The Merchant of Venice

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The Merchant of Venice is one of the most outstanding romantic comedies of William Shakespeare. The play revolves around the legendary characters of Antonio, a rich Italian merchant, Shylock, a rich Jew, and Portia, a rich heiress. When Antonio asks to borrow money from Shylock to help his friend Bassanio, Shylock agrees on the condition that if he is unable to repay it by the date specified, he will have to repay it with a pound of his flesh. As the play unfolds, Antonio is trapped by Shylock's condition, but the beautiful and intelligent Portia comes to his rescue.Also available as part of a 20 book set, including Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, The Tragedy of Macbeth, A Midsummer Night's Dream, A Winter's Tale, The Taming of the Shrew, The Tempest, Twelfth Night, Timon of Athens, The Two Gentlemen of Verona, The Merchant of Venice, Othello, Much Ado About Nothing, King Lear, Julius Caesar, Cymbeline, The Comedy of Errors, As You Like It, Anthony and Cleopatra and All's Well That Ends Well.
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[Dramatis Personae THE DUKE OF VENICE ANTONIO, a merchant of Venice BASSANIO, his friend, suitor to Portia GRATIANO, a follower of Bassanio, in love with Nerissa SOLANIO,  friends to Antonio SALERIO,   and Bassanio LORENZO, in love with Jessica LEONARDO, servant to Bassanio PORTIA, a rich heiress of Belmont NERISSA, her waiting-gentlewoman BALTHASAR, servant to Portia STEPHANO, servant to Portia THE PRINCE OF MOROCCO, suitor to Portia THE PRINCE OF ARAGON, suitor to Portia A MESSENGER to Portia SHYLOCK, a rich Jew JESSICA, his daughter TUBAL, a Jew, Shylock's friend LANCELOT GOBBO, a clown, servant to Shylock and then to Bassanio OLD GOBBO, Lancelot's father Magnificoes of Venice, Officers of the Court of Justice, Jailor, Servants to Portia, and other Attendants Scene: Partly at Venice and partly at Belmont, the seat of Portia] 1.1. Location: A street in Venice. 1In sooth Truly.   sad morose, dismal-looking. 5am to learn have yet to learn 6such . . . of me such sadness makes me so distracted, lacking in good sense 9argosies large merchant ships. (So named from Ragusa, the modern city of Dubrovnik.)   portly majestic 10signors gentlemen.   flood sea 11pageants mobile stages used in plays or processions 12overpeer look down upon 13curtsy i.e., bob up and down, or lower topsails in token of respect (reverence) 14woven wings canvas sails. 15venture forth investment at risk 17still continually 19roads anchorages, open harbors 23blow . . . ague i.e., start me shivering 26flats shoals [1.1] A Enter Antonio, Salerio, and Solanio. ANTONIO In sooth, I know not why I am so sad.1 It wearies me, you say it wearies you; But how I caught it, found it, or came by it, What stuff 'tis made of, whereof it is born, I am to learn;5 And such a want-wit sadness makes of me6 That I have much ado to know myself. SALERIO Your mind is tossing on the ocean, There where your argosies with portly sail,9 Like signors and rich burghers on the flood,10 Or as it were the pageants of the sea,11 Do overpeer the petty traffickers12 That curtsy to them, do them reverence,13 As they fly by them with their woven wings.14 SOLANIO Believe me, sir, had I such venture forth,15 The better part of my affections would Be with my hopes abroad. I should be still17 Plucking the grass to know where sits the wind, Peering in maps for ports and piers and roads;19 And every object that might make me fear Misfortune to my ventures, out of doubt Would make me sad. SALERIO         My wind cooling my broth Would blow me to an ague when I thought23 What harm a wind too great might do at sea. I should not see the sandy hourglass run But I should think of shallows and of flats,26 27Andrew name of a ship. (Perhaps after the St. Andrew, a Spanish galleon captured at Cadiz in 1596.) 28Vailing lowering. (Usually as a sign of submission.) high-top topmast 29burial burial place. 31bethink me straight be put in mind immediately 35even now a short while ago.   this i.e., the cargo of spices and silks 38bechanced having happened 42bottom ship's hold 44Upon . . . year i.e., risked upon the chance of the present year. 50two-headed Janus a Roman god of all beginnings, represented by a figure with two faces 51framed fashioned 52peep . . . eyes i.e., look with eyes narrowed by laughter 53at a bagpiper i.e., even at a bagpiper, whose music was regarded as melancholic 54other others.   