The Merchant of Venice (SparkNotes No Fear Shakespeare): the merchant of venice al pacino, the merchant of venice cliffs complete, the merchant of venice dover thrift

“Racism, love, secrets and loans. This play strikes true to certain parts of the modern world as well as the time it was written in” -The Guardian The Merchant of Venice is a 16th-century play written by William Shakespeare in which a merchant in Venice named Antonio defaults on a large loan provided by a Jewish moneylender, Shylock. It is believed to have been written between 1596 and 1599. Although classified as a comedy in the First Folio and sharing certain aspects with Shakespeare’s other romantic comedies, the play is most remembered for its dramatic scenes, and it is best known for Shylock and his famous “Hath not a Jew eyes?” speech on humanity. Also notable is Portia’s speech about “the quality of mercy”.