SparkNotes: The Merchant of Venice: Character List The Merchant of Venice Plot Overview Analysis of Major Characters Shylock - A Jewish moneylender in Venice. Angered by his mistreatment at the hands of Venice’s Christians, particularly Antonio, Shylock schemes to eke out his revenge by ruthlessly demanding as payment a pound of Antonio’s flesh. Although seen by the rest of the play’s characters as an inhuman monster, Shylock at times diverges from stereotype and reveals himself to be quite human. These contradictions, and his eloquent expressions of hatred, have earned Shylock a place as one of Shakespeare’s most memorable characters. Read an in-depth analysis of Shylock. Portia - A wealthy heiress from Belmont. Portia’s beauty is matched only by her intelligence. Bound by a clause in her father’s will that forces her to marry whichever suitor chooses correctly among three caskets, Portia is nonetheless able to marry her true love, Bassanio. Far and away the most clever of the play’s characters, it is Portia, in the disguise of a young law clerk, who saves Antonio from Shylock’s knife. Read an in-depth analysis of Portia.

Antonio - The merchant whose love for his friend Bassanio prompts him to sign Shylock’s contract and almost lose his life. Antonio is something of a mercurial figure, often inexplicably melancholy and, as Shylock points out, possessed of an incorrigible dislike of Jews. Nonetheless, Antonio is beloved of his friends and proves merciful to Shylock, albeit with conditions. Read an in-depth analysis of Antonio. Bassanio - A gentleman of Venice, and a kinsman and dear friend to Antonio. Bassanio’s love for the wealthy Portia leads him to borrow money from Shylock with Antonio as his guarantor. An ineffectual businessman, Bassanio proves himself a worthy suitor, correctly identifying the casket that contains Portia’s portrait. Gratiano - A friend of Bassanio’s who accompanies him to Belmont. A coarse and garrulous young man, Gratiano is Shylock’s most vocal and insulting critic during the trial. While Bassanio courts Portia, Gratiano falls in love with and eventually weds Portia’s lady-in-waiting, Nerissa.

Jessica - Although she is Shylock’s daughter, Jessica hates life in her father’s house, and elopes with the young Christian gentleman, Lorenzo. The fate of her soul is often in doubt: the play’s characters wonder if her marriage can overcome the fact that she was born a Jew, and we wonder if her sale of a ring given to her father by her mother is excessively callous. Lorenzo - A friend of Bassanio and Antonio, Lorenzo is in love with Shylock’s daughter, Jessica. He schemes to help Jessica escape from her father’s house, and he eventually elopes with her to Belmont. Nerissa - Portia’s lady-in-waiting and confidante. She marries Gratiano and escorts Portia on Portia’s trip to Venice by disguising herself as her law clerk. Launcelot Gobbo - Bassanio’s servant. A comical, clownish figure who is especially adept at making puns, Launcelot leaves Shylock’s service in order to work for Bassanio. The prince of Morocco - A Moorish prince who seeks Portia’s hand in marriage.

The prince of Morocco asks Portia to ignore his dark countenance and seeks to win her by picking one of the three caskets. Certain that the caskets reflect Portia’s beauty and stature, the prince of Morocco picks the gold chest, which proves to be incorrect. The prince of Arragon - An arrogant Spanish nobleman who also attempts to win Portia’s hand by picking a casket. Like the prince of Morocco, however, the prince of Arragon chooses unwisely. He picks the silver casket, which gives him a message calling him an idiot instead of Portia’s hand. Salarino - A Venetian gentleman, and friend to Antonio, Bassanio, and Lorenzo. Salarino escorts the newlyweds Jessica and Lorenzo to Belmont, and returns with Bassanio and Gratiano for Antonio’s trial. He is often almost indistinguishable from his companion Solanio. Solanio - A Venetian gentleman, and frequent counterpart to Salarino. The duke of Venice - The ruler of Venice, who presides over Antonio’s trial. Although a powerful man, the duke’s state is built on respect for the law, and he is unable to help Antonio.

Old Gobbo - Launcelot’s father, also a servant in Venice. Tubal - A Jew in Venice, and one of Shylock’s friends. Doctor Bellario - A wealthy Paduan lawyer and Portia’s cousin. Doctor Bellario never appears in the play, but he gives Portia’s servant the letters of introduction needed for her to make her appearance in court. Balthasar - Portia’s servant, whom she dispatches to get the appropriate materials from Doctor Bellario. More Help Merchant of Venice Characters | GradeSaver a friend of Bassanio and Antonio, the lover of Jessica. Graziano a friend of Bassanio and Antonio, he accompanies Bassanio to Belmont and marries Nerissa. Salerio a friend of Bassanio and Antonio. Solanio a friend of Bassanio and Antonio. Shylock a Jewish moneylender in Venice. He demands a pound of flesh from Antonio, but is forced to convert to Christianity by the end of the play. He loses his daughter Jessica and most of his wealth. Jessica Shylock's daughter who runs away with Lorenzo. Tubal a Jew.

Lancelot a clown, first Shylock's servant and later Bassanio's, he also plays tricks on his father Gobbo. Gobbo the father of Lancelot. Portia a wealthy Christian heiress who must marry the man who chooses the correct casket with her picture in it. She later marries Bassanio and also plays the Doctor Balthasar who saves Antonio's life. Nerissa the attendant or waiting-gentlewoman to Portia who also plays the clerk at the court. Balthasar Shakespeare Resource Center - The Merchant of Venice Synopsis University of Toronto English Library In Venice, young Bassanio needs a loan of 3,000 ducats so that he can properly woo a wealthy heiress of Venice named Portia. To get the necessary funds, Bassanio entreats his friend Antonio, a merchant. Antonio's money, unfortunately, is invested in merchant ships that are presently at sea; however, to help Bassanio, Antonio arranges for a short-term loan of the money from Shylock, a Jewish usurer. Shylock has a deep-seated hatred for Antonio because of the insulting treatment that Antonio has shown him in the past.

When pressed, Shylock strikes a terrible bargain: the 3,000 ducats must be repaid in three months, or Shylock will exact a pound of flesh from Antonio. The merchant agrees to this, confident in the return of his ships before the appointed date of repayment. At this stage of the play, Portia is introduced: due to her father's will, all suitors must choose from among three coffersone of which contains a portrait of her. If a man chooses the right one, he may marry Portia; however, if he chooses wrong, he must vow never to marry or even court another woman. Princes of Morocco and Arragon fail this test and are turned away. As Bassanio prepares to travel to Belmont for the test, his friend Lorenzo elopes with Jessica, Shylock's daughter (who escapes with a fair amount of Shylock's wealth in the process). Bassanio chooses the lead casket, which is the correct one, and happily agrees to marry Portia that very night. In contrast to this happiness, Antonio finds himself in a pinch.

Two of his ships have already wrecked in transit, and Antonio's creditorsincluding the vengeance-minded Shylockare grumbling about repayment. Word comes to Bassanio about Antonio's predicament, and he hastens back to Venice, leaving Portia behind. Portia, however, travels after him with her maid, Nerissa; they disguise themselves as a lawyer and clerk, respectively. When Bassanio arrives, the loan is in default and Shylock is demanding his pound of flesh. Even when Bassanio (backed now by Portia's inheritance) offers many times the amount in repayment, Shylock is intent on revenge. The duke, who sits in judgment, will not intervene. Portia enters in her guise as a lawyer to defend Antonio. Through a technicality, Portia declares that Shylock may have his pound of flesh so long as he draws no blood (since there was no mention of this in the original agreement). And, since it is obvious that to draw a pound of flesh would take Antonio's life, Shylock has conspired to murder a Venetian citizen; he has forfeited his wealth as well as his loan.

