The merchant of Venice

Cover of the work (1600)

The Merchant of Venice is a play written by William Shakespeare between 1596 and 1598, which was not published until 1600. Its main source is the «First Story of the Fourth Day» in Il Pecorone (1378), a collection of stories by Giovanni Fiorentino. Other sources are Zelauto, by Anthony Munday (a contemporary and friend of William Shakespeare), and the Gesta Romanorum.

Plot

Shylock and Jessica by Maurycy Gottlieb.

Basanio, a Venetian who belongs to the nobility but is poor, asks his best friend, Antonio, a rich merchant, to lend him 3,000 ducats that will allow him to woo the rich heiress Porcia. Antonio, who has all his money spent on his ships abroad, decides to borrow the sum from Shylock, a Jewish usurer. Shylock agrees to lend the money on the condition that, if the sum is not repaid by the date indicated, Antonio will have to give a pound of his own flesh from the body part Shylock disposed of.

By the will of her father, Portia must marry the suitor who chooses from among three chests (one gold, one silver, and one lead) the one that contains her portrait. Bassanio chooses the third, which is the correct one, and becomes engaged to Portia. She gives him a ring as a token of love, and makes him promise that she will not take it from her. So does Nerissa, Portia's maid, with Graciano, a friend of Bassanio's.

Antonio's ships sink and the debt is not paid. Shylock claims the pound of flesh from him, and demands that it be from the part closest to the heart. This situation leads to a trial presided over by the Doge of Venice, attended by Portia disguised as a lawyer and Nerissa as an assistant. Portia agrees with Shylock and admits that Shylock, by law, can take the pound of meat. However, it can only be meat, and therefore cannot shed a single drop of blood. Shylock gives up his claim, and then asks for double what they owed him, but they tell him that if he does not agree to fulfill the contract, he would go to jail, unless he donates all his wealth. Thus, the doge takes his wealth, giving half to Antony and half to the state. Antonio says that he will forgive his part if he converts to Christianity and gives his property to his daughter Jessica, who Shylock has disinherited for having eloped and married Lorenzo, a Christian.

The lawyer and his assistant ask Bassanio and Graciano for the ring they are wearing as a token of gratitude. They initially refuse, but end up giving it to him. When they arrive at Belmont, Portia's house, they both appear without the ring, for which they are recriminated; but in the end Portia and Nerissa show them the rings and confess the truth. Also, Portia informs Antonio that three of his ships have returned safely.

The play in Spanish

The first translation of the work corresponds to Gregorio Amado Larrosa in 1868, followed by those by Jaime Clark (1873), Marcelino Menéndez y Pelayo (1881), Guillermo Mcpherson (1887), Rafael Martínez Lafuente (1917), Luis Astrana Marín (1921) and Vicente Molina Foix (1992), among others.

As for the representations, the following can be mentioned:

• Teatro Español, Madrid, 1923.
  • Performers: Francisco Morano, Amparo Villegas, Ángeles Morano.
• Teatro EspañolMadrid, 1947.
  • Performers: Enrique Guitart, Adriano Domínguez, José Rivero, Mercedes Prendes, Porfiria Sanchiz.
• Spanish Television (Study 1August 23, 1957).
  • Performers: José Bódalo (Shylock), Pablo Sanz (Antonio), Gemma Cuervo (Porcia), Julio Núñez (Bassanio), Víctor Valverde, Julia Trujillo, Marisa Paredes, José María Escuer.
• Spanish Television (Study 12 October 1981).
  • Performers: Luis Prendes (Shylock), Agata Lys (Porcia), José María Guillén, Inma de Santis, Fernando Cebrián (AntonioAndres Resino.
• Teatro María GuerreroMadrid, 1992.
  • Address: José Carlos Plaza
  • Performers: Ana Bethlehem (Porcia), Toni Cantó (Bassanio), Chema Muñoz (Antonio), José Pedro Carrión (Shylock), Roberto Enríquez, Alfonso Godá, Maruja Boldoba.
• Teatro de La Abadía, Madrid, 2001.
  • Address: Hans Günter Heyme
  • Performers: Jesús Barranco, Gabriel Garbisu
• Teatro Julio Castillo of the Cultural Center of the Forest, Mexico City, 2005.
  • Address: Raúl Zermeño
  • Performers: National Theatre Company
• Teatro Infanta Isabel, Madrid, 2009.
  • Address: Denis Rafter
  • Performers: Fernando CondeShylock), Natalia Millán (Porcia), Juan Gea (Antonio- Camilo Rodriguez.

Movie adaptations

• The Merchant of Venice (1980), television adaptation (produced by Jonathan Miller for BBC) led by Jack Gold
• The Merchant of Venice (2004), film directed by Michael Radford

Operas

• Le marchnd de Venise by Reynaldo Hahn premiered at the Paris Opera on March 25, 1935.
• The Merchant of Venice by André Tchaikowsky, premiered at the Bregenz Festival on July 18, 2013.