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BOOK REVIEW: The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare

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This story hinges on the (now proverbial) pound of flesh. Bassanio is a poor gentleman in love with a rich lady, Portia. While Bassanio is upfront with Portia about his poverty — and she could care less — he can’t bring himself to propose to her without a few coins to his name. So, he goes to Antonio, the titular merchant of Venice and a close friend, and asks for a loan. Antonio is free and easy about making loans without requiring interest payments. Antonio says he’d gladly hand over the money to Bassanio, but all his money is tied up in his ships at sea. He, furthermore, tells Bassanio that if anyone will make him loan, the merchant can easily cover it. Antonio has tons of merchandise arriving in the next couple months from all around the world. The loan amount is small compared to what Antonio intends to earn from selling his goods.

The problem is that the only other game in town for loans is a Scrooge-esque lender named Shylock. Shylock is hard enough to deal with as it is, but he has it in for Antonio, in particular. Besides the fact that Antonio frequently offers interest-free loans — cutting into Shylock’s business — Antonio has also kept Shylock from collecting collateral by paying off other people’s loans before said loans went into default. (Maybe that’s why there were no other lenders in all of Venice?) To be fair, Shylock claims that his gripe with Antonio is that the latter is always leveling antisemitic slurs and other insults at the lender. At any rate, Shylock says he’ll make the loan of 3,000 Ducats, but, instead of ship or merchandise, he requires a pound of flesh as bond. Antonio, for reasons of friendship and the fact that he believes he will have a windfall by then, agrees to Shylock’s terms. If he doesn’t repay the 3,000 ducats in three months, Antonio will have a pound of flesh cut from his chest.

[Spoilers follow.] Bassanio takes the cash and goes traveling to make his proposal. First, he is required to play a “Let’s Make a Deal” game in order to earn the opportunity to wed Portia. The game involves three boxes (i.e. caskets): one of gold, one of silver, and one of lead. Inside one of them is a portrait of Portia, but the others are losers. All a prospective suitor has to go by is a brief inscription. By the time Bassanio arrives the reader has seen two Princes’s failed attempts at this courtship game. The inscriptions with the gold and silver boxes flatter Portia and the suitor, respectively. The inscription on the leaden box acknowledges that the marriage will not be all sunshine and roses, and that is the box Bassanio has the wisdom to choose. Unfortunately, shortly after he does so, he learns that a couple of Antonio’s ships wrecked at sea and the others haven’t been heard from, and – by now – the loan is in default.

Bassanio heads out to Venice with triple the Shylock’s money from his generous and wealthy new wife, planning to dispose of the situation. However, Shylock won’t budge on the terms of the bond. A drama plays out in the courtroom. Portia, anticipating the Shylock might not take the lucrative offer, has her butler take a letter to a legal expert and has said servant return with the lawyer’s reply posthaste. Portia and her handmaid disguise themselves as men – a lawyer and legal clerk, respectively – and catch up with the legal proceedings in Venice. After no one (i.e. the Duke, Bassanio, nor Portia-in-disguise as lawyer) is able to reason with the Shylock, Portia-as-lawyer tells him that he may proceed with cutting away the pound of flesh. However, the bond document says nothing about blood. So, if Shylock spills any of Antonio’s blood, he will be guilty of assault (at the least) and murder in the likely event that Antonio dies. Not to mention, going an ounce over a pound would be a breach of contract to be severely countered. This turns the tables, and Antonio and friends end up exploiting the situation to force the Shylock to convert religion as well as dictating the disposition of the lender’s estate (not to mention he’s still out his 3,000 ducats.)

[Spoiler end.] This play has a tense story line, particularly for a comedy, and is a gripping read. However, it’s also one of the most controversial Shakespearean works for its antisemitic and racist comments. On the other hand, there are reasons to believe that Shakespeare might have been engaging in satire. First, I mentioned that Shylock doesn’t cite loss of business as his quarrel with Antonio, but rather that the merchant has repeatedly insulted and slandered him. While we don’t see direct evidence of this behavior, the fact that Antonio rapes Shylock with his religion (by that I mean forcing a conversion using the threat of State force,) makes it ring true. Second, but continuing on this theme, there are a number of points during which the Shylock is sympathetic, most notably the famous “If you prick us, do we not bleed?…” monologue. Third, we learn that Shylock has a delightful daughter named Jessica, leading the reader to the conclusion that perhaps Shylock isn’t a jerk because he’s a Jew, but is a jerk who happens to be a Jew. Finally, the degree to which Antonio and his friends rake Shylock over the coals at the end of the court scene tarnishes Antonio’s virtue and makes Shylock sympathetic once again. The “turn the other cheek” approach of Christianity gives way to Old Testament vengefulness.