Half is to go to the city, and half is to go to Antonio. In the end, Antonio gives back his half of the penalty on the condition that Shylock bequeath it to his disinherited daughter, Jessica. Shylock also must convert to Christianity. A broken and defeated Shylock accepts in a piteously moving scene. As the play ends, news arrives that Antonio's remaining ships are returned to port; with the exception of the humiliated Shylock, all will share in a happy ending. Antonio, the merchant of Venice Bassanio, his friend Lorenzo, in love with Jessica Shylock, a wealthy Jew Tubal, a Jew, his friend Launcelot Gobbo, a clown, servant to Shylock Old Gobbo, father of Launcelot Leonardo, Bassanio's servant Magnificoes of Venice, Officers of the Court of Justice Jailer Exam 1 -- Shakespeare - English 4340 with Darcy at University of Nebraska - Omaha - StudyBlue Good to have you back! If you've signed in to StudyBlue with Facebook in the past, please do that again.

Exam 1 -- Shakespeare DUKE of Ephesus, The Comedy of Errors Egeon A merchant of Syracuse, father of the Antipholus twins, The Comedy of Errors Advertisement ) Twin Brother, Son of Egeon, The Comedy of Errors Antipholus of Syracuse Twin, Son of Egeon, The Comedy of Errors Dromio of Ephesus Twin Brother, bondman of the Antipholus twins, The Comedy of Errors Dromio of Syracuse Twin Brother, bondman of the Antipholus Twins, The Comedy of Errors Adriana Wife of Antipholus of Ephesus, The Comedy of Errors Luciana Sister of Adriana, The Comedy of Errors Nell Adriana's kitchen-maid, The Comedy of Errors Angelo A goldsmith, The Comedy of Errors Balthasar A merchant, The Comedy of Errors Emilia Abbess at Ephesus, The Comedy of Errors Saturninus Eldest son of the late Emperor of Romes; later Emperor , TITUS ANDRONICUS Bassianus Brother of Saturninus, TITUS ANDRONICUS Titus Andronicus A Roman nobleman, general against the Goths Advertisement Son of Titus, Titus Andronicus Quintus Son of Titus,

 Titus Andronicus Martius Son of Titus, Titus Andronicus Mutius Son of Titus, Titus Andronicus Lavinia Daughter of Titus, Titus Andronicus Young Lucius Son of Lucius, Titus Andronicus Marcus Andronicus Queen of the Goths, Wife of Saturninus, Titus Andronicus Alarbus Son of Tamora, Titus Andronicus Chiron Son of Tamora, Titus Andronicus Aaron a Moor, lover of Tamora Prince Harry Prince of Wales, Hal , I Henry IV Lord John of Lancaster Lady Percy's Brother, I Henry IV Lady Mortimer As You Like It, living in banishment Rosalind Duke Seniors daughter, GANYMEDE, As You Like It Amiens Lord attending on Duke Senior, As you Like It Jaques Lord attending on Duke Senior, As You Like It Two Pages Duke Frederick's Daughter, ALIENA, As You Like It Le Beau Courtier attending of Duke Fredrick, As You Like It Charles Duke Fredrick's wrestler, As You Like It Jaques Charles younger brother, As You Like It Orlando Charles younger brother, As You Like It Adam Former servant of Sir Rowland, As You Like It Denis

 Orlando's servant, As You Like It Sir Oliver Martext an old shepherd, As You Like It Silvius a young shepherd, in love with phoede, As You Like It Phoebe a shepherd, As You Like It William a countryman, in love with Audrey, As You Like It Audrey a goatherd, betrothed to Touchstone, As You Like It Touchstone a clown, As You Like It Hymen God of marriage, As You Like It Antonio a merchant of Venice, Merchant of Venice Bassanio a friend of Antonio and Portia's suitor, Merchant of Venice Leonardo Bassanio's servant, Merchant of Venice Lorenzo Shylock's daughter, Merchant of Venice Tubal a clown, Shylock's servant then Bassanio's servant, Merchant of Venice Gubbo Lancelot's father, Merchant of Venice Portia An Heiress, Merchant of Venice Nerissa Portia's waiting gentlewoman , Merchant of Venice Balthasar (M) Duke of Venice Merchant of Venice * The material on this site is created by StudyBlue users.

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StudyBlue is exactly what I was looking for!" Justin , LSU Shakespeare's Words | Dramatis Personae | William Shakespeare ANTONIO, a merchant of Venice ANTONIO BASSANIO, his friend, suitor of Portia BASSANIO PORTIA, the Lady of Belmont [later, disguised as Balthasar] PORTIA SHYLOCK, a Jew of Venice SHYLOCK Quia - Merchant of Venice Java Games: Flashcards, matching, concentration, and word search. Merchant of Venice What reason does Antonio give for being sad in the opening scene of the play? He gives no reason. From what character flaw does Bassanio believe Gratiano suffers? A lack of depth The caskets that Portia’s suitors must pick from are made of what materials? Gold, silver, lead How does Shylock initially describe his demand for a pound of flesh to Bassanio and Antonio? As a harmless prank Why does the prince of Morocco fear that Portia will dislike him? He has a dark complexion. Whom does Bassanio agree to bring with him to Belmont? Gratiano What act does Jessica believe will solve the misery of life with Shylock?

Marrying Lorenzo According to Lorenzo’s plan, how will Jessica escape from her father’s house? She will disguise herself as Lorenzo’s torchbearer and slip out undetected. How does Shylock react to losing Launcelot as a servant? He tells Launcelot that Bassanio will be a harder master How does Portia react to the prince of Morocco’s failure as a suitor? She prays that no one with such dark skin ever wins her hand. Who loses the opportunity to marry Portia by choosing the silver casket? The prince of Arragon According to Tubal’s report, for what did Jessica trade Shylock’s most precious ring? a monkey What course of action does Portia suggest when she learns that Shylock wishes to collect his pound of flesh? That the bond be paid many times over Where does Portia instruct her servant Balthasar to hurry? To Padua to visit Doctor Bellario What complaint does Launcelot make regarding the conversion of the Jews? He says that the price of bacon would soar. In court, how does Antonio react to Shylock’s insistence on collecting his pound of flesh? He vows that he will meet Shylock’s hatred with patience.

Who enters the court disguised as a young doctor of Law named Balthasar? Portia What loophole in Shylock’s bond allows Portia to stop him from taking a pound of Antonio’s flesh? Shylock is entitled only to flesh, but not blood. How is Shylock punished for seeking to take Antonio’s life? He must convert to Christianity and will his possessions to Jessica and Lorenzo upon his death. What words does Shylock utter after accepting the court’s sentence? I am not well What does Bassanio offer the young law clerk who saves Antonio? The three thousand ducats originally due to Shylock What does Lorenzo order when he learns that Portia is on her way to Belmont? music What news does Antonio receive at the play’s end? Some of the ships he supposed were lost have arrived in port. Which two men are trying to find out the reason for Antonio's sadness in the first scene of the play? Solanio and Salerio. Which "part" in the world does Gratiano say he wants to play? the fool Which childhood activity does Bassanio talk about when justifying how he wants to spend more money in pursuit of Portia's wealth?

