The
Merchant of Venice
There was a merchant, Antonio,
who lived in Venice. Everybody liked Antonio because he was a good mam. He had
many ships that travelled to other countries. He sold things to people in these
other countries, and bought things from them. At the time of our story,
Antonio's ships were all at sea.
Antonio
had many friends, but his dearest friend was called I3assanio. He loved
Bassanio very much. When Bassanio's father died, he left his son a lot of
money. But Bassanio soon spent it all; he became poor and very unhappy.
Bassanio was in love with Portia, a lady from Belmont, near Venice. Portia's
father died and left her all his money So Portia was beautiful and very
rich. Bassanio was sad because he had no money He knew that many rich young men
went to Belmont. They all hoped to marry Portia. So he asked Antonio to lend
him 3,000 gold pieces for the journey.
`I haven't any money now,' replied Antonio. `All my money is with my
ships at sea. I'm waiting for them to return.
`But many people here know me and will lend money to me. I'll pay it
back when my ships return. Go and find me a moneylender.Then I'll lend the
money to you.You can go to Belmont and marry Portia:
So Bassanio went to a money-lender. This man's name was Shylock.
Shylock had a lot of money, but he loved it too much. He lent money to
merchants. But they had to pay him back a lot more money than they borrowed.
Antonio didn't like Shylock's way of doing business and Shylock didn't like
Antonio either.
`Antonio is kind and will lend his money to everyone,' Shylock thought.
`People only have to pay back what they
borrowed. He makes things very
difficult for me. And he often tells the other merchants that my way of doing
business is wrong. He's my enemy and I can't forgive him:
Bassanio asked Shylock to lend Antonio 3,000 gold pieces for three
months.This made Shylock very happy.
` Now at last I have a way to catch Antonio,' he said to himself. `I can
make things very difficult for him.'
When Shylock met Antonio, he said to him, `You don't like my way of
making moneyYou've often called me a"dog" in the past. But now you've
come to me because you need my help.You want me to lend you money But what
shall I say to you ? Does a " dog " have money? Can a "dog"
lend a person 3,000 gold pieces? Shall I lend you money because you called me
a"dog"?'
But Antonio wasn't afraid of
Shylock.
` If you decide to lend me money,' he replied, ` don't lend it to me as
a fi-iend. Lend it to me as an enemy. Then if I can't pay you back, you can
punish me for it:
`But I want to be your friend,' said Shylock. `I want to forget what
you've done to me in the past. I'll lend you 3,000 gold pieces and you don't
have to pay me back more than that.'
` That's very good of you,
Shylock,' said Bassanio.
Then Shylock laughed and said, `But now let's have a little joke. If you
don't pay me back 3,000 gold pieces at the end of three months, you must give
me a pound of your flesh. I'll cut the flesh from a part of your body as I
like. Do you agree ?'
Antonio thought that this was a good joke. So he laughed and agreed. But
Bassanio was afraid and said, `Please don't agree to this stupid idea of
Shylock's. I don't want you to borrow money in this way. Shylock really will do
what he says. He really will take your flesh:
` Don't be afraid,' replied Antonio. ` My ships will return in two
months and bring me plenty of money.'
So Antonio borrowed the money from Shylock and gave it to Bassanio.
Before he died, Portia's
father made a plan. He wanted to be sure that his daughter found a good
husband. ` I'm afraid that a lot of young men will want to marry Portia,' he
thought. ` They will choose her because she's rich. So I shall leave three
small boxes a gold one, a silver one and a lead one. To win Portia, the man
must choose the right box:
Later, after her father's death, Portia was sitting with another young
lady called Nerissa. Nerissa was a servant, but she was also a good friend of
Portia. They were talking about all the young men who wanted to marry
Portia. Then another servant came into the room.
`A prince has just arrived
from Africa,' he said.
Portia showed the prince the three boxes.The prince carefully read
everything that was written on each box.
On the gold box were the words, ` Choose me. You will get what many men
want.'
On the silver box were the words, `Choose me.You will get what you
should get.'
And on the lead box were the words, ` Choose me. You must give
everything that you have:
` My picture is inside the right box,' said Portia. ` If you choose it,
I am yours. Now choose ! '
The prince studied the words on all three boxes again. Finally he said,
`Everybody in the world wants gold and everybody in the world wants Portia. So
the gold box is the right box.Yes, I'll choose the gold box.'
Portia gave the prince the key to the gold box and he opened it.
But when he saw inside it, he was very surprised. There was a picture of a dead
man.
There was also a piece of paper in the box, and these words were written
on the paper :
` Many things shine brightly but they are not always gold.' The prince
left with a sad heart. But Portia was very pleased to see him go.
