The Merchant of VenicePlay by Shakespeare

Introduction - The play and the image displayed in the picture

This section is dedicated to The Merchant of Venice, the play by William Shakespeare. The picture is 18th century and image displayed represents the essence of the play which, we hope, will bring to life a famous scene or character from the play. The information provided in this section of william-shakespeare.info includes famous quotes / quotations from The Merchant of Venice, summary of the plot or story, facts about the play, a list of the cast and characters and access to the full text - script of The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare.

Summary of the plot or story

The character of Shylock has raised a debate over whether the play should be condemned as anti-Semitic, and this controversy has overshadowed many other aspects of the play.The plot involves a vengeful, greedy creditor, Shylock, a Jewish money-lender Shylock who seeks a literal pound of flesh from his Christian opposite, the generous, faithful Antonio. Shakespeare's version of the chest-choosing device revolves around the play's Christian heroine, Portia, who steers her lover Bassanio toward the correct humble casket and then successfully defends his bosom friend Antonio from Shylock's horrid legal suit. Shylock, is a Jew whose beloved daughter is lost to him when she elopes with a man who belongs to a virulently anti-Semitic society. When grief, anger and vengeance overcome common sense he ends up literally forced to his knees to renounce his faith and his fortune.

Information provided about the Merchant of Venice play

William Shakespeare never published any of his plays and therefore none of the original manuscripts have survived. Eighteen unauthorised versions of his plays were, however, published during his lifetime in quarto editions by unscrupulous publishers (there were no copyright laws protecting Shakespeare and his works during the Elizabethan era). A collection of his works did not appear until 1623 (a full seven years after Shakespeare's death on April 23, 1616) when two of his fellow actors, John Hemminges and Henry Condell, posthumously recorded his work and published 36 of William’s plays in the First Folio. Some dates are therefore approximate other dates are substantiated by historical events, records of performances and the dates plays appeared in print.

Date first performed

It is believed that The Merchant of Venice was first performed between 1596 and 1597. In the Elizabethan era there was a huge demand for new entertainment and The Merchant of Venice would have been produced immediately following the completion of the play.

Date was first printed

It is believed that The Merchant of Venice was first printed in 1600. As William Shakespeare clearly did not want his work published details of the play would have therefore been noted, and often pirated without his consent, following a performance.

Famous Quotes / Quotations

The quotes from The Merchant of Venice are amongst Shakespeare's most famous including 'All that glisters is not gold' and 'Mislike me not for my complexion'. Details of these famous quotes follow, complete with information regarding the Act and the Scene, allowing a quick reference to the section of the play that these quotations can be found in. Please click here for the full text of the script of the play.

"Superfluity comes sooner by white hairs, but competency lives longer."

"The devil can cite Scripture for his purpose."

"Mislike me not for my complexion, the shadow’d livery of the burnish’d sun."

"All that glisters is not gold."