Shooting one arrow after another and following the second more carefully.. To what does Bassanio compare the Golden Fleece found by Jason? Portia's hair Complete Antonio's saying : "A goodly ... rotten at the heart". apple Old Gobbo has come with a present for Shylock. To whom does Lancelot ask him to give it ? Bassanio. Which person does Lorenzo use to carry a message to Jessica? Lancelot Gobbo. What does Shylock dream of that makes him suspicious of going out to dinner ? money-bags. Where exactly is the scroll that Morocco finds when he opens the casket? in the eye-socket of a skull. Which inscription convinces Arragon that he should choose the silver casket? Who chooseth me shall get as much as he deserves.. What does Shylock say he will use Antonio's flesh for when he is talking to Solanio and Salerio? to use as bait for fish. Where did Shylock get the ring that his daughter exchanged for a monkey? from Leah his wife who is now dead. What does Bassanio find in the leaden casket that tells him he has been successful in the lottery for Portia?

Portia's portrait and a scroll. Complete the following said by Antonio to Salerio: "The Duke cannot ... " deny the course of law. Where does Portia pretend she is going to stay when in reality she and Nerissa are going to Venice? a nearby monastery. What is the name of the lawyer that the Duke of Venice has sent for to help him consider the case? Bellario. What name from the Bible does Shylock use about the disguised Portia when he thinks she is advising judgement in his favour? Daniel Both Shylock and Gratiano use the same expression about having someone "on the hip" in this play. From which sport did Shakespeare borrow the term? wrestling Identify one of the pair of famous lovers that Lorenzo and Jessica talk about whilst waiting in the garden. Troilus and Cressida. The other pairs of lovers suggested in the same speech are Pyramus and Thisbe, Dido and Aeneas, Jason and Medea. By what does Gratiano swear by in order to convince Nerissa that he gave his ring to a lawyer's clerk rather than to a woman? by the moon Who is the merchant of Venice? Antonio Who needs money to suit Portia?

Bassanio - University of Houston “*A proud member of Actors’ Equity Association. Plot Synopsis for Merchant of Venice Along the Rialto in the city of Venice, a bustling hub for commerce and trade, Salerio and Salanio are trying to cheer up Antonio, a respected Venetian merchant, when fellow merchants Lorenzo, Gratiano, and Bassanio arrive. Bassanio is dearly loved by Antonio, and he tells the merchant of his plan to travel to Belmont to participate in a contest for the right to marry Portia, a rich and beautiful heiress. Antonio agrees to offer his own credit to obtain a loan for the young Bassanio’s travel, but his money is currently tied up in trade ships still at sea. Bassanio is tasked with securing a loan, with Antonio as the guarantor. In the glamorous city of Belmont, Portia laments to her friend Nerissa that her late father’s will stipulated that her future husband will be decided in “The Lottery,” in which suitors must choose from three chests to win her hand in marriage. So far, she has not been pleased with any of the men who have attempted the game.

Back in Venice, Bassanio attempts to enlist the help of Shylock, a Jewish moneylender. Shylock is apprehensive because of Antonio’s disdain and prejudice towards Shylock and the other Jews of Venice. Furthermore, Shylock tells Bassanio that Antonio might not be able to repay his debt if his ships face any problems at sea. Antonio arrives and convinces Shylock to loan Bassanio three thousand ducats. Shylock agrees to the loan on the condition that if he cannot repay it then Shylock will be entitled to a pound of Antonio’s flesh. In Belmont, “The Lottery” continues with the powerful Prince of Morocco trying his hand at the game. However, he selects the wrong chest, thus losing Portia’s hand in marriage. At Shylock’s home in Venice, his daughter, Jessica, gets their servant Gobbo to deliver a message to her secret lover, Lorenzo. Gobbo gives the letter to Lorenzo who concocts a plan to steal away with Jessica that night during a city-wide masquerade. Gobbo brings Jessica word of Lorenzo’s plan. She agrees and decides to leave her father and faith behind for the young Christian.

Lorenzo arrives at Shylock’s home, and Jessica departs with him, carrying away much of Shylock’s wealth. Meanwhile, the Prince of Arragon competes in “The Lottery.” He, too, chooses the wrong chest and leaves without having won the right to marry Portia. Back on the Rialto, Salanio and Salerio mock Shylock for his daughter’s flight. The confrontation becomes tense until Shylock’s friend Tubal comes with news for him. Tubal tells Shylock that Jessica has been selling off much of the property she took from her father while on her elopement with Lorenzo. He also delivers the news that one of Antonio’s ships has sunk, and he will thus not be able to repay the three thousand ducats. Bassanio arrives in Belmont and participates in “The Lottery.” He chooses the correct chest, allowing him to marry Portia. Gratiano announces his decision to marry Nerissa, and the two women give rings to their new fiancés. Lorenzo and Jessica arrive with a letter explaining that Antonio cannot repay Shylock and is to be arrested in Venice.

Portia encourages Bassanio by telling him that she will provide all the owed money and more to pay Antonio’s debt. Bassanio and Gratiano are to return to Venice with the money to pay Shylock following couples’ immediate weddings. *Intermission* Antonio is arrested for his debt to Shylock. As he is being taken to prison, Antonio pleads to Shylock for a reprieve. Shylock is unmoved and intends to take his pound of flesh. In Belmont, Portia and Nerissa formulate a plan to help Bassanio by dressing up as men and traveling to Venice in hopes that they can get Shylock to change his mind. At the trial, Shylock remains steadfast, and not even the Duke of Venice can convince Shylock to relent. Portia and Nerissa arrive under the guise of a legal expert named Balthasar and his young clerk. She speaks of the dignity and sanctity of mercy to Shylock but this does nothing to cool his rage. At the last moment, Portia discovers a loophole in the contract that allows for Shylock to claim a pound of flesh…but no blood.

Furthermore, Venetian law states he must turn half of his wealth over to the Venetian state and the other half to Antonio for having conspired to murder him. Antonio refuses Shylock’s money, with the stipulation that it will be given to Lorenzo and Jessica after Shylock’s death and that he must convert to Christianity. Shylock accepts the bargain and leaves, beaten and humiliated. Bassanio gives “Balthasar” his ring in thanks for his service, not knowing it is actually Portia. She and Nerissa scheme to collect Gratiano’s ring, too. Back in Belmont, Portia and Nerissa reveal their plan to Lorenzo and Jessica. The husbands arrive from Venice and are immediately assailed by their wives for having given away the rings. After they have been sufficiently humiliated, Portia and Nerissa reveal that they were the lawyer and clerk and reconcile with their husbands. Portia informs Antonio that his remaining ships have returned, making him wealthy again, while Nerissa tells Jessica and Lorenzo of the inheritance they will receive from Shylock. As the group leaves to celebrate their good fortune, Jessica is left behind to contemplate the fate that has befallen her father.

