What is a summary of Merchant of Venice?

Answer 1

Bassanio wants to court the wealthy Portia but needs money. He gets his friend Antonio to borrow the money for him from the Jewish moneylender Shylock. Shylock hates Antonio because he is an Anti-Semite and adds a clause in the contract that says that if Antonio doesn't pay on time, Shylock can take a pound of flesh from anywhere on Antonio's body. Antonio agrees to this, thinking it is a joke. Bassanio goes to Portia's house and passes the test Portia's father has set for all suitors, and marries her. But then news comes that Antonio has had a business crisis and cannot pay Shylock. Shylock takes Antonio to court. Portia disguises herself as a lawyer and advises the Duke, who is the judge, that Shylock has a good case, just to see if he will go through with it and kill Antonio. When it is apparent that Shylock really means it, Portia raises the point that the contract does not allow Shylock to shed blood, and through a number of other pieces of legal trickery, deprives Shylock of all his money and forces him to change religion. For this service, she demands that Bassanio give her for her fee his wedding ring, which he does, only to get a talking-to from his wife when he gets home.

Answer 2

Impoverished ne'er do well Bassanio wants to marry the rich heiress Portia but in order to get the money he has his creditworthy friend Antonio borrow from the Jewish moneylender Shylock. Shylock, who hates Antonio for being anti-Semitic, lends the money on condition that if Antonio fails to repay, Shylock can take a pound of flesh from Antonio's body and thus kill him. Bassanio sucessfully passes the test necessary to marry Portia (which involves choosing between three chests of different metal) and they are happily wed. However, Antonio has had a business reverse and Shylock is foreclosing on his mortgage. Shylock goes to court but is thwarted by Portia, who disguises herself as a lawyer and finds a loophole in Shylock's contract, and furthermore twists an obscure law to ensure that Shylock and not Antonio is ruined. Happy ending for all except Shylock ensues.

Answer 3

The story of Merchant of Venice goes like this. Bassanio, a young man about town in Venice, wants to marry Portia, a wealthy heiress who lives at Belmont. Bassanio is a spendthrift and has no money to go to Belmont so he goes to his friend the merchant Antonio. Antonio, unfortunately, has no ready cash, so he goes to the Jewish moneylender Shylock for a loan. Shylock is fed up with Antonio and his anti-Semitic pals mistreating Shylock and the other Jews, and cutting into his profits by lending money at no interest. But he agrees to lend Antonio the money and without interest too, provided that if Antonio does not pay on time, Shylock can take a pound of flesh from Antonio's body as payment.

Money in hand, Bassanio goes to Belmont. The terms of Portia's father's will are that nobody can marry her unless he correctly chooses in which of three chests her picture is hidden. Bassanio chooses right and all is happiness but wait! Antonio has suffered a business reverse and now cannot repay Shylock. He defaults on the loan and Shylock takes him to court so he can legally kill him by taking the pound of flesh from next to Antonio's heart. Fortunately for Antonio, who should arrive but Portia, disguised as a male lawyer, who finds a loophole, saves Antonio from being killed and ruins Shylock completely. She takes as her fee Bassanio's wedding ring just so she can give him a hard time about it later, which she does before revealing that she was the lawyer all along.

There are further romantic subplots involving Shylock's daughter Jessica and one of Bassanio's worthless pals, Lorenzo, and Portia's maid Nerissa and another one of Bassanio's worthless pals, Gratiano.

Answer 4

discussing about the marriage