 Antonio (a Venetian merchant) is hanging out with his friends Salerio and

Solanio on a street in Venice. Antonio is a sad bunny, though he claims he

doesn't know why.
 Instead of trying to cheer him up, his friends Solanio and Salerio volunteer
reasons why he might be depressed. They suggest that maybe he's worried
about all the big ventures he's financed at sea. His ships are out there with
goods; if they make it back safely, he'll be rich—but if they don't, he'll be in
trouble.
 Antonio insists that his merchandise at sea is not the cause of his sadness.
He's diversified his assets, so no single venture can make or break his
fortunes. Even if some ships fail, others are bound to make it. So he's
covered—or so he thinks.
 Solanio isn't satisfied and suggests that Antonio might be in love. This
sounds exciting, and of course we'd like to hear more, but Solanio's gossipy
gab is cut off by the entrance of yet more friends: Lorenzo, Graziano, and
Bassanio, the latter of whom we learn is Antonio's BFF. Salerio and Solanio
hastily take their leave, probably because they know Graziano is going to
wax on for longer than they care to stick around.
 Yup: here comes the waxing. Graziano has noticed that Antonio looks sad.
(What, is he wearing a sign?). Like the others, he elects not to cheer his
friend. Instead, Graziano notes that he'll always be merry, no matter the
circumstances. He adds that some men who are quiet and sad-looking
seem thoughtful, but they're likely to be as foolish as anyone else; they're
just hiding it well.
 After making this long-winded point about short-winded people, Graziano
exits with Lorenzo, leaving Bassanio and Antonio to talk. Antonio asks about
Bassanio's "secret pilgrimage" to see a lady. (Hmm. Could this be the cause
of Antonio's sadness?)
 Bassanio fills us in: he's been living well above his means for a while now,
and it's finally come back to bite him in the butt.
 He explains to Antonio that it's to him that he owes the most love and
money; therefore, he is obligated to reveal a scheme he's concocted to get
himself out of debt. He waxes on about how sometimes you have to risk
more to gain more. Finally Antonio cuts him off and says he doesn't need to
justify himself: Bassanio should know that Antonio will do anything for him.
They're bros.
 You're probably wondering what Bassanio's story has to do with the lady.
Wonder no more. Bassanio has discovered a woman named Portia who has
come into a big inheritance in Belmont. She's good-looking, but more
importantly, she's rich. Lots of men have been trying win her hand, and
Bassanio is certain if he could only appearto be as rich or worthy as these
other men, he could convince her to marry him. This would solve his debt
problems nicely.
 Antonio supports this scheme, but unfortunately all of his money is tied up in
his sea ventures. Still, he tells Bassanio to try his hand at raising some
money around Venice on credit, using his (Antonio's) good name. Antonio
adds that he, too, will work on raising some cash. Basically, even if it means
 stretching his credit to the limit, he's willing to do whatever he can to get
Bassanio all set up to woo Portia in Belmont.