—Troy Loftin What's in a Name: Shylock Many of Shakespeare’s characters, like Hamlet or Romeo and Juliet, are recognized by name outside of performances of the Bard’s plays. However, few, if any, carry the kind of problematic weight and controversy around their names as does Shylock. Characters from earlier medieval allegorical plays—whether called “the Jew” or “the Usurer”—served to illustrate the fears and anti-Semitism of Europe, as such characters were typically played and costumed akin to devils and villains. Elizabethan playwright Christopher Marlowe’s Barabas from The Jew of Malta continued this depiction of the Jew as grotesque villain, and, in looking at Shylock, one can see how some elements of the anti-Semitism depicted in Shakespeare’s play descend from this troubling tradition. However, Shylock as a character differs from his precursors primarily in his multi-dimensionality, including his palpable love for his daughter and his passionate defense of his own humanity: Hath not a Jew eyes? Hath not a Jew hands, organs, dimensions, senses, affections, passions?

Fed with the same food, hurt with the same weapons, subject to the same diseases, healed by the same means, warmed and cooled by the same winter and summer as a Christian is? If you prick us, do we not bleed? If you tickle us, do we not laugh? If you poison us, do we not die? Shylock suffers vicious, unthinking prejudice throughout the play. He is attacked with slurs like “dog” and “devil,” and when he declares his hatred for Antonio he frames it as an understandable human reaction to such persecution. If he is cruel, he follows in the mode of his persecutors: And if you wrong us, shall we not revenge? If we are like you in the rest, we will resemble you in that. If a Jew wrong a Christian, what is his humility? Revenge. If a Christian wrong a Jew, what should his sufferance be by Christian example? Why, revenge. The villainy you teach me, I will execute, and it shall go hard but I will better the instruction.

Shylock after the Trial by John Gilbert, late 19th c (Public Domain Image) His call for a pound of flesh as payment for Antonio’s forfeiture of the original terms of the bond antagonizes the other characters against his claim of justice. Despite his humanity, he is treated as a villain in the play. The character of Shylock, as well as the Christian characters who interact with him, have varied widely in their portrayals throughout the past few centuries, changing with how audiences perceive the underlying nature of the relationships between the Jewish and Christian characters in the play. But still, the term “shylock”—used as a byword for loan sharks—has come to be used as a slur against Jewish people, often with no reference to the play itself and despite the possibility of sympathetic views of Shakespeare’s Shylock for the prejudiced offenses exacted upon him. “Shylock” has taken on a life of its own, existing outside the confines of Shakespeare’s play, developing new and changing meanings as time goes on. It is a term that begs a greater understanding of the extra-textual meanings that have become associated with it. Shylock is not a Jewish name, nor was it widely known before the play.

Shakespeare scholar Harold Bloom points to an Old Saxon word meaning “white-haired,” and it has also been suggested that the name may derive from the biblical name Shalah, or Shelach in Hebrew, who was the grandson of Shem and the father Eber, the progenitor of the Hebrew people. The names of the other Jewish characters in the play are derived from minor figures listed in the genealogies of Genesis in the Old Testament. Following the introduction of the character Shylock in Merchant, the character entered popular culture in England, especially in the propaganda surrounding the “Jew Bill” of 1753, an act of Parliament that offered naturalization for the Jews who lived in England without legal sanction at the time. The act was repealed in 1754, but not before Shylock was invoked in polemical literature speaking against the act. Pamphlets quoting Shylock’s hatred of Antonio were published by opponents of the bill, and for the next century Shylock appeared in anti-Jewish political campaign literature. Caricatures of a Jew, always named Shylock, appeared in political cartoons that usually positioned Shylock next to the devil.

Newspaper columns were printed that imagined Shylock as the ringleader in fantasies of Jewish attempts to take over England. The narratives of Merchant were conflated into new imaginings of the character of Shylock, as the character became a daily part of the cultural prejudices of England during the century-long debate over Jewish naturalization, which finally resulted in equal rights of citizenship for English Jews in the nineteenth century. As recently as September of 2014, Vice President Joe Biden was called out by the Anti-Defamation League, and subsequently apologized, for his use of the word “shylock” when speaking of loan companies who make bad loans to military servicemen and -women. A recent Time magazine article explains that Jewish Americans have worked publicly for more than fifty years to challenge the use of the word, as it is seen as an insult to Jews and is considered to be an anti-Semitic slur. The article explores its own magazine’s use of the term, having to go back to 1977 to find the word used to describe loan sharks outside of references to Merchant or Philip Roth’s book Operation Shylock.

Earlier than that, though, the usage of the term appears more frequently, and in the 1950s it was not uncommon for the U.S. government to be called “Uncle Shylock,” when being judged as stingy in economic affairs. The term was listed in a 1950s collection of “schoolyard wit and wisdom” as a taunt for Jews. The mid twentieth century also saw the decontextualized use of Shylock and images of a caricaturized usurer Jew by the Nazi party and its anti-Semitic propaganda. Just this summer, Bloomberg published information about the attempt to take down computer hackers who created the so-called “Shylock Trojan,” which was used to reroute millions of dollars by altering bank routing numbers in online account transfers in the UK, the US, and Italy beginning in 2011. Quotations from Merchant could be found woven into the coding of the virus. Although the threat of the Shylock Trojan is believed to have been neutralized, it has created yet another villainous association for the already controversial name.

The debate around the name is one that has its roots in the attitudes of people centuries before us, but its concern for man’s inhumanity to man is still very relevant today. Experiencing The Merchant of Venice in 2015 allows contemporary audiences to explore the complexity of Shakespeare’s character, witness the persecution he suffers, and to further interrogate the issues of prejudice and anti-Semitism. —Rachel Aker Brave New World: Adapting The Merchant of Venice to a Modern Setting William Shakespeare’s career as an actor and playwright straddled the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries, and as far as we know, he may never have travelled outside of England. Yet his plays are set in a variety of places – Italy, Denmark, Scotland, Troy, a magical island, etc. – and times, like antiquity and the Middle Ages. As its title suggests, The Merchant of Venice unfolds in the Italian city famous for its be-gondola-ed canals. As you watch tonight’s performance, however, you will quickly notice that the setting is a modern world, and a modern American world at that! What accounts for the transposition from Venice to the United States?

Well, for over a hundred years now, it has been increasingly commonplace for theatre artists to produce Shakespeare’s works in reimagined settings. You may be familiar with film adaptations such as Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo + Juliet (1996) starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes, which employs Shakespeare’s text but transforms Verona, Italy, into Verona Beach, California. In 2007, Rupert Goold staged a production of Macbeth, with Patrick Stewart as the eponymous Scotsman that deliberately employed the imagery of Stalin-era Russia; he adapted it for the screen three years later. More recently, Joss Whedon (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Firefly) directed a film version of Much Ado About Nothing (2012) at his own home in Santa Monica. It seems there are more ways of performing Shakespeare than there are Shakespearean plays. Merchant includes scenes that take place both in Venice and in Belmont, at the estate of the lady Portia. For our production, Venice is represented by New York City, and Hollywood stands in for Belmont. These choices are far from arbitrary.

New York and Hollywood are modern analogues for Shakespeare’s settings—that means that there are certain qualities inherent to both, that the modern cities signify roughly similar things to twenty-first century audiences as the original cities did for the Renaissance spectators at the Globe Theatre. So what do the different settings have in common? As you shall notice, the dominant social force for Antonio and the other Venetian Christians is commerce. Money rules in Venice; historically, it was one of the most important sites of trade in the Early Modern world. We hear from various characters throughout the play that the Rialto (a bridge across Venice’s Grand Canal and the site of much financial business) is continually abuzz with news about business dealings. Commerce even provides the only point of trans-ethnic interaction; Jews like Shylock and Tubal are able to do business on the Rialto, but they are otherwise segregated from the rest of Venetian society, living in restricted sections of town called ghettoes. Shylock himself says that while he is happy to buy and sell with Bassanio, private activities like dining together are out of the question. With all that in mind, think now about your associations with New York City. It, too, is a fast-paced world driven by commerce.

