The Merchant of Venice is an important work of Shakespeare in his early years and a comedy with great irony. It was probably made in 1596~ 1599. The theme of the script is to praise kindness, friendship and love, and at the same time, it reflects the contradiction between the commercial bourgeoisie and usurers in the early capitalist period, and shows the author's humanistic thinking on money, law and religion in bourgeois society. An important literary achievement of the play is to create a typical image of Shylock, a mercenary and ruthless usurer.
Outline of the whole book story
Bassanio, a good friend of Venetian businessman Antonio, often borrowed money from Antonio in order to maintain his dignity and squander his meager industry, and Antonio promised one by one. Now Bassanio is in urgent need of money, because he wants to propose to Portia, a noble family in Belmont, and he comes to ask Antonio to help him as much as possible. However, Antonio's cargo ship has set sail and all his property is at sea. He was short of cash, and there were no commodities that could be exchanged for cash, so he had to borrow 3000 yuan from Shylock, a Jewish usurer, in his own name.
Because Antonio never charged interest when lending money to others, the interest income of Venice money lenders was depressed, which affected Shylock's exploitation and profit. Besides, Antonio hated the Jewish nation and insulted Shylock in public in places where businessmen would gather, so Shylock had long hated Antonio. When Shylock heard that Antonio wanted to borrow money from him, he wanted to take this opportunity to get even. He agreed to borrow money without interest, but he had to write down the loan agreement, stipulating that the loan period was three months, and if he could not pay off the principal within the time limit, he would cut off a pound of meat from Antonio. In order to help his friends out, Antonio thought that the cargo ship would come back in two months, and then "nine times the amount of this loan came in", so he signed a loan agreement.
Portia, whom Bassanio loved, also had his own difficulties. When her father died, he made a will: the suitor chose a predetermined one among the three boxes of gold, silver and lead by lottery, so that he could match Portia and get married. Portia lamented that "the will of a living daughter will be bound by the will of her dead father", but she obeyed her father's orders. To her relief, several foreign princes and grandchildren dissuaded her and decided to return to China; The prince of Morocco and the prince of Arabia chose the gold box and the silver box respectively, but neither was selected. Bassanio, on the other hand, left a good impression on Portia. Her maid Nerissa said Bassanio was the best match of all men. Portia also said unequivocally: "I remember him very much, and he really deserves your praise."
Bassanio held a banquet before proposing to him, and Shylock was invited to attend. Jessica, Shylock's daughter, took this opportunity to steal the gold and silver treasures and eloped with Lorenzo, a Christian lover, to convert to Christianity. Shylock flew into a rage when he learned about it. He shouted and jumped in the street.
Two friends of Antonio and Bassanio are talking about a rumor: Antonio's ship full of goods capsized in the English Channel. When they saw Shylock, they asked him for news. Shylock was absorbed in his daughter's escape. When they asked him if he had heard about the accident of Antonio's merchant ship, Shylock was obsessed with the loan agreement and said that if Antonio could not repay the loan as promised, he must have his meat: "Take his meat to fish"; Even if his meat is not good, at least it will give me a sigh of relief. "Then there was a series of complaints and censures, saying that Antonio humiliated him, robbed him of hundreds of thousands of dollars in business, laughed at his losses, laughed at his surplus, insulted his nation, destroyed his business, alienated his friends and incited his enemies; Antonio did this because I am Jewish. But, "Jews don't have eyes? Don't Jews have five senses, four limbs, no consciousness, no feelings and no blood? Isn't he eating the same food, the same weapon can hurt him, the same medicine can cure him, and will it be as hot as Leng Xia in winter as a Christian? If you stab us with your sword, won't we bleed, too? ..... so you bully us, we won't retaliate? "Just then, a friend of Shylock's family came. Shylock turned the topic to his daughter and cursed her, saying that he hoped that her daughter would die at his feet, that all the jewels would be hung on her ears, that her daughter would be buried at his feet, and that all the money would be put in her coffin! Faced with what her daughter did, Shylock lamented, "I am the only one who is unlucky. "However, Shylock's friend told him that you were not the only one who was unlucky, and Antonio was unlucky, which confirmed to him the news that Antonio's merchant ship had an accident. Shylock shouted "good news, good news" for joy! He also told his friends: If Anthony wins an appointment, he will be torn from his heart. As long as Venice does not have him, business depends on my words. "
Bassanio arrived in Belmont and went to Portia's home. He thought about three boxes: the appearance is often completely inconsistent with the thing itself, but the world is easily deceived by the surface decoration. In law, what kind of despicable and evil statement can't cover up its guilt with beautiful words? In religion, what heinous mistake can't be quoted, whitewashed and proved to be really in harmony with heaven? Any well-known evil can be disguised as a sanctimonious appearance on the outside. Bassanio was not puzzled by the decoration on the surface of the gold box and the silver box: "Your dazzling gold, the hard food of King Midas, I don't want you;" I don't want you, your pale silver, a humble slave who comes and goes in people's hands. "He chose the lead box and won the love of Portia. Portia told Bassanio: "Although for my own sake, I don't want to think that I am better than now;" "But for you, I hope I can be sixty times better than myself, plus one thousand times as beautiful and ten thousand times as rich; I hope I have unparalleled virtue, beauty, property and relatives and friends, so that I can occupy a lofty position in your mind. " She also gave Bassanio a ring and said that if the ring was lost or given to others, it would mean the destruction of this love. Bassanio's friend Greciano and Portia's maid Nerissa also expressed their intention to get married, and Nerissa also gave Greciano a ring. Just as they were celebrating, someone sent a letter from Antonio, in which Antonio wrote that his "ships were all killed, creditors were forced to fry, and his family property was destroyed." The Jewish Covenant has expired and there is almost no hope of living. I just want to see my friend Bassanio again before I die. Portia immediately decided that Bassanio took a huge sum of money and went to Venice with his friend graciano to rescue Antonio. He also wrote a letter to his cousin, Dr. Pelario, and sent it to Padua, telling the messenger to bring the echo to Venice. She and Nerissa disguised themselves as men and went to Venice.