vinegar aspect sour, sullen looks 56Nestor venerable senior officer in the Iliad, noted for gravity And see my wealthy Andrew docked in sand,27 Vailing her high-top lower than her ribs28 To kiss her burial. Should I go to church29 And see the holy edifice of stone And not bethink me straight of dangerous rocks31 Which, touching but my gentle vessel's side, Would scatter all her spices on the stream, Enrobe the roaring waters with my silks, And, in a word, but even now worth this,35 And now worth nothing? Shall I have the thought To think on this, and shall I lack the thought That such a thing bechanced would make me sad?38 But tell not me. I know Antonio Is sad to think upon his merchandise. ANTONIO Believe me, no. I thank my fortune for it, My ventures are not in one bottom trusted,42 Nor to one place; nor is my whole estate Upon the fortune of this present year.44 Therefore my merchandise makes me not sad. SOLANIO Why then, you are in love. ANTONIO         Fie, fie! SOLANIO Not in love neither? Then let us say you are sad Because you are not merry; and 'twere as easy For you to laugh and leap, and say you are merry Because you are not sad. Now, by two-headed   Janus,50 Nature hath framed strange fellows in her time:51 Some that will evermore peep through their eyes52 And laugh like parrots at a bagpiper,53 And other of such vinegar aspect54 That they'll not show their teeth in way of smile Though Nestor swear the jest be laughable.56 61prevented forestalled 64th'occasion the opportunity 66laugh i.e., be merry together. 67strange distant.   Must it be so? Must you go? or, Must you show reserve? 68We'll . . . yours We'll adjust our spare time to accommodate your schedule. 74respect . . . world concern for worldly affairs of business. Enter Bassanio, Lorenzo, and Gratiano. Here comes Bassanio, your most noble kinsman, Gratiano, and Lorenzo. Fare ye well. We leave you now with better company. SALERIO I would have stayed till I had made you merry, If worthier friends had not prevented me.61 ANTONIO Your worth is very dear in my regard. I take it your own business calls on you, And you embrace th'occasion to depart.64 SALERIO  Good morrow, my good lords. BASSANIO Good signors both, when shall we laugh? Say,   when?66 You grow exceeding strange. Must it be so?67 SALERIO We'll make our leisures to attend on yours.68 Exeunt Salerio and Solanio. LORENZO My lord Bassanio, since you have found Antonio, We two will leave you, but at dinnertime, I pray you, have in mind where we must meet. BASSANIO  I will not fail you. GRATIANO You look not well, Signor Antonio. You have too much respect upon the world.74 They lose it that do buy it with much care. Believe me, you are marvelously changed. ANTONIO I hold the world but as the world, Gratiano-- A stage where every man must play a part, And mine a sad one. gratianoLet me play the fool. 81heat with wine (The liver was regarded as the seat of the passions and wine as an agency for inflaming them.) 82mortifying penitential and deadly. (Sighs were thought to cost the heart a drop of blood.) 84in alabaster i.e., in a stone effigy upon a tomb. 85jaundice (Regarded as arising from the effects of too much choler or yellow bile, one of the four humors, in the blood.) 89cream and mantle become covered with scum, i.e., acquire a lifeless, stiff expression.   standing stagnant 90-2 And . . . conceit and who maintain a willful silence in order to acquire a reputation for gravity and deep thought 93As . . . say as if to say 94let . . . bark i.e., let no creature dare to interrupt me. 98-9 would . . . fools i.e., would virtually condemn their hearers into calling them fools. (Compare Matthew 5:22, in which anyone calling another a fool is threatened with damnation.) 101-2 fish . . . opinion i.e., don't go fishing for a reputation of being wise, using your melancholy silence as the bait to fool people. (Gudgeon, a small fish, was thought of as a type of gullibility.) 