Summary It is a moonlight night at Belmont, and Lorenzo and Jessica are on the avenue leading to Portia’s house. In the still evening air, the newlyweds are jokingly comparing this night to nights when other lovers — Troilus, Thisbe, Dido, and Medea — all committed romantic acts of love […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Act V: Scene 1Summary and Analysis Act IV: Scene 2
Summary Still in Venice after the trial, Portia stops on a street and instructs Nerissa to find Shylock’s house and have him sign the deed bequeathing everything he owns to Lorenzo and Jessica; then they will be home by tomorrow. Gratiano catches up with them and presents Portia with the […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Act IV: Scene 2Summary and Analysis Act IV: Scene 1
Summary The trial of Antonio in a Venetian court of justice begins. The Duke of Venice warns Antonio, the defendant, that the plaintiff (Shylock) is “a stony adversary . . . uncapable of pity . . . [and] void . . . of mercy.” Antonio declares that he is ready […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Act IV: Scene 1Summary and Analysis Act III: Scene 5
Summary In a garden at Belmont, the jester Launcelot is teasing Jessica that he fears that she is damned because she is a Jew (“the sins of the father are to be laid on the children”), but she reminds Launcelot that her husband Lorenzo has made her a Christian by […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Act III: Scene 5Summary and Analysis Act III: Scene 4
Summary At Belmont, following the departure of Bassanio, Lorenzo commends Portia for her perfect understanding of the friendship between her husband and Antonio. Portia says that she feels that if Antonio is worthy of Bassanio’s friendship, he is well worth rescuing from “hellish cruelty” at any cost. Leaving the management […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Act III: Scene 4Summary and Analysis Act III: Scene 3
Summary In Venice, Antonio has been allowed to leave the jail, accompanied by his jailer. He hopes to speak with Shylock and plead for mercy, but Shylock refuses to listen. Five times while Antonio begs Shylock to let him speak, the moneylender repeats emphatically, “I’ll have my bond!” Antonio has […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Act III: Scene 3Summary and Analysis Act III: Scene 2
Summary At Belmont, Portia would like Bassanio to delay before he chooses one of the caskets. Already she has fallen in love with him, and she fears the outcome. She asks him to “tarry,” to “pause a day or two,” to “forbear awhile”; anything, she tells him, to keep him […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Act III: Scene 2Summary and Analysis Act III: Scene 1
Summary In Venice, Salanio and Salarino are discussing the latest news on the Rialto, the bridge in Venice where many business offices are located. There is a rumor that a ship of Antonio’s has been wrecked off the southeast coast of England. Salanio despairs twice — once because of Antonio’s […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Act III: Scene 1Summary and Analysis Act II: Scene 9
Summary At Belmont, the Prince of Arragon has arrived to try his luck at choosing the correct casket, and before he decides on one, he promises Portia that he will abide by her father’s rules. First, if he fails to choose the casket containing her portrait, he will never reveal […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Act II: Scene 9Summary and Analysis Act II: Scene 8
Summary Salarino and Salanio discuss developments in Venice. When Shylock discovered that Jessica was gone, he demanded that the Duke of Venice have Bassanio’s ship searched; this proved to be impossible because Bassanio had already sailed. Antonio, however, assured the duke that Lorenzo and Jessica were not on board Bassanio’s […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Act II: Scene 8