Merchant of venice full story
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William Shakespeare's, Merchant of Venice presents Shylock, the Jewish money lender as the villain of the play. Shylock cunningly coaxed Antonio to add the words "a pound of flesh" in the bond as one of the conditions if Antonio failed to repay the loan in time.
Antonio is a business rival to Shylock. Antonio charges minimum interest and this was harming the money lending business of Shylock. He, therefore wants to ruin Antonio. Shylock charges exorbitant rate of interest which people think as immoral.
Jessica, the only daughter of Shylock, knew all about her father and is ashamed of him. She confesses that she is his daughter by blood, and not by actions. She hopes to escape her relationship with her father by marrying Lorenzo.
Bassanio is in love with Portia the heiress of Belmont but she has other richer suitors. He needs money to compete with them in order to win the hand of Portia. Antonio told him that all his money was tied up in his business but that he will be the guarantor for any loan that he can get.
Shylock demands the right to cut a pound of flesh from Antonio's body for not repaying the loan in the fixed time. The duke appeals to Shylock to show compassion to Antonio but Shylock refused to show Antonio any mercy. In his eagerness to take the life of Antonio, he even brought his knife to the court.
Shylock was unpopular with other people who accused him of practising his money lending business with outrageously high rates of interest. The merchants, such as Antonio, too cannot stand Shylock because they believed his way of making money was unacceptable.
In the climactic court scene Shylock and Antonio confront one another. During the trial, Portia explained the value of mercy. She said that when mercy is unreservedly dispensed, it becomes the throned monarch better than his crown, it is an attribute of God himself. But it makes no difference to Shylock. Portia uses her logic and clever wit. She agrees with Shylock that the bond is binding and cannot be broken. But she points out that while the bond allows for a pound of flesh, it does not allow for the shedding of blood. Shylock losses the case because it is impossible for him to cut a pound of flesh without shedding blood. According to the law, his property would be confiscated and divided equally between the city of Venice and Antonio. The Duke spares his life, an act of mercy Shylock refused to give to Antonio. The play ends on a happy note with the ship's of Antonio arriving safely and Bassanio marrying Portia.