Like many of Shakespeare’s plays (notably “The Taming of the Shrew”,) accusations of sexism are also common, but if there were an award for BOSS of this play it would go to Portia, hands down. True, she has to pretend to be a man to get it all done, but those were those the times. The need for disguise also facilitates a prank that she and her handmaid play on their new husbands, regarding their wedding rings. While they are forced to comply with the dictates of the age, the women in this play certainly hold their own as strong characters. Still, I can’t say the degree to which Shakespeare was a satirist versus an anti-Semite / racist / sexist, but it’s a testament to the richness of his stories and the depth of his characters that his works can be interpreted so diversely.

It’s a masterpiece. Read it.

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26 thoughts on “ BOOK REVIEW: The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare ”

Better still, go see a prodution of it!

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Thank you for visiting and liking my post today on writing a Haiku. I am delighted to see your blog – and I plan to read many of your reviews. This is a stellar FIND for me today – I took as many courses in Shakespeare as I could during my academic training – the classes always went to Stratford on Avon in Canada to see them in person. AWESOME plays. Awesome place to go.

I liked your book review! I had acted in a ‘Merchants of Venice’ play, and I was Nerissa.

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As a former long-time teacher of British Literature, your book review caught my attention. Thank you for the review and for stopping by my blog. 📚 😊

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It’s very dangerous to apply twenty-first century values to medieval writing. Remember at the time Shakespeare was writing women did not even appear on stage. My personal opinion is after sitting through several classes on various plays, we are probably better served by seeing any performance. As literature, I think they fall flat. In spite of glimmers of deathless prose. “Men now safely tucked in bed will rue the day & wish they were here….”

I agree, it’s always good to see plays acted although there is some evidence to suggest that playwrights wrote plays for the literate members of families to read aloud to their families.

Better than Cliff Notes, but nothing is like reading the words of the Bard. Be well, stay safe.

I agree that this play should be seen as satire of antisemitism; the sexism is however completely unconscious and routine for its time. The irony of seeing about playing a woman pretending to be a man should not be discounted. Thanks for drawing my attention to your very well written and thoughtful blog.

I like the Al Pacino film version of this play.

You might have a series here to be entitled “Shorts on Shakespeare”. Educational and entertaining -well done.

I saw a Royal Shakespeare Company version of this play set in modern day Las Vegas. A brilliant production that showed most of the charaters as feeling in control of their own destinies and yet it had a wonderfully ambiguous ending that still, over 10 years later, prompts me to think about what the play is saying.

Thank you for giving my blog a read! 😀 I just finished reading the review of Merchant of Venice by you. It is adequately well-explained. This reminded me of a skit I performed on one of a scene of this amazing play.!

Try Hamlet next. It’s amazing. I saw Rosencrantz and Guildenstern off Broadway years ago and was blown away. But you have to at least read Hamlet first. I took an entire class on Hamlet in college and was amazed how much I had missed merely by reading it one time. There is so much in every line in that play.

I’ve read it. One of his best, no doubt.

A very well written book review. It brings back memories of my university days when we studied Shakespeare. We adored those classes wherein our teacher used to read out the plays in a dramatic manner. I plan to read all your reviews. Thanks for connecting.

Thank you very much.

Nice review. I have often wondered whether the plot device around the pound of flesh (but no drop of blood) is an ironic reference to kosher meat. But I can’t remember ever reading any commentary on the Merchant of Venice which refers to this.

I studied this in college and today I am taking the same for tenth graders. I am so happy and fortunate to read your splendid review.

Great play choice, Portia’s is quick witted, her potency comes from her ability to make the law work for her – for a woman now it is often difficult, then virtually impossible, high five to that woman!

