THE ATHENAEUMThe Merchant of VeniceWilliam Shakespeare
Drama
The Merchant of Venice
Read it in the Library After Dark Or read it as plain textAntonio borrows three thousand ducats from the moneylender Shylock to help a friend court Portia, and signs a bond for a pound of his own flesh if he cannot repay. Written in the late 1590s, it is a comedy and one of Shakespeare’s most uncomfortable plays. Portia makes her speech on the quality of mercy in a courtroom, disguised as a young lawyer.
The librarian
- Reading time
- About 1 hr 30 min
- Where to find it
- The Set Texts Room
- Edition
- Project Gutenberg, eBook #1515. In the public domain in the United States.