Money Antonio Shylock Young Portia Court Jew Doctor

Portia a beautiful girl who is the heroine .
The story tells us that Shylock, the money lender of
Jew, has amassed an immense fortune by lending money at
great interest to Christian merchants . Therefore he is
much disliked by all good men, and particularly by Anto-
nio, a young merchant of Venice .
Bassanio, the dear friend of Antonio, wants to court
Portia . He needs some money . So he goes to ask his friend
Antonio who has no money to lend him . He takes him to
see Shylock, hoping the money lender could lend them
some money . Shylock, who usually hates Antonio very
much, now pretends to be kind to them and promises to
lend him three thousand ducats .But Shylock asks Antonio
to sign a bond, which says that if Antonio can not repay
the money by a certain day, a pound of flesh will be cut off
from any part of his body . In order to help his friend, An-
tonio accepts such a condition . With the money Bassanio
goes to court Portia, who accepts him to be her husband .
When the day to pay the debt comes, Antonio can′t pay
the money, for his ships in which he has invested all his
money do not return on time . So he stands in danger . The
Jew demands the pound of flesh, and the case is brought
before the court . At the critical monent a young doctor of
law arrives at Venice . The case is tried before him, and
the Jew is justified of his bond . The learned young doctor
appeals to the Jew for mercy in a moving speech, but in
vain . Then the doctor warns the Jew, under pain of

death, that he must fulfil the very letter of his bond, tak-
ing no more and no less than one pound of flesh, and
spilling no drop of blood . Seeing himself thus cornered,
the Jew has no choice but to obey the verdict of the court .
The learned doctor is no other than Portia in disguise . The
play ends in a lovely moonlight scene, in which Portia re-
veals her identity, to the pleasant surprise of her husband
Bassanio .