I studied this play for O levels. Portia is boss (hahaha). I still remember her speech: “Take then thy bond, take thou thy pound of flesh, but in the cutting of it…” etc.. From the island of Barbados which was parisitised by Christians, I always related more to Shylock. Ill-treatment can make anyone a Shylock and morality clearly doesn’t require religion. It requires empathy.

Thank you for this review. I certainly agree with you about Portia. Her quality of mercy is not strained.

I taught Merchant many times to high school kids. Shakespeare saw too deeply into the human character to be a racist. He gives Shylock a voice that can’t be ignored: his “hath not a Jew” speech testifies to this. Thanks for this post!

Your review made for entertaining reading but I try never to apply twenty-first century values to writing from a past century. This applies as much to the 19th and 20th, as to Shakespeare’s day. It’s enough to note the differences and then just read the play or book to engage with the ideas, something Shakespeare had in abundance. It was stimulating to read your take on the play.

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The Merchant of Venice

William shakespeare, ask litcharts ai: the answer to your questions.

Welcome to the LitCharts study guide on William Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice . Created by the original team behind SparkNotes, LitCharts are the world's best literature guides.

The Merchant of Venice: Introduction

The merchant of venice: plot summary, the merchant of venice: detailed summary & analysis, the merchant of venice: themes, the merchant of venice: quotes, the merchant of venice: characters, the merchant of venice: symbols, the merchant of venice: literary devices, the merchant of venice: quizzes, the merchant of venice: theme wheel, brief biography of william shakespeare.

Historical Context of The Merchant of Venice

Other books related to the merchant of venice.

• Full Title: The Merchant of Venice
• When Written: 1596–8
• Where Written: England
• When Published: 1623
• Literary Period: The Renaissance
• Genre: Comedy/tragicomedy; Revenge tragedy
• Setting: Venice, and the nearby country estate of Belmont
• Climax: The trial of Antonio, the merchant, and Shylock, the Jewish moneylender
• Antagonist: Shylock

Extra Credit for The Merchant of Venice

"Which is the merchant here? And which the Jew?" Modern audiences of Merchant of Venice often mistake Shylock for the "merchant" of the title—which actually refers to Antonio.

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Antonio, the merchant in The Merchant of Venice , secures a loan from Shylock for his friend Bassanio, who seeks to court Portia. Shylock, a Jewish moneylender, recalls past insults from Antonio and, instead of asking interest on the loan, asks instead—in what he calls a “merry sport”—that if the loan is not repaid, Antonio will owe a pound of his own flesh.

Bassanio sails to Belmont, where the wealthy heiress Portia is being courted by suitors from around the world. Her father’s will requires that the successful suitor solve a riddle involving chests of gold, silver, and lead. Where others have failed, Bassanio succeeds by selecting the right chest. Portia marries Bassanio; her waiting woman, Nerissa, marries his friend Gratiano.

Shylock’s daughter, Jessica, has eloped with Bassanio’s friend Lorenzo, taking her father’s money with her. Shylock is devastated. When Antonio cannot repay the loan, Shylock demands the pound of flesh. When the news reaches Belmont, Bassanio returns to Venice. Portia and Nerissa also travel to Venice, disguised as a lawyer and his clerk. Portia uses the law to defeat Shylock and rescue Antonio.

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A Summary and Analysis of William Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice

By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)

The Merchant of Venice is one of Shakespeare’s most popular comedies, and is widely studied and has been subject to considerable analysis. Contrary to what many people think, the ‘merchant’ of the title isn’t Shylock (of whom more below) but the far less famous character, Antonio. So how well do we know The Merchant of Venice ? Below, we offer some words of analysis, but first, it might be worth recapping the plot of the play.

Plot summary

There are two main plot strands to The Merchant of Venice , both closely intertwined. The first involves Portia, the wealthy heiress of Belmont, who decides that she will marry whichever suitor picks the right casket when faced with a choice of three (made of gold, silver, and lead).

The second involves a loan the Jewish moneylender, Shylock, makes to Antonio, the merchant of the play’s title. These two plot lines are connected because Antonio borrows money from Shylock in order to help out his friend, Bassanio, who wishes to finance a trip to Belmont to try his hand at Portia’s ‘three caskets’ trial. (The princes of Morocco and Aragon both choose the wrong caskets, but Bassanio correctly guesses that the lead casket, and the two are engaged.)