106dumb mute, speechless 108keep if you keep 110for this gear in view of what you say. With mirth and laughter let old wrinkles come, And let my liver rather heat with wine81 Than my heart cool with mortifying groans.82 Why should a man whose blood is warm within Sit like his grandsire cut in alabaster?84 Sleep when he wakes, and creep into the jaundice85 By being peevish? I tell thee what, Antonio-- I love thee, and 'tis my love that speaks-- There are a sort of men whose visages Do cream and mantle like a standing pond,89 And do a willful stillness entertain90 With purpose to be dressed in an opinion91 Of wisdom, gravity, profound conceit,92 As who should say, "I am Sir Oracle,93 And when I ope my lips let no dog bark!"94 Oh, my Antonio, I do know of these That therefore only are reputed wise For saying nothing, when, I am very sure, If they should speak, would almost damn those ears98 Which, hearing them, would call their brothers   fools.99 I'll tell thee more of this another time. But fish not with this melancholy bait101 For this fool gudgeon, this opinion.--102 Come, good Lorenzo.--Fare ye well awhile. I'll end my exhortation after dinner. LORENZO [to Antonio and Bassanio] Well, we will leave you then till dinnertime. I must be one of these same dumb wise men,106 For Gratiano never lets me speak. GRATIANO Well, keep me company but two years more,108 Thou shalt not know the sound of thine own   tongue. ANTONIO Fare you well. I'll grow a talker for this gear.110 112neat's ox's.   not vendible i.e., not yet salable in the marriage market. 113Is . . . now? i.e., Was all that talk about anything? 115reasons reasonable ideas 119the same i.e., the one 124By . . . port by showing a somewhat more lavish style of living 125grant continuance allow to continue. 126-7 make . . . rate complain at being cut back from such a high style of living 128to . . . off honorably to extricate myself 129time youthful lifetime 130gaged pledged, in pawn. 132warranty authorization 133unburden disclose 136-7 if . . . honor if it looks honorable, as your conduct has always done GRATIANO Thanks, i'faith, for silence is only commendable In a neat's tongue dried and a maid not vendible.112 Exeunt [Gratiano and Lorenzo]. ANTONIO  Is that anything now?113 BASSANIO  Gratiano speaks an infinite deal of nothing, more than any man in all Venice. His reasons are as  115 two grains of wheat hid in two bushels of chaff; you shall seek all day ere you find them, and when you have them they are not worth the search. ANTONIO Well, tell me now what lady is the same119 To whom you swore a secret pilgrimage, That you today promised to tell me of. BASSANIO 'Tis not unknown to you, Antonio, How much I have disabled mine estate By something showing a more swelling port124 Than my faint means would grant continuance.125 Nor do I now make moan to be abridged126 From such a noble rate; but my chief care127 Is to come fairly off from the great debts128 Wherein my time, something too prodigal,129 Hath left me gaged. To you, Antonio,130 I owe the most, in money and in love, And from your love I have a warranty132 To unburden all my plots and purposes133 How to get clear of all the debts I owe. ANTONIO I pray you, good Bassanio, let me know it; And if it stand, as you yourself still do,136 Within the eye of honor, be assured137 My purse, my person, my extremest means Lie all unlocked to your occasions. 140shaft arrow 141his its.   selfsame flight same kind and range 142advisd careful 143forth out.   adventuring risking 145innocence ingenuousness, sincerity. 148self same 150or either 151hazard that which was risked 152rest remain 153spend but time only waste time 154To . . . circumstance i.e., in not asking plainly what you want. (Circumstance here means "circumlocution.") 156In . . . uttermost in showing any doubt of my intention to do all I can 160prest ready 161richly left left a large fortune (by her father's will) 163Sometimes Once 165-6 nothing undervalued To of no less worth than 166Portia (The same Portia as in Shakespeare's Julius Caesar.) 