Chapters
Author, Shannon Alder once said, "The best plot twists are the ones you didn’t expect."
The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare is known for its dramatic and suspenseful plot, as well as its notable twists involving the key characters.
In this article, we will explore the key moments from each of the five acts of this play.
Act 1: Life's Woes & A Risky Bond Among Foes
The play begins with the appearance of the titular character, Antonio — a merchant of Venice whose mind is preoccupied with unexplained melancholy thoughts.
A man with a well-established social circle, Antonio is closest to Bassanio and cherishes him the most. Bassanio reached out to Antonio to seek financial assistance to win the hand of Portia, a beautiful and wealthy heiress in Belmont.
Having invested his fortune into his merchant ships, Antonio suggests Bassinio to borrow money from others based on his good name in Venice.
Antonio is struck by a sense of unknown sadness right from the start. Once again, Shakespeare sets the tone to foreshadow the misfortune that will soon befall him.
On the flip side, Portia herself is worried about her future marriage. As a daughter, she must submit to her late father's wishes on the method of choosing her future spouse. Despite many suitors who travelled from afar to propose, Portia has her eyes set on Bassino.
Bassanio eventually secured a loan of three thousand ducats for three months from a Jew moneylender, Shylock, with Antonio acting as the guarantor. Both Antonio and Shylock despised each other.
Taking advantage of this new relationship dynamic, Shylock demanded a pound of Antonio's flesh (signifying Antonio's death) if the loan is not repaid in time.
Act 2: Departures & The Pursuit of True Love
The second act focuses on various journeys of departure. There are two major departures which centre around Shylock — also foreshadowing his impending dreadful fate.
In Belmont, Portia is first met with two suitors — the Prince of Morocco and the Prince of Aragon. As per Portia's father's will, both of them were given the test to choose between three caskets: gold, silver, and lead.
The person who chooses the casket which contains Portia's picture will win her hand in marriage.
The Prince of Morocco chose the gold casket, while the Prince of Aragon chose the silver casket. Both made the wrong selection and were forced to leave empty-handed.
Act 3: Facing The Music — Marriages & Misfortunes
In the third act, the story gradually moves towards the climax.
While Shylock initially felt betrayed and shocked by his daughter's elopement, he was filled with greater satisfaction upon hearing that Antonio's merchant ships had been wrecked.
This means Antonio cannot repay the loan and therefore needs to hand out a pound of his flesh. Shylock was determined to take revenge on Antonio for all the mistreatments that he had suffered over the years because of his identity as a Jew.
If a Jew wrong a Christian, what is his humility? Revenge.
Act 3, Scene 1
If a Christian wrong a Jew, what should his sufferance be by Christian example? Why, revenge.
The villainy you teach me I will execute--and it shall go hard but I will better the instruction.
However, their happy moments were cut short when Bassanio received a letter about Antonio's misfortunes. Bassanio decides to travel back to Venice to see Antonio while Portia and Nerissa devise a secret plan to help Antonio by disguising themselves as a male lawyer and male law clerk respectively.
Act 4: Legal Twist and Triumph of Flesh & Blood
The fourth act centres around the court case — the fate of both Antonio and Shylock.
The Duke, who is presiding over the debate between both men decides to consult a lawyer. This is where Portia came into the picture, disguising herself as a male lawyer, Balthazar.
She initially argues that Shylock should show mercy towards Antonio but he refuses. Shylock insists that they should abide by the legally binding terms of the bond agreement despite being offered a large sum of money by Bassanio for Antonio's release.
Portia examined the agreement and found a loophole between the terms — marking the plot twist of this play
She argued that Shylock can only take a pound of Antonio's flesh (literally) while making sure that no blood is shed in the process.
This bond doth give thee here no jot of blood. The words expressly are “a pound of flesh.
Act 4, Scene 1
If he fails to do so, he will be charged with murdering a Christian and all of his assets will be confiscated by the state.
Shylock realised that he has lost and is faced with the penalty of losing all his assets, and even his life for attempted murder against a Christian. According to the law, half of his assets will go to Antonio, while another will go to the state.
Antonio decides to show mercy by rejecting his share of the compensation. Instead, he requests to take half of Shylock's assets and invest it to be given to Lorenzo after Shylock's death. He also wants Shylock to convert to Christianity and make a will to pass on all his remained possessions to Jessica and Lorenzo.
After the verdict, Bassanio and Gratiano handed over their rings to Portia and Nerissa as a token of gratitude, unaware that they were deceived by their wives.
Act 5: All's Well That Ends Well
After their victorious act, Portia and Nerissa travel home and are welcomed by another newlywed, Lorenzo and Jessica.
Later, Bassanio, and Gratiano were also joined by Antonio as they travel together to Belmont. Both Bassanio and Gratiano were initially "blamed" for their actions of giving away the rings to the lawyers but soon found out their wives' dual identities after seeing their rings.
Not long after that, Antonio received news that all his merchant ships had safely returned. He is still a wealthy merchant of Venice, after all.
The play ends with all three newlyweds in good spirits, each enjoying their own kind of happy ending.
We hope this article will offer you some insights into the plot of this play and help you master your A Level English Literature paper with ease.
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