The terms of the loan are as follows: Antonio will repay the money to Shylock when his ships return from their voyage; if he fails to pay up then, Shylock will be entitled to a pound of Antonio’s flesh. When Antonio’s ships are declared lost at sea, he cannot repay the debt to Shylock, who promptly demands his pound of flesh.

These two threads run through the play, becoming united towards the end of the play, when Portia disguises herself as a male lawyer in order to defend Antonio against Shylock’s knife. She is aided by her maid, Nerissa, who is engaged to Bassanio’s friend, Gratiano; Nerissa is also disguised as a man (Portia’s clerk).

After trying, unsuccessfully, to appeal to Shylock’s ‘quality of mercy’ (a famous speech which we have analysed here ), Portia changes tack, and saves Antonio on a legal technicality: whilst his agreement with Shylock allows the Jewish moneylender a pound of Antonio’s flesh, it does not entitle him to a drop of the merchant’s blood – and if he tries to remove a pound of his flesh and makes him bleed, he will be liable. Shylock is defeated, and Antonio saved.

And Shylock is well and truly defeated: he has to pay ‘damages’ to Antonio – half of his entire wealth – and is also forced to convert from Judaism to Christianity. However, Antonio gives the money he gets from Shylock immediately to Jessica, Shylock’s daughter, who had earlier eloped with Lorenzo, against her father’s wishes.

There is one last, romantic, twist to the plot: before the trial, Portia and Nerissa had made gifts of rings to their betrotheds, Antonio and Gratiano. After the trial is over, to express their gratitude to the lawyer and clerk for saving Antonio’s skin (literally), they both give their rings to the lawyer and ‘his’ clerk as tokens of thanks.

To test (and have a bit of fun with) the two men, Portia and Nerissa, back in Belmont and out of their male disguises, ask the returning Antonio and Gratiano where the rings are which they gave them. The two men say they have lost them, and the two women produce new ones – which are really, of course, the originals. As a final piece of good luck, Antonio learns that not all of his ships were lost at sea, and the two couples celebrate their upcoming wedding.

Venice has a long-standing association with trade, commerce, and money. The materialistic world of this city-state regards people only in terms of their financial worth, and Shylock embodies this cold materialism in the extreme. To him, Antonio is only a debtor, so much flesh, from whom he can extract his pound if Antonio is unable to repay his loan. The great clash in The Merchant of Venice is between money and love, as both Shylock’s trial and Portia’s very different ‘trial’ – the test of the three caskets – demonstrate.

Against this heartlessly materialistic worldview is set the world of mercy and compassion, expressed in the two most famous speeches from The Merchant of Venice : Portia’s ‘The quality of mercy is not strained’ and Shylock’s own ‘Hath not a Jew eyes? If you prick us, do we not bleed?’

The valorisation of wealth and gold above all else is also famously rejected and criticised in Portia’s three caskets: gold and silver seem to promise the suitor wealth (in the form of Portia’s inheritance), but it is only by rejecting these in favour of the relatively worthless lead that Bassanio proves his worth as a potential husband to her.

However, the plot of The Merchant of Venice doesn’t entirely reject the world of money: Antonio borrows money from Shylock in an act of friendship (to help his relatively poor friend Bassanio travel to Belmont to undertake Portia’s three caskets test), but it’s also a financial reality that money is needed to be in the ‘race’.

And it’s worth noting that mercy doesn’t triumph over materialism at the trial: Shylock is deaf to Portia’s appeals, and his contract with Antonio can only be defeated on a technicality which speaks the only kind of language Shylock recognises.

And Shylock is the key to the whole play, as the confusion over him being mistaken for its title character demonstrates. For Harold Bloom, in a persuasive analysis of The Merchant of Venice in his book Shakespeare: The Invention Of The Human , The Merchant of Venice presents a number of difficult problems.

First, there’s no denying it is an anti-Semitic play; second, for Bloom, Shylock should be played as a comic villain and not a sympathetic character for the play to have ‘coherence’ and make full sense; third, to play Shylock this way would no doubt exacerbate the play’s anti-Semitic properties.