It is the location of Wall Street, the New York Stock Exchange, the Nasdaq, and the newly rebuilt site of the World Trade Center. In our opening prologue, you can observe the Venetians’ energetic, even aggressive use of a type of stock-trading sign language, designed to communicate rising and falling monetary values and whether to buy or sell. Be sure to look out for Salario’s and Salanio’s use of their smartphones to check up on business news, especially the status of Antonio’s ships at sea. It is also important to notice that the medium of exchange in many business deals of Merchant is not just money but borrowed money – loans and credit. When Bassanio asks his dear friend Antonio for help, Antonio reminds the younger man that he does not currently have 3,000 ducats on hand to lend him. Furthermore, Shylock does not have the money at once, either, relying on his friend Tubal to furnish him the sum. The struggles that emerge from making plans for money that one does not currently possess are struggles with which most modern American adults can probably empathize.

It is not hard to see this correlation and others between Shakespeare’s representation of Renaissance Venice and the twenty-first century status quo in the United States. When not in Venice, the action of Merchant takes place in Belmont, the home of Portia and her friend Nerissa. For our production, Hollywood, California, provides an atmosphere of spectacular beauty, of decadence and luxury. For our Portia and Nerissa aren’t just living in Hollywood; they are the stars of a reality television show! Audience members already familiar with Shakespeare’s text will remember that, by order of her late father, the lady Portia’s marital fate depends on the results of a game. If she wants her inheritance, she must rely on a lottery in which suitors choose from among three caskets, one of which contains a picture of Portia and the right to marry her. To a modern spectator, the rules governing Portia’s marriage might sound unappealingly contrived, artificial, and even performative. One might reasonably ask, how could such an arrangement guarantee a happy and loving relationship? This is precisely why the Belmont scenes lend themselves so generously to the paradigm of our adaptation, a reality television show. Television networks’ broadcast schedules are positively replete with reality-based programming.

Reality shows are such an enormous part of modern culture that there is even a show called Reality Remix that covers the goings-on of all the other current reality shows. There is great variety among reality shows; there are shows that focus on practical jokes (Candid Camera, Punk’d), on specific workplace environments (Dirty Jobs, Airline), on the home lives of regular people and the interesting challenges they face (The Real World, Little People, Big World), on competitions (American Idol, Survivor, America’s Next Top Model, The Biggest Loser), major life events for individuals (A Baby Story, Intervention), celebrities (The Osbournes, Keeping Up With the Kardashians), and hobbies (Extreme Couponing). But the type of reality show most important to our production of The Merchant of Venice is the competitive dating show. Real-life examples of this variety include: MTV’s Next, Ex on the Beach, A Shot at Love with Tila Tequila, and Are You the One?; TLC’s 90 Day Fiance, and Alaskan Women Looking for Love; and of course, ABC’s The Bachelor and The Bachelorette, as well as the spinoff Bachelor in Paradise.

The important quality that all these programs share is that, despite the name of their genre, they all seem at least slightly divorced from what we know as reality. This is partly because humans almost always behave a little differently if they know they are under observation. Another part of the difference is that reality shows are not real-time; they cover multiple days of activity in an hour or so, and the editing process heightens the drama. As you watch tonight’s performance, you shall be able to see how the constructed nature of the game by which Portia must find a husband bears startling similarity to the televised dating and marriage competitions that millions of us enjoy today as regular entertainment. Tiger Reel’s vision for this production of The Merchant of Venice participates in a long-established tradition of adapting Shakespeare’s settings to different places and times. Of course, Shakespeare himself was no stranger to anachronism, and his plays – even those set in ancient times or distant locales – include many references to the world of Renaissance England. Adapting his settings is just one way to help a modern audience understand the story.

—Tyrrell Woolbert The Merchant of Venice Director’s Note The Merchant of Venice contains two of the most lucid and well-written pleas for our shared humanity in the English language. And they are both categorically ignored by every character in the play. No one has a change of heart, and mercy is a concept left unwrapped and unopened. Shylock’s “Hath not a Jew eyes…” plea goes unheard by Salanio and Salerio, while Portia’s “The quality of mercy…” speech in the Venice courtroom is shrugged off by Shylock and forgotten by Antonio. Bassanio wins Portia’s hand in marriage by invoking the Elizabethan equivalent of “Don’t judge a book by its cover”—yet his compatriots (including Portia) engage in exactly the kind of prejudice, superstition, and racism that his “So may the outward shows be least themselves” warns against. Having fallen out of favor in recent decades, The Merchant of Venice seems to have gained new cultural currency as of late. Perhaps movies like “The Wolf of Wall Street” or television shows like “Breaking Bad” have helped moved the needle on our capacity to enjoy, laugh at, and learn from the stories of truly unsavory characters.

Maybe the ubiquity of TMZ, “The Bachelorette,” and the televised travails of the Kardashian clan are not so far removed from Portia’s bizarre marriage scheme. Maybe the realization that “the world is still deceived with ornament” is one that never really went away. Much has been said and written regarding Shakespeare’s true feelings about the Jewish people. It may very well be that the Bard was wearing his prejudices on his sleeve when he wrote Merchant. To my ear, though, I hear the words of a man struggling with the society around him that is ready to invoke such Christian concepts as “mercy” and “tolerance” but never puts them into practice, a society obsessed with ornament rather than what lies beneath. A society perfectly willing to debase, dehumanize, and degrade a man merely for who he is and then completely unable to take responsibility for what their hate has created. (“The villainy you teach me I shall execute…”) The cycle of violence and cruelty remains unbroken. As I write this, the specter of the slaughter at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church is still visible…but the image of the victim’s families publically forgiving the racist Dylann Roof is even more so.

It’s a monumental act of mercy that I don’t know I’d be capable of, and it certainly isn’t one anyone in Shakespeare’s play is able to muster. In some small way I hope this production can be seen in solidarity with their example. At least until the next reality game show comes along to distract us with its glittery gold. - Tiger Reel Tales from Shakespeare/The Merchant of Venice - Wikisource, the free online library Tales from Shakespeare/The Merchant of Venice From Wikisource 187355 Tales from Shakespeare — The Merchant of VeniceMary Lamb Shylock, the Jew, lived at Venice: he was an usurer, who had amassed an immense fortune by lending money at great interest to Christian merchants. Shylock, being a hard-hearted man, exacted the payment of the money he lent with such severity that he was much disliked by all good men, and particularly by Antonio, a young merchant of Venice; and Shylock as much hated Antonio, because he used to lend money to people in distress, and would never take any interest for the money he lent; therefore there was great enmity between this covetous Jew and the generous merchant Antonio.

Whenever Antonio met Shylock on the Rialto (or Exchange), he used to reproach him with his usuries and hard dealings, which the Jew would bear with seeming patience, while he secretly meditated revenge. Antonio was the kindest man that lived, the best conditioned, and had the most unwearied spirit in doing courtesies; indeed, he was one in whom the ancient Roman honour more appeared than in any that drew breath in Italy. He was greatly beloved by all his fellow-citizens; but the friend who was nearest and dearest to his heart was Bassanio, a noble Venetian, who, having but a small patrimony, had nearly exhausted his little fortune by living in too expensive a manner for his slender means, as young men of high rank with small fortunes are too apt to do. Whenever Bassanio wanted money, Antonio assisted him; and it seemed as if they had but one heart and one purse between them.

