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The Merchant of Venice · Chapters

Chapters explained

Chapter companions for The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare.

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  1. Chapter 1

    Act I

    The Merchant of Venice — Stage Lens: dramatic beats, line helps that follow your scroll, and stage picture. Read to understand, not to collect a closed thesis.

  2. Chapter 2

    Scene I

    Antonio expresses unexplained sadness to Salarino and Salanio, who speculate it is due to his merchant ships at sea. Bassanio, Lorenzo, and Gratiano enter; Gratiano chides Antonio for his melancholy. After they leave, Bassanio reveals his financial troubles and his desire to court Portia in Belmont, asking Antonio for a loan. Antonio, lacking liquid funds, offers to use his credit to raise the money.

  3. Chapter 3

    Scene II

    Portia expresses her weariness with the world and laments the restrictions of her father's will, which dictates she must marry the man who chooses the correct casket. She and Nerissa discuss the various suitors, each of whom Portia dismisses with witty criticisms. Nerissa reminds Portia of Bassanio, a Venetian scholar and soldier, whom Portia remembers fondly. A servant announces the departure of four suitors and the arrival of the Prince of Morocco.

  4. Chapter 4

    Scene III: The Bond

    Bassanio negotiates a loan of three thousand ducats from Shylock for three months, with Antonio as guarantor. Shylock, nursing a grudge against Antonio for his anti-Semitic abuse and his practice of lending money without interest, agrees to the bond but proposes a 'merry sport' forfeit: a pound of Antonio's flesh. Despite Bassanio's misgivings, Antonio accepts, confident his ships will return in time.

  5. Chapter 5

    Act II

    The Merchant of Venice — Stage Lens: dramatic beats, line helps that follow your scroll, and stage picture. Read to understand, not to collect a closed thesis.

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  1. Chapter 6Scene I
  2. Chapter 7Scene II
  3. Chapter 8Scene III
  4. Chapter 9Scene IV
  5. Chapter 10Scene V
  6. Chapter 11Scene VI
  7. Chapter 12Scene VII
  8. Chapter 13Scene VIII
  9. Chapter 14Scene IX: The Prince of Arragon's Choice
  10. Chapter 15Act III
  11. Chapter 16Scene I
  12. Chapter 17Scene II
  13. Chapter 18Scene III
  14. Chapter 19Scene IV
  15. Chapter 20Scene V: A Garden in Belmont
  16. Chapter 21Act IV
  17. Chapter 22Scene I
  18. Chapter 23Scene II
  19. Chapter 24Act V
  20. Chapter 25Act V, Scene I