Question

Summary of merchant of venice

Answer 1

A fortuneless nobleman, Bassanio, asks for a loan from the merchant Antonio so that he can pursue Portia, a wealthy heiress, in order to restore his fortune. Since the merchant has all his assets tied up with ships that at sea, he tells Bassanio he will use his credit to obtain a loan from the Jew Shylock.  Because Shylock fiercely hates Antonio, he latches on to the opportunity to get revenge; he agrees to loan Antonio the money. But, if Antonio does not repay this loan, Shylock will get a pound of flesh as payment from him.

With the money he needs, Bassanio pursues Portia, and he selects the casket (small box) that allows him to marry her. But, in the meantime, Shylock's daughter runs off with a Christian, converts, and steals her late mothers jewels. The avaricious and offended Shylock is enraged by this; he vows to exact the flesh from Antonio, who is unable to pay the loan because his ships are lost at sea. When Portia learns from Bassanio of Antonio's plight, she disguises herself as a doctor of law and, with her servant Nerissa dressed as a law clerk, Portia appears at court on Antonio's behalf where Shylock demands of the Duke, 

I have possessed your grace of what I purpose
And by our holy Sabbath have I sworn
To have the due and forfeit of my bond" (4.1.34-36).

Portia's speech before the court is clearly a statement of theme for this drama:

The quality of mercy is not strain'd;
It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven
Upon the place beneath. It is twice blest:
It blesseth him that gives and him that takes.
'Tis mightiest in the mightiest; it becomes
The throned monarch better than his crown. (4.1.186-192)

While it seems that Portia goes along with the sentencing, when Shylock takes steps to cut off his pound of flesh, Portia/the doctor of law points out that there was no provision in the conditions for Antonio's blood, so Shylock can only have flesh--no blood. Defeated, Shylock is further humiliated as he is made to convert to Christianity. Antonio's ships finally arrive and the lovers, Bassanio and Portia, are married.

Answer 2

Answer:

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 was a business rival to Shylock. Antonio charged minimum interest on the capital and this was harming the money lending business of Shylock. He, therefore wanted to ruin Antonio.

Launcelot Gobbo, a servant of Shylock, too struggled with the decision whether or not he should run away from his master, a kind of devil. We also see Jessica, the daughter of Shylock, living a miserable life under a domineering father. She knew all about her father and was ashamed of him.

Shylock was unpopular with other characters who accused him of practising of lending money with outrageously high rates of interest. His way of making money was immoral.

Shylock demanded the right to cut a pound of flesh from Antonio's body. The duke appeals to Shylock's sense of compassion but to no avail. Shylock refuses to show Antonio any mercy despite the countless efforts from the Christian characters to try to persuade him. The audience could see his hatred in his answer that his desire for the pound of flesh is purely for his pleasure.

But he was determined to cut a pound of flesh from Antonio's body. His eagerness to take the life of Antonio showed how deep seated his hatred for Antonio was. He was a cruel man. Shylock even brought his knife to the court, further proving how merciless he was.

Shylock is unpopular with other characters who accuse him of practising lending money with outrageously high rates of interest. The merchants, such as Antonio, too cannot stand Shylock because they believe his way of making money is immoral.

In the climactic court scene Shylock and Antonio confront one another. Portia will determine Antonio's fate. 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 make no difference to Shylock. Portia used her logic and clever wit. She agreed with Shylock that the bond is binding. But she pointed out that though the bond allows for a pound of flesh, it did not allow for the shedding of blood. Shylock cannot cut a pound of flesh without shedding blood. He lost the case. According to the law, his property will be confiscated and divided equally between the city of Venice and Antonio. The Duke spared his life, an act of mercy Shylock refused to give to Antonio. The play ended in a happy note with the ship's of Antonio arriving safely and Bassanio marrying Portia.