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Cover of The Merchant of Venice

Classic Fiction

The Merchant of Venice

To help his friend Bassanio woo the beautiful Portia, the Venetian merchant Antonio borrows a large sum from Shylock, a Jewish moneylender.

First published
1596
Length
22,227 words
Reading time
About 1 hr 33 min
Language
English (UK)

About the book

The young venetian noble Bassanio seeks to woo the beautiful heiress Portia of Belmont. He turns to his friend, a merchant named Antonio, who agrees to help him financially. They go to a Jewish moneylender, Shylock, who agrees to lend the money—but because of their mutual animosity, Shylock demands “A pound of flesh” from Antonio as collateral.

Bassanio succeeds in winning Portia’s hand. Meanwhile, Antonio’s ships are reported lost at sea, and he defaults on the loan. Bassanio rushes back to Venice to help his benefactor where everything comes to a head in Court.

This Standard Ebooks edition is based on William George Clark and William Aldis Wright’s 1887 Victoria edition, which is taken from the Globe edition.

First published 1596; the Read4Max reading text contains approximately 22,227 words arranged in 7 navigable sections.

About the author

William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare (1564–1616) is described by Wikidata as English playwright and poet (1564–1616), with citizenship or national association recorded as Kingdom of England.

Recorded occupations include playwright, poet, stage actor, writer, actor, and dramaturge. Languages recorded for William Shakespeare include Early Modern English, British English, and English. The structured record associates William Shakespeare with English Renaissance. Wikidata lists Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, As You Like It, Macbeth, A Midsummer Night's Dream, and Shakespeare's sonnets among William Shakespeare's notable works. Open Library identifies Hamlet as a leading work in its author record. Open Library catalogs 12947 works under this author record. The Read4Max catalog currently includes A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Hamlet, Julius Caesar, King Lear, Macbeth, Much Ado About Nothing, and Othello under William Shakespeare's authorship.

Reading options

  • A complete text with direct section navigation in the browser reader.
  • A downloadable EPUB for phones, tablets, desktop reading apps, and compatible ereaders.
  • Book and contributor metadata are checked against the source edition before indexing.

Themes and ideas

  • Jews--Italy--Drama
  • Moneylenders--Drama
  • Venice (Italy)--Drama
  • Shylock (Fictitious character)--Drama

Table of contents

Open reader
  1. Dramatis Personae
  2. The Merchant of Venice
  3. Act I
  4. Act II
  5. Act III
  6. Act IV
  7. Act V