Shylock repeatedly asked the Duke of Venice to uphold justice and execute the punishment according to the agreement. Despite the duke's efforts to persuade him, Shylock persisted. In the court in Venice, the duke asked Shylock to consider Antonio's recent huge losses and give up the punishment for Antonio; Bassanio offered to pay off the debt with 6000 yuan. Shylock refused them one by one and sharpened his knife. Gratiano said angrily, "Your knife has been ground in your heart. No matter what kind of iron, even the executioner's steel knife can't keep up with half the sharpness of your vicious heart. "
The duke invited Dr. Pellario to attend the trial for this matter. Dr. Pellario learned this story from his cousin Portia's letter. On the pretext of being ill, he recommended Portia to the Duke to represent him in this case. Portia and Nerissa, the maid, came to the court in Venice disguised as lawyers and secretaries respectively. The duke announced that the young lawyer would try the case. At first, the judge hoped Shylock would be merciful, and then offered to return three times what he borrowed, but Shylock was not moved. Shylock even threatened: "Give me the whole Venice, and I can't promise." So the judge announced to Shylock, "You must cut this pound of flesh from his chest; The law allows you, and the court gives it to you. Shylock praised the learned judge for his correct judgment. However, just as Shylock was about to cut the meat, the judge announced to him: "This contract does not allow you to take a drop of his blood, but it says' one pound of meat';" So you can go according to Jonah's pound of meat, but if you shed a drop of Christian blood when cutting the meat, all your land and property will be turned over to the public according to the laws of Venice. " This is beyond Shylock's expectation. He panicked and returned to his capital. But the judge insisted that Shylock "risked his life to cut off that pound of meat". Shylock realized that he couldn't go on, and said he wouldn't fight the lawsuit. But the judge also announced a law in Venice to Shylock: "If a foreigner attempts to murder any citizen by direct or indirect means and finds evidence, half of his property belongs to the injured party and the rest belongs to the state treasury. The life of the offender is dominated by the duke, and no one else can ask. In the spirit of Christianity, the duke pardoned Shylock's death penalty. It is announced that half of Shylock's property will be confiscated and the other half will be owned by the victim Antonio. Antonio offered to take over half of Shylock's property. After Shylock's death, he gave his property to his daughter Jessica and son-in-law Rolanzo, and asked Shylock to write a deed for it, and asked him to convert to Christianity immediately. Shylock had no choice but to do it one by one.
To show his gratitude and respect, Bassanio had to give the ring to his lawyer, and the secretary took it from graciano. Bassanio and others returned to Belmont and reunited with Portia and others. But they were teased by Portia and Nerissa because of the ring, which caused a "noisy". The truth didn't come out until Portia and Nerissa took out the rings respectively. It turns out that they are the lawyers and secretaries in the court. Just then, the news came that Antonio's merchant ship arrived in Hong Kong safely with a full load. Antonio, Bassanio and Portia, Gratiano and Nerissa, Lorenzo and Jessica were all immersed in a happy atmosphere.
The Merchant of Venice is an important work of Shakespeare in his early years and a comedy with great irony. It was probably made in 1596~ 1599. The theme of the script is to praise kindness, friendship and love, and at the same time, it reflects the contradiction between the commercial bourgeoisie and usurers in the early capitalist period, and shows the author's humanistic thinking on money, law and religion in bourgeois society. An important literary achievement of the play is to create a typical image of Shylock, a mercenary and ruthless usurer.