Many recent productions of The Merchant of Venice have certainly depicted Shylock more sympathetically than he was probably played when the play was first staged, in the 1590s which gave London not only Christopher Marlowe’s The Jew of Malta (whose title character, Barabbas, is a cartoon villain too exaggerated to be taken with complete seriousness) but also the execution of the Portuguese Jewish immigrant Roderigo Lopez, physician to Queen Elizabeth I, who was accused of plotting to kill the Queen (he was, almost certainly, innocent).

If the casual anti-Semitism that was widely tolerated as recently as the early twentieth century is anything to go by, Shakespeare’s original audience would probably have viewed Shylock as a money-grubbing villain.

But as is so often with Shakespeare’s characterisation, the character can be interpreted more sympathetically (his famous ‘If you prick us, do we not bleed?’ speech is one example of where we can find evidence for this interpretation), and this is the line most modern productions of the play have taken. And it must be a hard-hearted reader or spectator who can watch Shylock being forced to convert to Christianity (by Antonio) and not feel a twinge of uneasiness.

What’s more, the parallels between Antonio and Shylock arguably don’t end with that popular misconception over who the title character is. Antonio is just as money-driven as Shylock, and – as his insistence that Shylock be made to convert to Christianity shows – not exactly overflowing with Christian charity. This is the mentality that Venice seems to engender: a world of financial interests, account books, and hatred and mistrust of others.

The Merchant of Venice has become Shylock’s play, eclipsing all else, and whilst there may not be much else besides him that makes the play interesting, the one exception here is Portia, who is one of Shakespeare’s finest female roles from the 1590s.

4 thoughts on “A Summary and Analysis of William Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice”

Definitely one of Shakespeare’s problematic plays. I view it more as a tragi-comedy and believe Shakespeare provided ambiguity towards Shylock in that he did not lampoon him but gave him full characterization. Perhaps Shakespeare wanted the audience to see beyond the culture and see a person.

Problematic indeed! Thank you for your most interesting exploration of the issues.

VERY CLEAR SUMMARY AND ANALYSIS. THANK YOU FOR ALLOWING ME TO READ IT AS ONE PART OF MY READINGS

Wouldn’t thou allow such mercy to Shylock if he show an ounce of pennant thought, or would it rather be rendered he suffer the harsh justice he demanded upon Antonio that you, in your fraudulent identity, chastised him for. You ask that Shylock grant mercy, but you refuse him such the like. Surely, you present him the harshest of consequences. Perhaps, opportune his chance of recompense and change of heart. Allow the man his beliefs and as well an example to present to his like minded. Allow him at least the the humane existence, some mere portion of fortune. There must be thoughts and consistency of mercy , although through consequential reasoning, placed upon both arguments.

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The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare – review

The Merchant of Venice, another one of the books I had to endure while doing my English Literature GCSE. I was already tired of Shakespeare, after having to do Much Ado About Nothing for Year 9 Sats. Of course the word "endure" makes it sound like it was a painful experience. I guess when being forced to read it and make notes on it, instead of just reading it and being able to interpret it in my mind was somewhat tough and annoying. Now though, I can look at the book and appreciate it for what it really is.

Racism, love, secrets and loans. The play strikes true to certain parts of the modern world as well as the time it was set and written. It is compelling that Shakespeare was able to write about such things in a way that fitted into the comical manner of the era. To a modern reader, it isn't so much comical but instead a tragedy and something that shows all the things that are wrong with the world.

Racism is wrong and shouldn't be tolerated at all. However, in the book it shows how those that face prejudice just let it happen and don't even try to stop or overcome it. At the start of the book it reads as if Shakespeare is also one of those racists by making Shylock look like the baddie. He appears somewhat like the modern banker. Willing to give money to anybody whether its against their policy or not and wanting it back at the exact time agreed or there are huge consequences. Shylock takes the chance to get the people that have constantly abused him back, but instead they are able to turn it against him because of the society they live in. While we acknowledge this is wrong as an onlooker, we forget to be grateful that our society is just a little better than presented. How much better it is, is somewhat questionable. There are those rogue bankers not caring about circumstance or rules because of their lack of compassion. There are still racists and people that let it carry on without caring. However, society is more balanced and accepting in general. Luckily.

