1. A Pound of Flesh

2. Background Information Written in 1597 by William Shakespeare
Written as a romantic comedy;
focuses on love
ends happily
Elements of comedy and drama in the play:
romantic courtship
riddling love tests
eloping lovers
comic confusions
a gripping courtroom trial
uplifting final act

3. Anti-Semitism prevelent in the play
Background, Con’t:
Controversy
Anti-Semitism prevelent in the play
Jews became the evil villains of Elizabethan drama.
They were one-dimensional stereotypical characters.
Shylock is a stereotypical caricature of a cruel, money-obsessed medieval Jew
Many contemporary theatre companies refuse to present The Merchant and its mysterious puzzling Jew
Besides being stereotypical in personality, the Shylock has often also been portrayed with physical stereotypes

4. Conflicts & Themes with the Play Jew against Christian
Love against hate
Usury against venture trading
Mercy against justice
Appearance versus Reality
gold and silver prove worthless
identities are mistaken
women disguised as men
Antonio’s deal with Shylock goes bad quickly

5. Venice and Belmont, Italy
Literary Elements:
Genre
Tone
Setting (time):
Setting (place):
Symbols
Foreshadowing 
Comedy   
Comic, romantic, tragic
Sixteenth century
Venice and Belmont, Italy
The pound of flesh; Leah’s ring; the three caskets
In the play’s opening scene, Shakespeare foreshadows Antonio’s grim future by suggesting both his indebtedness to a creditor and the loss of his valuable ships

6. Merchant focuses on a variety of different plots
At times these plots seem somewhat unrelated, but they connect throughout the story
These different pieces come together
Overview
From bonds, to caskets, to rings—even events that don’t seem connected, usually end up connecting later on in the play

7. Tapestry of Different Plots
Bond Plot
Bassanio asks Antonio to borrow money so he can wed Portia
Antonio must borrow money from Shylock
If Antonio is unable to repay the loan, he will be forced to sacrifice a “pound of flesh”
The Shylock looking to get paid

8. Tapestry of Different Plots
Casket Plot
Portia’s late father has left a will stating that whoever seeks to marry Portia must solve the riddle of the three caskets
One gold, One silver, One lead, each with an inscription
If a suitor fails in the attempt, he must remain a bachelor the rest of his life!

9. Tapestry of Different Plots
Elopement Plot
Lorenzo, a friend of Antonio, elopes with Shylock’s daughter, Jessica.
Shylock is extremely unhappy and vows to show no mercy should Antonio be unable to repay the loan.
Antonio’s ships become lost at sea and Shylock looks to get repaid

10. Antonio’s ships safely return
Tapestry of Different Plots
Ring Plot
Using disguises, the female characters play a trick on their future husbands
Antonio’s ships safely return
Portia eventually reveals her trick to the husbands and the play ends with the group celebrating.
The ring plot provides a few laughs for the ladies at the expense of the men

11. Plot Elements: The Merchant of Venice
Exposition
Rising Action
Climax
Falling Action
Resolution
Portia, disguised as a man of law, intervenes on Antonio’s behalf.
Result of the conflict; initial conflict is somewhat resolved
Antonio’s ships, the only means by which he can pay off his debt to Shylock, are reported lost at sea.
Shylock is ordered to convert to Christianity and bequeath his possessions to Lorenzo and Jessica; Portia and Nerissa persuade their husbands to give up their rings
Antonio defaults on a loan he borrowed from Shylock, wherein he promises to sacrifice a pound of flesh.

12. Characters Shylock most noteworthy figure the play’s antagonist
menacing presence is felt by both Venice’s businessmen and young lovers alike
Shylock can be a sympathetic character at times
He has endured cruelty he has endured at Christian hands
In a famous monologues Shylock argues that Jews are humans and calls his anger a product of other’s cruelty
Conversely, Shylock’s attempt to revenge the wrongs done to him and procur a pound of flesh make it hard to not paint him as a dark figure
For the majority of the play Shylock is a miserly, cruel, and unsypathetic character
The Shylock has been portrayed by many a famous actor: Patrick Stewart and Al Pacino being two of them.

13. Quick-witted, wealthy, and beautiful,
Portia
Quick-witted, wealthy, and beautiful,
emerges as that rarest of combinations—a free spirit who abides rigidly by rules.
Portia proves herself to be highly resourceful in several different ways:
Finding loopholes in her father’s will
Ridgedly following the law to the extent that Shylock can not collect
Disguising herself as a man
Playing a trick on Bassanio and Graziano

14. Carefree youth but yearns to become more responsible and respectable\
Talented with words and portrayed as a romantic figure.
Woos Portia, who is delighted that he chooses the correct casket (allowing him to marry her)
Bassanio

15. Antonio
The “Merchant” mentioned in the title of the play
Dominant characteristics of the character are melancholy and cruelty.
Rails against Shylock; shows anti-Semite beliefs and insists Shylock convert to Christianity
Has risked the entirety of his fortune on overseas trading ventures
Agrees to potentially dangerous from Shylock.

16. Lorenzo
A representative of the elegant Venetian society
Believes that happiness arises from successful relationships
His love, optimism, and understanding make him deserving of riches and love

17. Abandons her father, the Shylock
Has a loving nature and, like Portia, shows ingenuity in several different ways (including her own elopement)
She is more at home with Christian ways than with the austerity of her father's Jewish house.
Jessica

18. Serves as comic relief in areas
Is given to unnecessary speech and chattiness.
He drinks too much; behaves rudely and insensitively.
Gratiano

19. She is to Portia what Gratiano is to Bassanio.
Nerissa is Portia's maid
She acts as a backdrop to the wit displayed by Portia.
Her long association with her mistress has elevated her mannerisms and behavior to the point that she now acts as a witty and intelligent person.
Nerissa

20. Portia & Bassanio Characters Nerissa & Gratiano Jessica & Lorenzo
Realistic couple
Nerissa & Gratiano
Sexual couple
Jessica & Lorenzo
Romantic Couple
Characters
Relationships of the Characters