One day Bassanio came to Antonio, and told him that he wished to repair his fortune by a wealthy marriage with a lady whom he dearly loved, whose father, that was lately dead, had left her sole heiress to a large estate; and that in her father's lifetime he used to visit at her house, when he thought he had observed this lady had sometimes from her eyes sent speechless messages, that seemed to say he would be no unwelcome suitor; but not having money to furnish himself with an appearance befitting the lover of so rich an heiress, he besought Antonio to add to the many favours he had shown him, by lending him three thousand ducats. Antonio had no money by him at that time to lend his friend; but expecting soon to have some ships come home laden with merchandise, he said he would go to Shylock, the rich money-lender and borrow the money upon the credit of those ships. Antonio and Bassanio went together to Shylock, and Antonio asked the Jew to lend him three thousand ducats upon any interest he should require, to be paid out of the merchandise contained in his ships at sea.

On this, Shylock thought within himself- 'If I can once catch him on the hip, I will feed fat the ancient grudge I bear him; he hates our Jewish nation; he lends out money gratis, and among merchants he rails at me and my well-earned bargains, which he calls interest. Cursed be my tribe if I forgive him!' Antonio finding he was musing within himself and did not answer, and being impatient for the money, said: 'Shylock, do you hear? will you lend the money?' To this question the Jew replied: 'Signior Antonio, on the Rialto many a time and often you have railed at me about my monies and my usuries, and I have borne it with a patient shrug, for sufferance is the badge of all our tribe; and then you have called me unbeliever, cut-throat dog, and spit upon my Jewish garments, and spurned at me with your foot, as if I was a cur. Well then, it now appears you need my help; and you come to me, and say, Shylock, lend me monies. Has a dog money? Is it possible a cur should lend three thousand ducats?

Shall I bend low and say, Fair sir, you spit upon me on Wednesday last, another time you called me dog, and for these courtesies I am to lend you monies.' Antonio replied: 'I am as like to call you so again, to spit on you again, and spurn you too. If you will lend me this money, lend it not to me as to a friend, but rather lend it to me as to an enemy, that, if I break, you may with better face exact the penalty.' 'Why, look you,' said Shylock, 'how you storm! I would be friends with you, and have your love. I will forget the shames you have put upon me.

I will supply your wants, and take no interest for my money.' This seemingly kind offer greatly surprised Antonio; and then Shylock, still pretending kindness, and that all he did was to gain Antonio's love, again said he would lend him the three thousand ducats, and take no interest for his money; only Antonio should go with him to a lawyer, and there sign in merry sport a bond, that if he did not repay the money by a certain day, he would forfeit a pound of flesh, to be cut off from any part of his body that Shylock pleased. 'Content,' said Antonio: 'I will sign to this bond, and say there is much kindness in the Jew.' Bassanio said Antonio should not sign to such a bond for him; but still Antonio insisted that he would sign it, for that before the day of payment came, his ships would return laden with many times the value of the money. Shylock, hearing this debate, exclaimed: 'O, father Abraham, what suspicious people these Christians are! Their own hard dealings teach them to suspect the thoughts of others.

I pray you tell me this, Bassanio: if he should break this day, what should I gain by the exaction of the forfeiture? A pound of man's flesh, taken from a man, is not so estimable, nor profitable neither, as the flesh of mutton or beef. I say, to buy his favour I offer this friendship: if he will take it, so; if not, adieu.' At last, against the advice of Bassanio, who, notwithstanding all the Jew had said of his kind intentions, did not like his friend should run the hazard of this shocking penalty for his sake, Antonio signed the bond, thinking it really was (as the Jew said) merely in sport. The rich heiress that Bassanio wished to marry lived near Venice, at a place called Belmont: her name was Portia, and in the graces of her person and her mind she was nothing inferior to that Portia, of whom we read, who was Cato's daughter, and the wife of Brutus. Bassanio being so kindly supplied with money by his friend Antonio, at the hazard of his life, set out for Belmont with a splendid train, and attended by a gentleman of the name of Gratiano.

Bassanio proving successful in his suit, Portia in a short time consented to accept of him for a husband. Bassanio confessed to Portia that he had no fortune, and that his high birth and noble ancestry was all that he could boast of; she, who loved him for his worthy qualities, and had riches enough not to regard wealth in a husband, answered with a graceful modesty, that she would wish herself a thousand times more fair, and ten thousand times more rich, to be more worthy of him; and then the accomplished Portia prettily dispraised herself, and said she was an unlessoned girl, unschooled, unpractised, yet not so old but that she could learn, and that she would commit her gentle spirit to be directed and governed by him in all things; and she said: 'Myself and what is mine, to you and yours is now converted. But yesterday, Bassanio, I was the lady of this fair mansion, queen of myself, and mistress over these servants; and now this house, these servants, and myself, are yours, my lord; I give them with this ring'; presenting a ring to Bassanio.

Bassanio was so overpowered with gratitude and wonder at the gracious manner in which the rich and noble Portia accepted of a man of his humble fortunes, that he could not express his joy and reverence to the dear lady who so honoured him, by anything but broken words of love and thankfulness; and taking the ring, he vowed never to part with it. Gratiano and Nerissa, Portia's waiting-maid, were in attendance upon their lord and lady, when Portia so gracefully promised to become the obedient wife of Bassanio; and Gratiano, wishing Bassanio and the generous lady joy, desired permission to be married at the same time. 'With all my heart, Gratiano,' said Bassanio, 'if you can get a wife.' Gratiano then said that he loved the lady Portia's fair waiting gentlewoman Nerissa, and that she had promised to be his wife, if her lady married Bassanio. Portia asked Nerissa if this was true.

Nerissa replied: 'Madam, it is so, if you approve of it.' Portia willingly consenting, Bassanio pleasantly said: 'Then our wedding-feast shall be much honoured by your marriage, Gratiano.' The happiness of these lovers was sadly crossed at this moment by the entrance of a messenger, who brought a letter from Antonio containing fearful tidings.

When Bassanio read Antonio's letter, Portia feared it was to tell him of the death of some dear friend, he looked so pale; and inquiring what was the news which had so distressed him, he said: 'O sweet Portia, here are a few of the unpleasantest words that ever blotted paper; gentle lady, when I first imparted my love to you, I freely told you all the wealth I had ran in my veins; but I should have told you that I had less than nothing, being in debt.' Bassanio then told Portia what has been here related, of his borrowing the money of Antonio, and of Antonio's procuring it of Shylock the Jew, and of the bond by which Antonio had engaged to forfeit a pound of flesh, if it was not repaid by a certain day: and then Bassanio read Antonio's letter: the words of which were: Sweet Bassanio, my ships are all lost, my bond to the Jew is forfeited, and since in paying it is impossible I should live, I could wish to see you at my death; notwithstanding use your pleasure; if your love for me do not persuade you to come, let not my letter.' 'O, my dear love,'

 said Portia, 'despatch all business, and begone; you shall have gold to pay the money twenty times over, before this kind friend shall lose a hair by my Bassanio's fault; and as you are so dearly bought, I will dearly love you.' Portia then said she would be married to Bassanio before he set out, to give him a legal right to her money; and that same day they were married, and Gratiano was also married to Nerissa; and Bassanio and Gratiano, the instant they were married, set out in great haste for Venice, where Bassanio found Antonio in prison.