The reason of the money borrowing pulls on the heartstrings somewhat. The money is wanted so that a guy can go see a girl to try and sway her heart. Of course, it isn't because he loves her but because he loves her money. At this point I'm starting to see a capitalist trend. Putting money before love and the feelings for people and trying to achieve a higher social status seems to be something done often in the society presented. Something I still see people doing around me right now, because they care more about physical objects than any sign of affection. So really, it pulls on the purse strings and to somebody that has more self-respect than to be a capitalist it makes them feel rather sick that all this pain, false actions of affection and putting aside the racism for five minutes just to get what is wanted come from the desire for money and gold.

While it is meant to be all about morals and explaining that trying to get at somebody is not a good thing to do because everybody ends up with tarnished reputations and opinions. When looking at it from an economic stance, however, it seems to be much more just a breeding ground for uncaring capitalists leading to the somewhat sad modern world.

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Book Reviews · August 6, 2021

Book Review: The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare

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If you like drama and a revenge plot, “The Merchant of Venice” by William Shakespeare is a great play to read!

• Date finished: January 29th, 2017
• Format: Paperback
• Language read in: English
• Series: Standalone
• Genre: Classics | Play | Drama

Buy “ The Merchant of Venice “

As the citizens of Venice compete for advantageous marriages, wealth, and status, a moneylender is intent on a deadly revenge. Mistrust and resentment thrive in Shakespeare’s dark comedy “The Merchant of Venice.”

I don’t know if my excitement to read this play had any impact on my reading of it… but even if it did… expectations usually lead to disappointments with rarely some exceptions of success. (Such is the case with The Merchant of Venice.)

The play starts and I already relate and sympathize with one of its main characters: Antonio. I highlighted some quotes about his indescribable sadness. He’s a great merchant and has a good nature with loaning money to honest men (and friends) in need without interest. Although he is a morally virtuous Christian there’s still a flaw in his view of Jewish people, which brings in themes of racial and religious injustices. Sure, his nemesis, a Jew named Shylock has no mercy and no good moral virtue. (FOR ME, NOT BECAUSE HE IS JEWISH BUT BECAUSE HE IS AN INTEREST RATE COLLECTOR / MONEYLENDER AND WANTS TO SHED ANTONIO’S INNOCENT BLOOD! for a deed he can and will be able to pay back in double anyways.)

I personally think that the plot of this play is more complex than Shakespeare’s other plays, which is always a plus. There were a lot of parallels and oppositions (seen in most of his plays but whatever) between the two female leads: Portia and Jessica. They’re both heirs from a rich father, seeking for a worthy husband to share their wealth with. One steals from her father’s casket and the other obeys the rules of her deceased father for marrying a man that opens the right casket of the three presented.

In this play, money and love seem to go hand in hand. On the one hand, there’s a state bond concerning a money lending contract between the merchant Antonio and the moneylender Shylock. On the other hand, there’s a marital bond formed through a ring between Bassanio and Portia, and her servant Nerissa with Gratiano. I’d also like to suggest a third bond with the friendship and sacrifices between Antonio and Bassanio.

Back to the females. Women in Shakespeare are, often than not, silenced or wrathful. In this case, both female characters were clever, strong, and deceptive. Jessica, for escaping her horrible father to marry the man she loves and Portia for disguising herself and conducting a genius plan to save her the life of her husband’s friend (Antonio) while making Jessica’s father have a taste of his own medicine (Shylock).

The resolution of the play was lacking but that’s a trend in Shakespeare’s plays. We are left with three happy couples but Antonio is still alone and single but is also saved and happy(?) Although Shylock deserved what he got, it does not change the fact that he did not deserve to convert his Jewish faith to a Christian one. Again, this is the most unfair and unresolved part of the play…

Overall, a great and enticing read with important themes and characters raised up for discussion in our modern-day world.

“Those we love never truly leave us, Harry. There are things that death cannot touch.” 

“In every shining moment of happiness is that drop of poison: the knowledge that pain will come again. Be honest to those you love, show your pain. To suffer is as human as to breathe.” 

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An unlesson'd girl, unschool'd, unpractised; Happy in this, she is not yet so old But she may learn.       — The Merchant of Venice , Act III Scene 2

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