Merchant of Venice summary scenewise
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Antonio is speaking to his friends, Salerio and Solanio. He explains that a sadness has come over him, and his friends suggest that the sadness could be due to his worrying about his commercial ventures. He has ships at sea with merchandise in them and they could be vulnerable. Antonio says he is not worried about his ships because his goods are spread between them—if one went down, he would still have the others. His friends suggest that he must then be in love, but Antonio denies this.
Bassanio, Lorenzo, and Graziano arrive as Salerio and Solanio leave. Graziano tries to cheer up Antonio but fails, and then tells Antonio that men who try to be melancholy in order to be perceived as wise are deceived. Graziano and Lorenzo exit.
Bassanio complains that Graziano has nothing to say but will not stop talking: “Graziano speaks an infinite deal of nothing.”
Antonio asks Bassanio to tell him about the woman he has fallen for and intends to pursue. Bassanio first acknowledges that he has borrowed a lot of money from Antonio over the years and promises to clear his debts to him:
"To you Antonio, I owe the most in money and in love, And from your love I have a warranty to unburden all my plots and purposes how to get clear of all the debts I owe."
Then, Bassanio explains that he has fallen in love with Portia, the heiress of Belmont, but that she has other, richer suitors. He wants to try to compete with them in order to win her hand, but he needs money to get there. Antonio tells him that all his money is tied up in his business and cannot lend to him, but that he will act as a guarantor for any loan that he can get.
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Summary of Merchant of Venice
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.
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. Shylock refused to show Antonio any mercy. 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 a single drop of blood.
According to the law, his property would be divided equally between the city of Venice and Antonio. The play ends on a happy note with the ship's of Antonio arriving safely and with Bassanio and Portia getting married happily.