The day of payment being past, the cruel Jew would not accept of the money which Bassanio offered him, but insisted upon having a pound of Antonio's flesh. A day was appointed to try this shocking cause before the duke of Venice, and Bassanio awaited in dreadful suspense the event of the trial. When Portia parted with her husband, she spoke cheeringly to him, and bade him bring his dear friend along with him when he returned; yet she feared it would go hard with Antonio, and when she was left alone, she began to think and consider within herself, if she could by any means be instrumental in saving the life of her dear Bassanio's friend; and notwithstanding when she wished to honour her Bassanio, she had said to him with such a meek and wifelike grace, that she would submit in all things to be governed by his superior wisdom, yet being now called forth into action by the peril of her honoured husband's friend, she did nothing doubt her own powers, and by the sole guidance of her own true and perfect judgement, at once resolved to go herself to Venice, and speak in Antonio's defence.

Portia had a relation who was a counsellor in the law; to this gentleman, whose name was Bellario, she wrote, and stating the case to him, desired his opinion, and that with his advice he would also send her the dress worn by a counsellor. When the messenger returned, he brought letters from Bellario of advice how to proceed, and also everything necessary for her equipment. Portia dressed herself and her maid Nerissa in men's apparel, and putting on the robes of a counsellor, she took Nerissa along with her as her clerk; and setting out immediately, they arrived at Venice on the very day of the trial. The cause was just going to be heard before the duke and senators of Venice in the senatehouse, when Portia entered this high court of justice, and presented a letter from Bellario, in which that learned counsellor wrote to the duke, saying, he would have come himself to plead for Antonio, but that he was prevented by sickness, and he requested that the learned young doctor Balthasar (so he called Portia) might be permitted to plead in his stead.

This the duke granted, much wondering at the youthful appearance of the stranger, who was prettily disguised by her counsellor's robes and her large wig. And now began this important trial. Portia looked around her, and she knew the merciless Jew; and she saw Bassanio, but he knew her not in her disguise. He was standing beside Antonio, in an agony of distress and fear for his friend.

The importance of the arduous task Portia had engaged in gave this tender lady courage, and she boldly proceeded in the duty she had undertaken to perform: and first of all she addressed herself to Shylock; and allowing that he had a right by the Venetian law to have the forfeit expressed in the bond, she spoke so sweetly of the noble quality of mercy, as would have softened any heart but the unfeeling Shylock's; saying, that it dropped as the gentle rain from heaven upon the place beneath; and how mercy was a double blessing, it blessed him that gave, and him that received it; and how it became monarchs better than their crowns, being an attribute of God Himself; and that earthly power came nearest to God's, in proportion as mercy tempered justice; and she bid Shylock remember that as we all pray for mercy, that same prayer should teach us to show mercy. Shylock only answered her by desiring to have the penalty forfeited in the bond. 'Is he not able to pay the money?' asked Portia.

Bassanio then offered the Jew the payment of the three thousand ducats as many times over as he should desire; which Shylock refusing, and still insisting upon having a pound of Antonio's flesh, Bassanio begged the learned young counsellor would endeavour to wrest the law a little, to save Antonio's life. But Portia gravely answered, that laws once established must never be altered. Shylock hearing Portia say that the law might not be altered, it seemed to him that she was pleading in his favour, and he said: 'A Daniel is come to judgement! O wise young judge, how I do honour you!

How much elder are you than your looks!' Portia now desired Shylock to let her look at the bond; and when she had read it, she said: 'This bond is forfeited, and by this the Jew may lawfully claim a pound of flesh, to be by him cut off nearest Antonio's heart.' Then she said to Shylock: 'Be merciful: take the money, and bid me tear the bond.' But no mercy would the cruel Shylock show; and he said: 'By my soul I swear, there is no power in the tongue of men to alter me.' 'Why then, Antonio,' said Portia, 'you must prepare your bosom for the knife': and while Shylock was sharpening a long knife with great eagerness to cut off the pound of flesh, Portia said to Antonio: 'Have you anything to say?' Antonio with a calm resignation replied, that he had but little to say, for that he had prepared his mind for death. Then he said to Bassanio: 'Give me your hand, Bassanio! Fare you well! Grieve not that I am fallen into this misfortune for you.

Commend me to your honourable wife, and tell her how I have loved you!' Bassanio in the deepest affliction replied: 'Antonio, I am married to a wife, who is as dear to me as life itself; but life itself, my wife, and all the world, are not esteemed with me above your life; I would lose all, I would sacrifice all to this devil here, to deliver you.' Portia hearing this, though the kind-hearted lady was not at all offended with her husband for expressing the love he owed to so true a friend as Antonio in these strong terms, yet could not help answering: 'Your wife would give you little thanks, if she were present, to hear you make this offer.' And then Gratiano, who loved to copy what his lord did, thought he must make a speech like Bassanio's, and he said, in Nerissa's hearing, who was writing in her clerk's dress by the side of Portia: 'I have a wife, whom I protest I love; I wish she were in heaven, if she could but entreat some power there to change the cruel temper of this currish Jew.' 'It is well you wish this behind her back, else you would have but an

 unquiet house,' said Nerissa.

Shylock now cried out impatiently: 'We trifle time; .I pray pronounce the sentence.' And now all was awful expectation in the court, and every heart was full of grief for Antonio. Portia asked if the scales were ready to weigh the flesh; and she said to the Jew: 'Shylock, you must have some surgeon by, lest he bleed to death.' Shylock, whose whole intent was that Antonio should bleed to death, said: 'It is not so named in the bond.' Portia replied: 'It is not so named in the bond, but what of that? It were good you did so much for charity.' To this all the answer Shylock would make was: 'I cannot find it; it is not in the bond.' 'Then,' said Portia, 'a pound of Antonio's flesh is thine. The law allows it, and the court awards it. And you may cut this flesh from off his breast. The law allows it and the court awards it.' Again Shylock exclaimed: 'O wise and upright judge!

A Daniel is come to judgement!' And then he sharpened his long knife again, and looking eagerly on Antonio, he said: 'Come, prepare!' 'Tarry a little, Jew,' said Portia; 'there is something else. This bond here gives you no drop of blood; the words expressly are "a pound of flesh". If in the cutting off the pound of flesh you shed one drop of Christian blood, your lands and goods are by the law to be confiscated to the state of Venice.' Now as it was utterly impossible for Shylock to cut off the pound of flesh without shedding some of Antonio's blood, this wise discovery of Portia's, that it was flesh and not blood that was named in the bond, saved the life of Antonio; and all admiring the wonderful sagacity of the young counsellor, who had so happily thought of this expedient, plaudits resounded from every part of the senate-house; and Gratiano exclaimed, in the words which Shylock had used: 'O wise and upright judge!

mark, Jew, a Daniel is come to judgement!' Shylock, finding himself defeated in his cruel intent, said with a disappointed look, that he would take the money; and Bassanio, rejoiced beyond measure at Antonio's unexpected deliverance, cried out: 'Here is the money!' But Portia stopped him, saying: 'Softly; there is no haste; the Jew shall have nothing but the penalty: therefore prepare, Shylock, to cut off the flesh; but mind you shed no blood: nor do not cut off more nor less than just a pound; be it more or less by one poor scruple, nay if the scale turn but by the weight of a single hair, you are condemned by the laws of Venice to die, and all you wealth is forfeited to the senate.' 'Give me my money, and let me go,' said Shylock. 'I have it ready,' said Bassanio: 'here it is.' Shylock was going to take the money, when Portia again stopped him, saying: 'Tarry, Jew; I have yet another hold upon you.

