The Merchant of Venice

Video:

	click to watch: "The Merchant of Venice"	Excerpt from Act 4, Scene 1: Venice. A court of justice Actors: Alexandra Gilbreath (Portia) Clip length: 11 sec
	Performed by: The Royal Shakespeare Company (www.rsc.org.uk) Due to heavy demand, video may not always be available - especially during peak hours of 5pm to midnight ET. Please try back later if you are having problems.

Synopsis:

It was a simple deal... that went badly wrong. Repay a loan within three months or pay a horrific forfeit. But the moneylender also has a debt to repay – a debt of hate. Now the deal has changed, and money is not enough to heal the wounds of past enmity.
Shylock shall have his pound of flesh.

Rated NC-17. Psychological drama. Contains scenes of racial stereotyping already.

"Hey, they made a play about my credit card company!"
- I.N. Dett

History:

aka "The Comical History of the Merchant of Venice"

Written summer/autumn 1597

First performance probably Christmas of 1597

First published 1600

You can read the full text of
"The Merchant of Venice" at MIT.edu:
"Merchant of Venice: Entire Play"

You can find a full synopsis of
"The Merchant of Venice" at Bardweb.net:
"Shakespeare Resource Center - The Merchant of Venice"