Merchant of Venice: Texts and Contexts Book

The pretty islands of Venice, in the shallow lagoon, atop the blue, Adriatic Sea, as the blazing rays of the Sun, shine down, on the brilliant colors of the homes, the calm canals full of boats , with cargo, from faraway lands, a glorious past, but an uncertain future, the rise of Portugal, worries the people. The city once powerful, a short distance from the Italian mainland, vastly wealthy, is in decline...Antonio, the most successful merchant in Venice, and a gambler in commerce, his ships float in the unpredictable oceans waves, always bringing him back riches , to the lucky man. His cousin, and best friend , Bassanio, not so much, he has a bad habit of spending not only all his money, but quite a lot not in his pockets ( a concept still popular in modern times ). As they say, a friend in need, is a friend indeed, Bassanio asks Antonio for a loan, but unfortunately his kinsman has everything tied up, but wait a short while, soon his ships will come in, and Antonio will be richer than ever. Bassanio can't, there is a woman involved, he needs plenty of ducats, to impress the lady Portia, who lives on shore, Belmont, that he is well off, not a penniless seeker of gold , through marriage to her. Only the moneylender Shylock, can do this, Christians in the middle ages, considered it unchristian, getting interest from loaning money... so intelligent Jews, dominates this trade and did very well. The wise Shylock ( who despises Antonio, a rival, and the merchant does not love him either), will not have anything to do with the reckless Bassanio, but Antonio, that's different, an excellent reputation in business. 3,000 ducats agreed to, a contract signed by Antonio, with a funny line about a pound of flesh taken from The Merchant of Venice, if he can't repay back the loan, with interest, in three months. Simple, his ships have always brought back precious merchandise, making huge profits, much over the cost of his investments, but the mammoth seas, are exceedingly treacherous, and unfeeling, news arrives, a shipwreck off Tripoli, another in the English Channel, others, fall under the stormy waves, never to be seen again, sink in the cold waters, to the unknown bottom of the abyss. Antonio, is ruined, like his ships, Shylock demands not his money, but the pound of flesh from his hide, even the Duke, of the city, is helpless, a contract is a contract, bad for business if not enforced ...His cousin has been better served by the gods, married to the wealthy , smart, independently-minded, beautiful, Portia, but Antonio, still needs a good lawyer, now, the hesitant Bassanio returns to Venice, with his wife's support, on their wedding day. Nerissa, Portia's maid, married Gratiano, her husband's friend, the two secretly follow them to the city, dressed as men. Their new, unperceptive, maybe even vacuous husbands, know not these gentlemen...Portia, a pretend attorney, with whatever legal knowledge, she acquires ( but an intellectual giant), must save Antonio from an undoubted death...The Jewish Shylock, makes the best statement ever, against racism... "If you prick us, do we not bleed? if you tickle us, do we not laugh? if you poison us, do we not die?"