 We now meet Portia, who turns out to be more than a spoiled little rich girl.
Portia complains to her woman-in-waiting (read: her sidekick), Nerissa, that
she's tired of the world. Nerissa points out that being rich doesn't exempt
one from problems.
 Portia retorts that it's easier to give advice than take it. Then she clues us in
about why she's so bummed out. It turns out that Portia can neither choose
nor refuse a husband, but must instead follow her dead father's will.
 Nerissa clears up exactly what was in this dead father's will. It seems that he
set up a lottery to determine whom Portia would marry. The lottery involves
three chests—one gold, one silver, and one lead. Whoever chooses the
correct chest gets Portia.
 Nerissa is somehow convinced that whoever chooses rightly will truly love
Portia, too.
 Brain snack: Portia isn't the only Shakespeare heroine who doesn't get to
choose her own husband. In The Taming of the Shrew,Baptista Minola
arranges his daughter's marriage to Petruchio. Although the elaborate
lottery Portia's father has arranged is pretty unusual, it was typical for 16th-
century dads to choose their daughters' husbands.
 Nerissa thinks this whole lottery thing is a really good plan because Portia's
father was virtuous guy. She adds that Portia's complaints about not being
able to choose a man are frivolous, and she asks whether Portia likes any of
the suitors she's seen so far.
 Portia asks Nerissa to list off each of the suitors so she can scorn them
each individually. The Neapolitan prince talks only of his horse, which he
can shoe himself to his great pleasure. Portia suggests that his mother must
have been unfaithful with a smith who shoed horses. Count Palatine is too
gloomy, and the French lord, Monsieur Le Bon, has too many personalities
for Portia to make fun of each of them.
 Nerissa continues to list suitors: Falconbridge, the young English baron,
doesn't speak any languages that Portia understands; he lacks Latin,
French, and Italian, and Portia herself isn't too hot in the English-speaking
department. (Yeah, Shakespeare is cracking a little joke here, since his play
is written in English.)
 Portia quips that the young English baron has no proper manners, and even
worse, dresses in a hodgepodge of clothes from other countries.
 Portia then rags on the Scottish lord, another of the suitors. She says the
best she can say of the Scot is that he took a blow from (literally "was hit
by") the Englishman, and very kindly offered to pay it back with the support
of the Frenchman. (This is Shakespeare's way of poking fun of the French,
who were always promising to help the Scottish fight against the English.)
  Finally, Portia rails on a German, nephew of the Duke of Saxony. She
doesn't like him when he's sober, but she especially doesn't like him when
he's drunk, which is every afternoon.
 Nerissa teases that Portia will have to go through with her father's will and
marry the drunk German if he picks the right casket.
 Regardless, Nerissa promises she isn't worried for Portia; each of the
suitors have told her that they intend to leave soon enough, unless
some other means of winning Portia's hand (besides the lottery) should
arise.
 Portia insists she'll accept no man except as dictated by her father's will.
 Still, there is one man, Nerissa points out, who wasn't all that bad. Bassanio,
a scholar and a soldier who once visited Portia's court, seemed like the
marrying type.
 A servant then enters announcing that the suitors are leaving. Score. As the
four of them leave, a fifth, the Prince of Morocco, is on his way in, and Portia
makes a nasty remark about him. Because he's black like "a devil," Portia
says she doesn't care if he's a saint—there's no way she wants to marry
him.
 History Snack: In Shakespeare's England, black skin was often associated
with the devil. This racist concept emerges in other plays,
like Othello and Titus Andronicus. Here's an example: in a famous book
called The Discovery of Witchcraft (1584) Reginald Scott wrote, "A damned
soule may and dooth take the shape of a black moore [...] Bodin alloweth
the divell the shape of a blacke moore, and he saith he used to appear to
Mawd Cruse, Kate Darey, and Jone Harviller."
 Portia heads off to greet the Moroccan prince and complains that as soon as
one suitor leaves, another follows quickly to take his place. Life is so hard.

