1、The Merchant of VeniceBy Dong YueMarch the 24th 1 Background information 2Main characters3Synopsis/Plot4 ThemeThe Merchant of Venice is a play by William Shakespeare,believed to have been written between 1596 and 1598.Though classified as a comedy and sharing certain aspects with Shakespeares other
2、romantic comedies,the play is perhaps most remembered for its dramatic scenes.Background information Antonio a merchant of VeniceBassanio Antonios friend;suitor to PortiaLorenzo friend of Antonio and Bassanio,in love with JessicaPortia a rich heiressShylock a rich Jew,moneylender,father of JessicaJe
3、ssica daughter of Shylock,in love with LorenzoDuke of Venice Venetian authority who presides over the case of Shylocks bondMain CharactersDuke of VeniceAntonioShylockJessicaLorenzoPortiaBassanioDaughter and FatherLoversCoupleFriendsSaveBeatPresides over his caseEnemyMain CharactersSynopsis Bassanio,
4、a young noble man,wishes to woo the beautiful heiress Portia of Belmont.He turns for his friend,Antonio,for 3,000 ducats as his expenditures.Antonio,who has previously and repeatedly bailed him out agrees,but since Antonio is cash-poor his ships and goods are busy at sea he promises to cover a bond
5、if Bassanio can find a lender,so Bassanio turns to the Jewish moneylender Shylock and names Antonio as the loans guarantor.Shylock agrees to lend the sum to Antonio without interest upon one condition:if Antonio is unable to repay it at the specified date,Shylock may take a pound of Antonios flesh.S
6、ynopsisSynopsis Meanwhile in Belmont,Portia is awash with suitors.Her father left a will stipulating,each of her suitors must choose correctly from one of three caskets one each of gold,silver and lead.If he picks the right casket,he gets Portia.The two suitors before Bassanio have failed.Luckily,wi
7、th the help of Portias household,Bassanio chooses the lead casket,winning Portias hand.SynopsisSynopsis At Venice,Antonios ships are reported lost at sea.This leaves him unable to satisfy the bond.Antonio has already made an enemy of Shylock through his outspoken antisemitism,and also because Antoni
8、os habit of lending money without interest forces Shylock to charge lower rates.Shylock is even more determined to exact revenge from Christians after his daughter Jessica had fled home and eloped with the Christian Lorenzo.SynopsisSynopsis Here comes the climax.Shylock refuses Bassanios offer of 6,
9、000 ducats.He demands his pound of flesh from Antonio.The wit Portia disguises as a young lawyer appears at the court of trial and defeats Shylock s cruel demand by ordering the Jew to remove only the flesh,not the blood.She also tells him that he must cut precisely one pound of flesh,no more,no les
10、s.Defeated,Shylock concedes to accepting Bassanios offer of money.Portia then cites a law under which Shylock,as a Jew,having attempted to take the life of a citizen,has forfeited his property,half to the government and half to Antonio,leaving his life at the mercy of the Duke.The Duke immediately p
11、ardons Shylocks life.Antonio asks for his share in use to Lorenzo and Jessica.SynopsisSynopsis Bassanio does not recognise his disguised wife,but offers to give a present to the supposed lawyer.Portia requests his ring and Antonios gloves.Bassanio gives the ring only after much persuasion from Anton
12、io,as earlier he promised his wife never to lose,sell or give it.At Belmont,Portia taunt and pretend to accuse her husband before revealing she is really the lawyer in disguise.After all the other characters make amends,Antonio learns from Portia that three of his ships were not stranded and have re
13、turned safely after all.Theme Though in the play Shakespeare obviously meant to exalt the friendship between Antonio and Bassanio and to idealize Portia as a heroine of great beauty,wit and loyalty,yet when Shylock the usurer complains of his suffering from racial discriminationand religious persecution,the poet shows his full sympathy for the oppressed Jew.祝您成功！