171Colchis' (Jason adventured for the golden fleece in the land of Colchis, on the Black Sea.)   strand shore BASSANIO In my schooldays, when I had lost one shaft,140 I shot his fellow of the selfsame flight141 The selfsame way with more advised watch142 To find the other forth, and by adventuring both143 I oft found both. I urge this childhood proof Because what follows is pure innocence.145 I owe you much, and, like a willful youth, That which I owe is lost; but if you please To shoot another arrow that self way148 Which you did shoot the first, I do not doubt, As I will watch the aim, or to find both150 Or bring your latter hazard back again151 And thankfully rest debtor for the first.152 ANTONIO You know me well, and herein spend but time153 To wind about my love with circumstance;154 And out of doubt you do me now more wrong In making question of my uttermost156 Than if you had made waste of all I have. Then do but say to me what I should do That in your knowledge may by me be done, And I am prest unto it. Therefore speak.160 BASSANIO In Belmont is a lady richly left;161 And she is fair and, fairer than that word, Of wondrous virtues. Sometimes from her eyes163 I did receive fair speechless messages. Her name is Portia, nothing undervalued165 To Cato's daughter, Brutus' Portia.166 Nor is the wide world ignorant of her worth, For the four winds blow in from every coast Renowned suitors, and her sunny locks Hang on her temples like a golden fleece, Which makes her seat of Belmont Colchis' strand,171 And many Jasons come in quest of her. 175presages i.e., that presages    thrift profit and good fortune 178commodity merchandise 179a present sum ready money. 181racked stretched 183presently immediately 184no question make have no doubt 185of my trust on the basis of my credit as a merchant. sake i.e., personal sake. 1.2. Location: Belmont. Portia's house. 1troth faith 3would be would have reason to be (weary) 5surfeit overindulge 7mean small. (With a pun; see next note.) 7-8 in the mean having neither too much nor too little. 8comes sooner by acquires sooner 9competency modest means 10sentences maxims.   pronounced delivered. 14divine clergyman 18blood (Thought of as a chief agent of the passions, which in turn were regarded as the enemies of reason.) Oh, my Antonio, had I but the means To hold a rival place with one of them, I have a mind presages me such thrift175 That I should questionless be fortunate. ANTONIO Thou know'st that all my fortunes are at sea; Neither have I money nor commodity178 To raise a present sum. Therefore go forth.179 Try what my credit can in Venice do; That shall be racked even to the uttermost181 To furnish thee to Belmont, to fair Portia. Go presently inquire, and so will I,183 Where money is, and I no question make184 To have it of my trust or for my sake.Exeunt. 185 [1.2] A Enter Portia with her waiting woman, Nerissa. PORTIA  By my troth, Nerissa, my little body is aweary   1 Excerpted from The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.

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Library Journal Review

The latest in Yale's "Annotated Shakespeare" series are two of the old boy's greatest hits. Besides the scholarly texts, these include lists of suggested further reading, essays, and more. Fab for the price. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

CHOICE Review

Published to coincide with the performance schedule of the Globe Theatre in London, these handsomely printed editions of Shakespeare's plays are facsimiles of the First Folio of 1623. Intended to "provide students, actors, and the general reader with portable and affordable facsimiles of individual plays," each volume features Anthony James West's brief introduction to the printing history of the First Folio, its place in literary studies, and the original performance date and environment (when known) of the play. The short overview of the role of the First Folio in editorial practices (for better and for worse) is particularly helpful. Though otherwise lacking textual or editorial context, each volume nonetheless offers the feel of how the play would perhaps have been first experienced by early readers of Shakespeare. To understand the full complexity of the First Folio's influence and the debates currently going on regarding its authority and usefulness for scholarship and performance issues, readers will need to supplement these volumes by consulting the painstaking work of Stanley Wells and Gary Taylor. Summing Up: Recommended. With reservations. Lower- and upper-division undergraduates, graduate students, general readers. K. Farley Virginia Commonwealth University