tries his luck with the caskets and fails. Portia, glad to be rid of them, learns that yet another suitor, this time a young Venetian, approaches Belmont.
In Venice, rumor circulates among the merchants on the Rialto. Shylock feels anguish at the loss of his daughter, and also of the money she took in her flight, and report makes jokes of his confused outcries. Antonio's tearful parting from Bassanio is also recounted, along with the unwelcome news that certain of his financial ventures have met with disaster. Shylock, certain that all the Christian gentlemen abetted Jessica's elopement and stung by accounts of her profligacy, focuses his hatred on Antonio, hoping to avenge himself should the merchant be forced to forfeit his bond.
Bassanio, meanwhile, is poised to try his luck with the casket test. He and Portia love each other, and despite their trepidations, resolve that the purity of his love will guide him to choose rightly. Their faith is justified when he opens the lead casket and finds her picture within, signaling his success. His companion Graziano is similarly satisfied; Nerissa has agreed to marry him, should Bassanio gain her mistress. Their joy is short-lived, however, when Lorenzo, Jessica and Salerio arrive from Venice with the news that Antonio's ships have all failed and he stands at the mercy of Shylock. The couples marry, the ladies give rings to their husbands, and Bassanio and Graziano set off at once to try to redeem Antonio. After their husbands depart, Portia leaves Lorenzo and Jessica in charge of Belmont. She and Nerissa secretly go to Venice, dressed as men.
Relying on the exact letter of Antonio's bond and the necessary inflexibility of Venetian law, Shylock proves an implacable adversary. The Duke of Venice presides over the court, and at a loss, turns to the expert advice of a young jurist from Padua, one Balthasar. After Shylock turns deaf ear to all exhortations to mercy and even swears to refuse repayment even at several times the amount due, Balthasar, who is in fact Portia disguised, admits that one pound of Antonio's flesh is due Shylock.
But Shylock's fixation on the letter of the law proves his undoing. His bond allows him exactly one pound, not the tiniest bit more or less, and not a drop of blood. Confounded in his quest for physical vengeance, his own oaths prevent his accepting any monetary redress. Moreover, his design on Antonio's life hazards his own state. Forced to convert to Christianity, to surrender half his estate to Antonio and deed the rest upon his death to Lorenzo and Jessica, he leaves the courtroom humbled. Finally, the disguised Portia and Nerissa inveigle their husbands into surrendering their wedding rings as payment for delivering their friend.
Portia and Nerissa, resuming their normal dress, return to Belmont just ahead of Bassanio, Graziano and Antonio. After welcoming Antonio, the ladies bait their husbands over their readiness to part with their rings, making great shows of petulance. When Portia and Nerissa amazingly prove to have the rings in their possession, all retire within to hear the role the ladies played in Antonio's emancipation.
J. Ripp
© Joseph Ripp,
This work is licensed under a
Creative Commons License.