VishnuRaj1
The play starts with the portrayal of Antonio, the merchant of Venice, who is the melancholic. the reason of his sadness could not be fathomed. when his friends suggest that it may be because of his business enterprise ( his luck stuck in the ships at the mercy of ocean), Bassanio rejects the idea. we are also introduced to Bassanio, a young Venetian of noble rank, who wishes to woo the beautiful and wealthy heiress of Belmont , Portia. being a spendthrift, Bassanio lives on borrowed money. though he has borrowed money from Antonio earlier and is not yet able to pay him back, he approaches his Antonio for three thousand ducats to sponsor his expenditures to get to Belmont to try his luck at the lottery of caskets to woo Portia. Antonio agrees, but since his money is locked in the sea, he asks Bassanio to take a loan from anyone in Venice with his credit worthiness, Bassanio goes to the Jewish moneylender Shylock and names Antonio as loan's guarantor.
Shylock is a jew and hates Antonio because of his anti Jewish mentally. Shylock finds it a perfect occasion to be even with Antonio and agrees to lend the necessary amount (three thousand ducats) without charging any interest upon a condition that if Antonio is unable to repay the amount within specified date, Shylock could take a pound of Antonio's flesh. Antonio signs the contract.
meanwhile in Belmont, when we meet Portia, we came to know that various suitors from different places have come to take part in the lottery of caskets. Portia's father has left a will according to which each of her suitors must to choose correctly from one of three caskets - one each of gold, silver and lead. one who picks the right casket , gets portia. the first suitor is luxurious Prince of Morocco , who is dark complexion, he chooses the golden casket, Interpreting it's slogan " who chooseth me shall gain what many men desire " . the second suitor is Prince of arragon, chooses the silver casket, which proclaims, " who chooseth me shall get as much as he deserves ". the last suitor is Bassanio, whom Portia wishes to succeed , as they have met before and portia likes Bassanio to some extent. he chooses the lead casket and wins Portia.
In between the subplot of the play has also been developed as we see Shylock's daughter Jessica is extremely bored in the dull household of Shylock and is secretly in love with Lorenzo. she has planned their elopement. and in other subplot we see Gratiano, when he visits Belmont with Bassanio, falling in love with Nerissa, the lady in waiting of Portia.
Back in Venice, news is not favourable for Antonio as his ships are reported to be lost at sea. having no money at hand he has no way but to be a victim of Shylock's revenge. by now the elopement of Jessica with Lorenzo has made Shylock even more determined to exact revenge. At Belmont, Bassanio receives a letter which tells him that Antonio has been unable to return the borrowed money and is in deep danger, Bassanio and Gratiano leave for Venice, with the money from Portia, to save Antonio's life, Portia doesn't remain passive, but sends a servant to seek the counsel of bellario, a lawyer, at padua.
the climax of the play is in the court of the Duke of Venice, where Shylock refuses Bassanio's offer of six thousand ducats, twice the amount of the loan and everyone pleas for mercy; Shylock's determination becomes stronger as he demands his pound of flesh from Antonio. the Duke wishes to save Antonio but is bound by the rule of law. the lawyer Balthazar requests and insists on the pound of flesh, Balthazar asks the court to grant Shylock his due. but doctor insist that according to the bond signed by Antonio, Shylock is entitled to nothing but an exact pound of flesh and he can get it without a single drop of Antonio's blood.
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Shylock is a jew and hates Antonio because of his anti Jewish mentally. Shylock finds it a perfect occasion to be even with Antonio and agrees to lend the necessary amount (three thousand ducats) without charging any interest upon a condition that if Antonio is unable to repay the amount within specified date, Shylock could take a pound of Antonio's flesh. Antonio signs the contract.
meanwhile in Belmont, when we meet Portia, we came to know that various suitors from different places have come to take part in the lottery of caskets. Portia's father has left a will according to which each of her suitors must to choose correctly from one of three caskets - one each of gold, silver and lead. one who picks the right casket , gets portia. the first suitor is luxurious Prince of Morocco , who is dark complexion, he chooses the golden casket, Interpreting it's slogan " who chooseth me shall gain what many men desire " . the second suitor is Prince of arragon, chooses the silver casket, which proclaims, " who chooseth me shall get as much as he deserves ". the last suitor is Bassanio, whom Portia wishes to succeed , as they have met before and portia likes Bassanio to some extent. he chooses the lead casket and wins Portia.
In between the subplot of the play has also been developed as we see Shylock's daughter Jessica is extremely bored in the dull household of Shylock and is secretly in love with Lorenzo. she has planned their elopement. and in other subplot we see Gratiano, when he visits Belmont with Bassanio, falling in love with Nerissa, the lady in waiting of Portia.
Back in Venice, news is not favourable for Antonio as his ships are reported to be lost at sea. having no money at hand he has no way but to be a victim of Shylock's revenge. by now the elopement of Jessica with Lorenzo has made Shylock even more determined to exact revenge. At Belmont, Bassanio receives a letter which tells him that Antonio has been unable to return the borrowed money and is in deep danger, Bassanio and Gratiano leave for Venice, with the money from Portia, to save Antonio's life, Portia doesn't remain passive, but sends a servant to seek the counsel of bellario, a lawyer, at padua.
the climax of the play is in the court of the Duke of Venice, where Shylock refuses Bassanio's offer of six thousand ducats, twice the amount of the loan and everyone pleas for mercy; Shylock's determination becomes stronger as he demands his pound of flesh from Antonio. the Duke wishes to save Antonio but is bound by the rule of law. the lawyer Balthazar requests and insists on the pound of flesh, Balthazar asks the court to grant Shylock his due. but doctor insist that according to the bond signed by Antonio, Shylock is entitled to nothing but an exact pound of flesh and he can get it without a single drop of Antonio's blood.
Hope it helps you