Merchant of Venice

The Merchant of Venice is an intriguing drama of love greed and revenge. At its heart the play contrasts the characters of the maddened and vengeful Shylock a Venetian moneylender with the gracious level-headed Portia a wealthy young woman besieged by suitors. At the play's climax Shylock insists on the enforcement of a binding contract that will cost the life of the merchant Antonio -- inciting Portia to mount a memorable defense.<br>In this richly plotted drama Shylock whom Shakespeare endowed with all of the depth and vitality of his greatest characters is not alone in his villainy. In scene after scene a large cast of ambitious and scheming characters demonstrates that honesty is a quality often strained where matters of love and money are concerned.<br>The gravity and suspense of the play's central plot together with its romance have made <i>The Merchant of Venice</i> a favorite of audiences and one of the most studied and performed of Shakespeare's plays. It is reprinted here from an authoritative text complete with explanatory footnotes.