 Back on the mean streets of Venice, Bassanio wheels and deals with
Shylock, a Jewish merchant. Bassanio wants 3,000 ducats, or gold coins,
on Antonio's credit, with the stipulation that he'll pay them back in three
months. Shylock notes that Antonio is likely good for the money, but still, all
the man's cash is tied up in potential ventures—none of it actually exists
yet.
 Shylock gives us a brief look into Antonio's diverse financial portfolio: he's
got a ship bound to Tripoli and another to the Indies. In the marketplace,
Shylock has heard of even more ships backed by Antonio: a third for
Mexico, a fourth for England, and several others.
 Though all this sailing about seems rather risky, Shylock says he'll lend the
money, but would like to speak to Antonio first. Willing to comply, Bassanio
invites him to dinner with himself and Antonio. But Shylock isn't having any
of it, as it will likely be a Christian dinner with pork, which isn't kosher.
 Shylock also says he's not hot about the idea of hanging out with Christians.
He says he'll trade with Christians, talk and walk with Christians, but he has
to draw a line somewhere, and he's drawn it at eating, drinking, and praying
with them.
 Antonio then enters the scene. Shylock has a nasty little aside (that's when
a character says something only the audience can hear) during which he
admits that he hates Antonio "for he is a Christian." More than anything else,
however, Shylock says he hates Antonio for what he does in the
marketplace. Antonio lends out money free of interest, which is unfair
competition for the lenders who aren't willing to do so.
 We interrupt this program for a history snack about the Elizabethan attitude
toward money-lending. The Church believed that interest should never be
charged when one Christian loaned money to another Christian. The idea
comes from Deuteronomy 23:19-23: "You shall not lend upon interest to
your brother, interest on money, interest on victuals, interest on anything
that is lent for interest. To a foreigner, you may lend upon interest, but to
your brother, you shall not lend upon interest." Christians were allowed,
however, to borrow money (with interest) from foreigners. Since Jews were
classified as "foreigners" in England, they were encouraged to set up banks
when they arrived in the country.
 Now back to the play.
 Shylock says he'd like to catch Antonio at a disadvantage so he can get
even with him—not only for undercutting him in trade, but also for the nasty
things Antonio has said about Shylock.
 Shylock talks money with Antonio and Bassanio. He says he can lend the
3,000 ducats; though he doesn't have that sum on hand, he can borrow
some from his fellow Jewish friend Tubal. Thus he can meet Bassanio's
need for the aforementioned three months. Antonio, who until now has
avoided borrowing or lending where interest is involved, justifies his change
of heart by stating he'll do anything to help Bassanio—even join the interest
game he's so often scorned.
 Shylock doesn't drop Antonio's seeming hypocrisy so easily. He points out
that Antonio is always saying he doesn't believe in charging or paying
interest.
 Shylock then tells a little story taken from the Bible (Genesis 30:25-43, to be
exact) about Jacob's dealings with his Uncle Laban. Jacob was caretaker of
his uncle's sheep, and when it came time for mating season, Laban agreed
that all the baby lambs with spots would belong to Jacob. When the sheep
were ready to mate, Jacob showed them sticks or branches that were
spotted, which caused the ewes to have spotted baby sheep. All the spotted
sheep were Jacob's, as promised.
 Shylock says this is evidence that it isn't a sin to be thrifty—in fact, profit is a
blessed thing, so long as you don't steal to get it. (Check out our discussion
of this in the "Symbolism, Imagery, Allegory" if you want to know more.)
 Antonio insists the spotted-sheep outcome was more about the will of
heaven than Jacob's crafty thrift. He mocks Shylock's attempts to use the
Bible as justification for charging interest, and ultimately tells Bassanio that
 all he's learned from this experience is that even the "devil" can cite
Scripture to his purposes.
 While Antonio has been ranting, Shylock has been busy calculating the
interest on the sum he's about to lend. However, hearing Antonio's last
remark, he is quickly incited to anger (and to pay attention to further
remarks).
 Shylock points out that in the Rialto (the commercial and business exchange
of Venice), Antonio has spit on him, called him a dog, and insulted him
publicly for his practice of lending with interest. (Dang. Is this why Shylock
says he hates Antonio for being a Christian?)
 Shylock asks if he's supposed to just forget about Antonio's abuse now that
the guy needs some extra cash and wants to borrow money.
 Antonio doesn't defend himself against these nasty charges. He admits it's
true he spat and cursed at Shylock. In fact, he'll probably do it again. He
says that Shylock's loan isn't a loan between friends—there doesn't need to
be any amity between them. This is just a business transaction, so if he
(Antonio) breaks the deal, he'll accept responsibility for it and pay the
penalty.
 After Antonio's mini-flip-out, Shylock's all, "Take it easy, amigo. We can be
friends, and I'll forget all those times you were a rotten jerk." I'll lend you
what you're asking for, and better still, I won't charge you an extra cent in
interest. I'll even play a fun game with you, where we both go to the notary
right now and sign a document saying that if you don't pay me what you owe
on such and such a date, in such and such a place, then I can have a pound
of flesh off your body from wherever I choose."
 (Hmm. Shylock insists this is all for "merry sport," but is it? Check
out "Symbolism, Imagery, Allegory" for more about this "pound of flesh"
talk.)
 Antonio thinks this is a good idea.
 In spite of Bassanio's insistence that it isn't really necessary for Antonio to
risk his flesh, Antonio is confident. He thinks he'll have the money in two
months, a whole month before the debt is even due.
 Shylock also does a good job of easing Bassanio's fear—he asks what on
earth he could gain by having a pound of Antonio's flesh. Clearly, Shylock
says, he's only adding the "pound of flesh" caveat for funzies.
 This being said, the men agree to meet at the notary. Shylock will hand over
the money. Antonio notes, "The Hebrew will turn Christian, he grows kind."
But Bassanio still thinks there's something wicked going on—in his mind,
they're accepting a deal from a crooked guy, which is never a good idea,
especially in Venice.

• Antonio (un comerciante veneciano) está saliendo con sus amigos Salerio y Solanio en una calle
de Venecia. Antonio es un conejo triste, aunque dice que no sabe por qué.
• En lugar de tratar de animarlo, sus amigos Solanio y Salerio son voluntarios por los motivos por
los cuales podría estar deprimido. Sugieren que quizás esté preocupado por todas las grandes
empresas que financió en el mar. Sus barcos están allí con bienes; si logran regresar de manera
segura, él será rico, pero si no lo hacen, él estará en problemas.

• Antonio insiste en que su mercancía en el mar no es la causa de su tristeza. Él diversificó sus

activos, por lo que ninguna empresa puede hacer o romper su fortuna. Incluso si algunos barcos
fallan, otros están obligados a hacerlo. Entonces él está cubierto, o eso cree él.

