The Story Archive

The Merchant of Venice

William Shakespeare · c. 1596 CE · Play · English · Renaissance

Bassanio needs money to court a rich heiress at Belmont, and his friend Antonio borrows it from Shylock against a pound of his own flesh. When Antonio's ships fail to come in, the bond falls due before the Venetian court and a lawyer nobody there recognizes. A comedy whose scapegoat walks out broken.

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