The Merchant of Venice by Edith Nesbit
Antonio, a wealthy and generous Venetian merchant, agrees to help his friend Bassanio woo the rich and beautiful Portia of Belmont by borrowing money on Bassanio's behalf. Since all his wealth is tied up in trading ships at sea, Antonio turns to Shylock, a moneylender he has long treated with contempt. Nursing a secret grudge, Shylock lends three thousand ducats interest-free, but insists on a bond: if unpaid within three months, he may cut a pound of flesh from Antonio's body. Antonio signs, confident his ships will return in time. Bassanio travels to Belmont, where Portia is bound by her dead father's will to marry only the suitor who chooses correctly among three caskets of gold, silver, and lead. The Prince of Morocco chooses gold and finds death; the Prince of Arragon chooses silver and finds a fool's head. Bassanio, rejecting outward show, chooses the leaden casket and wins Portia, who gives him a ring he vows never to relinquish. Meanwhile, Shylock's daughter Jessica elopes with her lover, taking money and jewels from her father, deepening his bitterness. News then arrives that Antonio's ships are wrecked and he cannot repay the loan. Shylock, deaf to offers of repayment, demands his bond before the Duke of Venice. Portia, newly married, sends Bassanio to Venice with ample money and secretly follows in disguise as a lawyer, bearing credentials from Bellario. In court, she urges Shylock toward mercy, but he refuses all compromise, insisting on his legal right. She grants him his bond—then rules that he may take flesh but not a drop of blood, on pain of forfeiting his life and property. Trapped, Shylock tries to accept payment instead, but Portia denies him even that, then condemns him for conspiring against a Venetian citizen's life: he forfeits half his fortune to the state and must settle the rest on Jessica's husband. Grateful, Bassanio gives the disguised lawyer his ring despite his earlier vow. Back in Belmont, Portia teases him over its loss before revealing she was the lawyer herself, and the two are reconciled in joy.
By Edith Nesbit · First published 1907 · Genre: Drama, Comedy, Romance · 2,120 words
First lines
Antonio was a rich and prosperous merchant of Venice. His ships were on nearly every sea, and he traded with Portugal, with Mexico, with England, and with India. Although proud of his riches, he was very generous with them, and delighted to use them in relieving the wants of his friends, among whom his relation, Bassanio, held the first place.
Now Bassanio, like many another gay and gallant gentleman, was reckless and extravagant, and finding that he had not only come to the end of his fortune, but was also unable to pay his creditors, he went to Antonio for further help.
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Genres
- Drama — The work centers on intense dramatic conflict with life-or-death stakes, particularly Antonio's bond with Shylock and the culminating courtroom confrontation.
- Comedy — The resolution employs wit and clever wordplay, with Portia using legal technicality to outwit Shylock, and humorous elements such as the foolish princes' failed casket choices.
- Romance — The Bassanio-Portia subplot is integral to the narrative, featuring courtship, the symbolic casket test, and declarations of mutual love and devotion.
- Legal Drama — The climactic trial scene revolves around contract law, legal argumentation, and Portia's brilliant legal loophole distinguishing flesh from blood.
Tags
Venice · Belmont · merchant · moneylender · love · friendship · mercy · justice · revenge · sacrifice · generosity · wealth
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The Merchant of Venice is listed on Textopian as a short story by Edith Nesbit, dated 1907 CE.
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- Work type: Short story
- Author: Edith Nesbit
- Date: 1907 CE
- Language: English
- Genres: Drama, Comedy, Romance, Legal Drama, Tragedy
- Length: 2,120 words
- Structure: 1 section, 35 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Fairly Easy (7th Grade)
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- Work identity for The Merchant of Venice by Edith Nesbit
- Canonical title URL and first readable passage URL
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