By the laws of Venice, your wealth is forfeited to the state, for having conspired against the life of one of its citizens, and your life lies at the mercy of the duke; therefore, down on your knees, and ask him to pardon you.' The duke then said to Shylock: 'That you may see the difference of our Christian spirit, I pardon you your life before you ask it; half your wealth belongs to Antonio, the other half comes to the state.' The generous Antonio then said that he would give up his share of Shylock's wealth, if Shylock would sign a deed to make it over at his death to his daughter and her husband; for Antonio knew that the Jew had an only daughter who had lately married against his consent to a young Christian, named Lorenzo, a friend of Antonio's, which had so offended Shylock, that he had disinherited her. The Jew agreed to this: and being thus disappointed in his revenge, and despoiled of his riches, he said: 'I am ill.

Let me go home; send the deed after me, and I will sign over half my riches to my daughter.' 'Get thee gone, then,' said the duke, 'and sign it; and if you repent your cruelty and turn Christian, the state will forgive you the fine of the other half of your riches.' The duke now released Antonio, and dismissed the court. He then highly praised the wisdom and ingenuity of the young counsellor, and invited him home to dinner.

Portia, who meant to return to Belmont before her husband, replied: 'I humbly thank your grace, but I must away directly.' The duke said he was sorry he had not leisure to stay and dine with him; and turning to Antonio, he added: 'Reward this gentleman; for in my mind you are much indebted to him.' The duke and his senators left the court; and then Bassanio said to Portia: 'Most worthy gentleman, I and my friend Antonio have by your wisdom been this day acquitted of grievous penalties, and I beg you will accept of the three thousand ducats due unto the Jew.' 'And we shall stand indebted to you over and above,' said Antonio, 'in love and service evermore.' Portia could not be prevailed upon to accept the money; but upon Bassanio still pressing her to accept of some reward, she said: 'Give me your gloves; I will wear them for your sake'; and then Bassanio taking off his gloves, she espied the ring which she had given him upon his finger: now it was the ring the wily lady wanted to get from him to make a merry jest when she saw her Bassanio again, that made her ask him for his gloves; and she

 said, when she saw the ring, 'and for your love I will take this ring from you.' Bassanio was sadly distressed that the counsellor should ask him for the only thing he could not part with, and he replied in great confusion, that he could not give him that ring, because it was his wife's gift, and he had vowed never to part with it; but that he would give him the most valuable ring in Venice, and find it out by proclamation.

On this Portia affected to be affronted, and left the court, saying: 'You teach me, sir, how a beggar should be answered.' 'Dear Bassanio,' said Antonio, 'let him have the ring; let my love and the great service he has done for me be valued against your wife's displeasure.' Bassanio, ashamed to appear so ungrateful, yielded, and sent Gratiano after Portia with the ring; and then the clerk Nerissa, who had also given Gratiano a ring, she begged his ring, and Gratiano (not choosing to be outdone in generosity by his lord) gave it to her. And there was laughing among these ladies to think, when they got home, how they would tax their husbands with giving away their rings, and swear that they had given them as a present to some woman.

Portia, when she returned, was in that happy temper of mind which never fails to attend the consciousness of having performed a good action; her cheerful spirits enjoyed everything she saw: the moon never seemed to shine so bright before; and when that pleasant moon was hid behind a cloud, then a light which she saw from her house at Belmont as well pleased her charmed fancy, and she said to Nerissa: 'That light we see is burning in my hall; how far that little candle throws its beams, so shines a good deed in a naughty world'; and hearing the sound of music from her house, she said: 'Methinks that music sounds much sweeter than by day.' And now Portia and Nerissa entered the house, and dressing themselves in their own apparel, they awaited the arrival of their husbands, who soon followed them with Antonio; and Bassanio presenting his dear friend to the lady Portia, the congratulations and welcomings of that lady were hardly over, when they perceived Nerissa and her husband quarrelling in a comer of the room. 'A quarrel already?' said Portia.

'What is the matter?' Gratiano replied: 'Lady, it is about a paltry gilt ring that Nerissa gave me, with words upon it like the poetry on a cutler's knife; Love me, and leave me not.' 'What does the poetry or the value of the ring signify?' said Nerissa. 'You swore to me when I gave it to you, that you would keep it till the hour of death; and now you say you gave it to the lawyer's clerk. I know you gave it to a woman.' 'By this hand,' replied Gratiano, 'I gave it to a youth, a kind of boy, a little scrubbed boy, no higher than yourself; he was clerk to the young counsellor that by his wise pleading saved Antonio's life: this prating boy begged it for a fee, and I could not for my life deny him.' Portia said: 'You were to blame, Gratiano, to part with your wife's first gift.

I gave my lord Bassanio a ring, and I am sure he would not part with it for all the world.' Gratiano, in excuse for his fault, now said: 'My lord Bassanio gave his ring away to the counsellor, and then the boy, his clerk, that took some pains in writing, he begged my ring.' Portia, hearing this, seemed very angry, and reproached Bassanio for giving away her ring; and she said, Nerissa had taught her what to believe, and that she knew some woman had the ring. Bassanio was very unhappy to have so offended his dear lady, and he said with great earnestness: 'No, by my honour, no woman had it, but a civil doctor, who refused three thousand ducats of me, and begged the ring, which when I denied him, he went displeased away. What could I do, sweet Portia? I was so beset with shame for my seeming ingratitude, that I was forced to send the ring after him.

Pardon me, good lady; had you been there, I think you would have begged the ring of me to give the worthy doctor.' 'Ah!' said Antonio, 'I am the unhappy cause of these quarrels.' Portia bid Antonio not to grieve at that, for that he was welcome notwithstanding; and then Antonio said: 'I once did lend my body for Bassanio's sake; and but for him to whom your husband gave the ring, I should have now been dead. I dare be bound again, my soul upon the forfeit, your lord will never more break his faith with you.' 'Then you shall be his surety,' said Portia; 'give him this ring, and bid him keep it better than the other.' When Bassanio looked at this ring, he was strangely surprised to find it was the same he gave away; and then Portia told him how she was the young counsellor, and Nerissa was her clerk; and Bassanio found, to his unspeakable wonder and delight, that it was by the noble courage and wisdom of his wife that Antonio's life was saved.

And Portia again welcomed Antonio, and gave him letters which by some chance had fallen into her hands, which contained an account of Antonio's ships, that were supposed lost, being safely arrived in the harbour. So these tragical beginnings of this rich merchant's story were all forgotten in the unexpected good fortune which ensued; and there was leisure to laugh at the comical adventure of the rings, and the husbands that did not know their own wives: Gratiano merrily swearing, in a sort of rhyming speech, that ... while he lived, he'd fear no other thing So sore, as keeping safe Nerissa's ring.

Question: In Shakespeare's, 'The Merchant Of Venice', who has servants named 'Balthasar' and 'Stefano'?
Answer: 'PORTIA'