THE MERCHANT OF VENICE
(ca.1596-7)
“I hold the world but as the world, Gratiano,
A stage, where every man must play a part,
And mine a sad one” — 1.1.77-9 / TLN 85-7
There had been two previous Quartos of MERCHANT (Q1 in 1600; and Q2 in 1619). Both Q2 and F seem to have been printed from copies of Q1. But since F contains supplementary stage directions — such as “Here Musicke” (3.2.62 / TLN 1406) or “flourish cornets” of 2.7 (which editors think misplaced at TLN 1055) — its copy appears to have been annotated from a promptbook.
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X AXIS (abscisses): 2739 lines
There are no subdivisions of Acts & Scenes in Q1 & 2. The FOLIO establishes the traditional division of ACTS, while the arrangement of SCENES (as a whole) was established by Capell in 1768.
ACT I: line 1
[1.1: line 2
1.2: line 195
1.3: line 325]
ACT II: line 513
[2.1: line 514
2.2: line 567
2.3: line 771
2.4: line 793
2.5: line 835
2.6: line 895
2.7: line 972
2.8: line 1054
2.9: line 1111]
ACT III: line 1217
[3.1: line 1218
3.2: line 1341
3.3: line 1684
3.4: line 1725
3.5: line 1813]
ACT IV: line 1901
[4.1: line 1902
4.2: line 2379]
ACT V: line 2402
[5.1: line 2403]
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Y AXIS: ENTRANCES & EXITS
Entrances & exits of Characters
According to their order of appearance.
• (2,81) reads "enters at line 2, exits at line 81".
• DISGUISED as a boy (925,961)
is inserted at the end of a character’s list (in this case Jessica) to indicate the “duration” of their being disguised.
• PRINCIPAL CHARACTERS are capitalized.
ANTONIO (a merchant of Venice)
(2,194) (363,512) (962,971) (1684,1724) (1902,2378) (2547,2738)
SALERIO (friend to Antonio & Bassanio)
(2,76) (793,822) (895,961) (1054,1110) (1218,1291) (1569,1683) (1902,2378)
SOLANIO (friend to Antonio & Bassanio)
(2,76) (793,822) (1054,1110) (1218,1291) (1684,1724)
BASSANIO (friend of Antonio, Suitor to Portia
(62,194) (325,512) (674,770) (1341,1683) (1902,2378) (2547,2738)
LORENZO (lover of Jessica)
(62,121) (793,834) (916,961) (1569,1683) (1725,1771) (1837,1900) (2404,2738)
GRATIANO (friend to Antonio & Bassanio, lover of Nerissa)
(62,121) (733,770) (793,834) (895,971) (1341,1683) (1903,2375) (2384,2402) (2547,2738)
PORTIA (a rich heiress)
(195,324) (515,566) (972,1053) (1115,1216) (1341,1683) (1725,1812) (2073,2369) (2379,2402) (2502,2738) / DISGUISED as Balthazar, a Lawyer, (2073,2402)
NERISSA (Portia’s waiting gentlewoman)
(195,324) (515,566) (972,1053) (1111,1216) (1341,1683) (1725,1812) (2026,2369) (2379,2402) (2502,2738) / DISGUISED as “Lawyer’s Clerk” (2026,2402)
Portia’s Servant, Balthazar
(313,324) (1111,1216) (1725,1782)
SHYLOCK (the Jew of Venice)
(325,506) (835,892) (1239,1340) (1684,1703) (1920,2320)
Prince of Morocco (suitor to Portia)
(514,566) (972,1051)
LAUNCELOT GOBBO (Clown, servant to Shylock and then Bassanio)
(567,727) (771,785) (802,817) (835,879) (1813,1872) (2451,2460)
Old Gobbo (Launcelot’s father)
(567,727)
Leonardo (servant to Bassanio)
(674,734)
JESSICA (Shylock’s daughter,lover of Lorenzo)
(771,792) (846,894) (925,951) (959,961) (1569,1683) (1725,1771) (1813,1900) (2404,2738) / DISGUISED as a boy (925,961)
Prince of Arragon (suitor to Portia)
(1115,1191)
Messenger
(1198,1216) (2435,2465)
Servant to Antonio
(1284,1291)
Tuball (Jewish merchant)
(1288,1340)
Jailer
(1685,1724)
DUKE of Venice
(1902,2328)
___________
PLOT & COLOURING
ANTONIO (the merchant of Venice) puts himself in bond to his enemy SHYLOCK in order to help his friend BASSANIO court PORTIA. Meanwhile, Shylock’s daughter JESSICA elopes with LORENZO (friend to Antonio and Bassanio).
Antonio’s ships run aground & flounder on Goodwyn’s sands (off the South-Eastern tip of England) enabling Shylock to claim his bond (“a pound of flesh”). Bassanio & Gratiano (having successfully courted Portia & Nerissa) will come to Antonio’s rescue in a court of law: but it is the DISGUISED Portia that will save the day (while also testing her new husband).
• The principal antagonism is therefore that between
SHYLOCK & ANTONIO;
• while the rest of the principals are mostly paired as lovers
BASSANIO / PORTIA
LORENZO /JESSICA
GRATIANO/ NERISSA
As for SALERIO & SOLIANO
Well, obviously, they are the “SALT of the EARTH”
• Furthermore there are TWO principal locations in the play: VENICE, and Portia’s palace at BELMONT
Scenes in VENICE are 1.1, 1.3, 2.2-6, 2.8, 3.1, 3.3, 4.1-2,
Scenes in BELMONT are 1.2, 2.1, 2.7, 2.9, 3.2, 3.4-5, 5.1
___________
METATHEATRE
JESSICA: DISGUISED as a boy (925,961)
PORTIA: DISGUISED as Balthazar, a Lawyer, (2073,2402)
NERISSA: DISGUISED as “Lawyer’s Clerk” (2026,2402)