• Solanio no está satisfecho y sugiere que Antonio podría estar enamorado. Esto suena
emocionante, y por supuesto nos gustaría escuchar más, pero la chisme de Solanio se interrumpe
por la entrada de aún más amigos: Lorenzo, Graziano y Bassanio, el último de los cuales
aprendemos es el mejor amigo de Antonio. Salerio y Solanio se van apresuradamente,
probablemente porque saben que Graziano va a durar más tiempo del que les importa quedarse.

• Sip: aquí viene la depilación. Graziano ha notado que Antonio se ve triste. (¿Qué, lleva un
letrero?). Al igual que los demás, elige no animar a su amigo. En cambio, Graziano observa que
siempre será feliz, sin importar las circunstancias. Agrega que algunos hombres que son callados y
tristes parecen pensativos, pero es probable que sean tan tontos como cualquier otra persona;
solo lo están escondiendo bien.

• Después de hacer este largo alboroto acerca de personas alucinantes, Graziano sale con Lorenzo,
dejando a Bassanio y Antonio para hablar. Antonio pregunta sobre la "peregrinación secreta" de
Bassanio para ver a una dama. (Hmm. ¿Podría ser esta la causa de la tristeza de Antonio?)

• Bassanio nos llena: ha estado viviendo muy por encima de sus posibilidades por un tiempo, y
finalmente ha vuelto a morderlo en el trasero.

• Le explica a Antonio que es a él a quien le debe más amor y dinero; por lo tanto, está obligado a
revelar un plan que ha inventado para saldar sus deudas. Él sigue hablando sobre cómo a veces
tienes que arriesgarte más para ganar más. Finalmente Antonio lo interrumpe y le dice que no
necesita justificarse: Bassanio debe saber que Antonio hará cualquier cosa por él. Ellos son bros.

• Probablemente te estés preguntando qué historia de Bassanio tiene que ver con la dama.
Extrañar más. Bassanio ha descubierto a una mujer llamada Portia que ha entrado en una gran
herencia en Belmont. Ella es guapa, pero lo más importante es que es rica. Muchos hombres han
intentado ganar su mano, y Bassanio está seguro de que si pudiera parecer tan rico o digno como
estos otros hombres, podría convencerla de que se casara con él. Esto resolvería sus problemas de
deuda muy bien.

• Antonio apoya este esquema, pero desafortunadamente todo su dinero está atado en sus
empresas marítimas. Aún así, le dice a Bassanio que intente recaudar algo de dinero en Venecia a
crédito, usando su buen nombre (Antonio). Antonio agrega que él también trabajará en recaudar
algo de dinero en efectivo. Básicamente, incluso si eso significa extender su crédito hasta el límite,
está dispuesto a hacer todo lo posible para que Bassanio se prepare para cortejar a Portia en
Belmont.

2
• Ahora nos encontramos con Portia, que resulta ser más que una niña rica y mimada. Portia se
queja con su mujer en espera (léase: su compinche), Nerissa, que está cansada del mundo. Nerissa
señala que ser rico no lo exime de los problemas.

• Portia responde que es más fácil dar consejos que tomarlos. Luego nos da pistas sobre por qué
está tan desanimada. Resulta que Portia no puede elegir ni rechazar a un marido, sino que debe
seguir la voluntad de su padre muerto.

• Nerissa aclara exactamente lo que estaba en la voluntad de este padre muerto. Parece que
montó una lotería para determinar con quién se casaría Portia. La lotería involucra tres cofres: uno
de oro, uno de plata y uno de plomo. Quien elige el cofre correcto se lleva a Portia.

• Nerissa está de alguna manera convencida de que quien elija correctamente amará realmente a
Portia también.

• Refrigerio cerebral: Portia no es la única heroína de Shakespeare que no elige a su propio

marido. En La fierecilla domada, Baptista Minola organiza el matrimonio de su hija con Petruchio.
Aunque la elaborada lotería que el padre de Portia ha organizado es bastante inusual, era típico
que los padres del siglo XVI eligieran a los maridos de sus hijas.

• Nerissa piensa que todo este asunto de la lotería es un plan realmente bueno porque el padre de
Portia era un tipo virtuoso. Ella agrega que las quejas de Portia sobre no poder elegir a un hombre
son frívolas, y pregunta si a Portia le gusta cualquiera de los pretendientes que ha visto hasta
ahora.

• Portia le pide a Nerissa que haga una lista de cada uno de los pretendientes para que pueda
despreciarlos individualmente. El príncipe napolitano habla solo de su caballo, que puede
zambullirse para su gran placer. Portia sugiere que su madre debe haber sido infiel con un herrero
que hizo los caballos. El Conde Palatino es demasiado sombrío, y el señor francés, Monsieur Le
Bon, tiene demasiados