•
Next a French prince came to
Belmont. He was very proud, so he chose the silver box. He read the words, `
Choose me.You will get what you should get:
` Fine,' said this proud prince, ` I'm a great man, so clearly I should
get a beautiful and rich lady like Portia:
But when he opened the box, he found a picture inside. It was not a
picture of Portia, but the head of a stupid man. There was also a piece of
paper in the box. It said :
` Many stupid men are covered
in silver.'
` I've been stupid too,' said
the prince, and went away.
Then a servant came to Portia
and said, `A young man from Venice is on his way here. He wants to try and win
you.' This young man was, of course, Bassanio.
When Bassanio arrived, he had many servants with him. One of them was
called Gratiano. Gratiano was a servant, but he was also a good friend of
Bassanio.
When Portia saw Bassanio, she fell in love with him. Now she became
afraid. She didn't want Bassanio to choose the wrong box. So she said to him,
`Please wait a day or two before you choose. If you choose the wrong box, I
won't see you again. I can teach you how to choose the right box. But I've
promised not to do that.'
`No,
I'm too nervous to wait,' answered Bassanio. `I'll choose now.'
Bassanio studied the words on the gold and silver boxes carefully. He
thought, ` The gold and silver boxes seem to promise fine things. But beauty on
the outside does not always mean beauty on the inside. The lead box doesn't
promise anything. It tells me to give, and to be ready to lose everything.
Well, I'm ready to give everything to Portia. So I choose the lead box:
Portia gave him the key and he opened the lead box. Inside the box was
Portia's picture and a piece of paper with these words on it :
` If you're pleased with this,
kiss your lady.'
Bassanio was very happy. He turned to Portia and said, `Dear lady have I
really won you? Will you be mine?'
`Yes, Bassanio,' replied Portia. `I don't want great things for myself,
but for you I'd like to be a thousand times more beautiful and ten thousand
times richer. Take me, and everything that belongs to me.'
Portia took a ring ofl~ her
finger and gave it to Bassanio.
` Take this ring, dear Bassanio,' she said to him. ` When you stop
wearing it, that will be the end of our love:
` I'll die before anyone takes this ring from my finger ! ' cried
Bassanio.
As Portia and Bassanio continued to talk about their love, Nerissa and
Gratiano came to them.
Nerissa said, ` We hope that
you'll be very happy in your marriage: `Yes,' said Gratiano. `And Nerissa and I
have some wonderful news. We're going to get married too:
As the four happy people were talking about their weddings, a man from
Venice arrived with a letter from Antonio. Bassanio opened the letter and began
to read it.
While he was reading the letter, Portia looked at Bassanio's face. ` I'm
sure that there's very bad news in this letter,' she thought. `But what's
happened?' To Bassanio she said,`I'm half of you,so I must have half of your
problems. Tell me what's in the letter.'
` Dearest Portia,' Bassanio replied, ` this letter brings terrible
news.' Then he read the letter to her :
Dear Bassanio,
My ships are all lost. Now 1 have no money, so 1
cannot pay Shylock. 1 must Qive lvim a pound of my fiesh, as we agreed. But if
1 do that, it will kill me. So please forget about the money that you borrowed
from me. 1 only want to see you uow before 1 die.
Antonio
` You must return to Venice immediately,' said Portia. ` But first let's
get married. Then I can give you enough gold to pay Shylock twenty times. When
it is paid, bring Antonio back here with you.'
•
Portia and I3assanio got
married, and Nerissa and Gratiano married too. After the weddings, the two men
hurried back to Venice.
After they left, Portia thought of a clever way to save Antonio. A good
friend of hers was a famous judge. She asked her friend to lend her his judge's
clothes and notes. Then she put on the clothes and pretended to be a judge.
Nerissa also put on men's clothes and pretended to be the judge's servant.
Then the two women followed
their husbands to Venice.
•
Shylock had a beautiful
daughter, Jessica. A good friend of Antonio fell in love with Jessica and ran
away with her. Jessica took some of her father's money with her.
So Shylock was very angry with Antonio. He ran angrily through the
streets of Venice, shouting loudly about his daughter and his money. Small boys
followed him and laughed at him.
When Shylock heard
the news about Antonio's ships, he was very pleased.
`Good. Antonio's
ships are lost at sea,' he thought. `Now at last I can kill my enemy'
He went
to see Antonio. A man was just taking him to prison. ` Guard him well,' Shylock
said to this man.
` Please, Shylock, I'd like to talk to you,' began Antonio. But Shylock
refused to listen.
` Don't speak to me, Antonio,' he said. ` I won't forgive you. You
called me a "dog", so now I'll act like a dog. I won't show you any
mercy; I'll take my pound of flesh from you.'
` He hates me and he really wants to kill me,' thought Antonio. ` I
won't try to speak to him again. I only want one thing now I want to see
Bassanio before I die.'
Antonio was taken to court,
and the Duke of Venice took his seat as judge. The duke felt very sorry for
Antonio. When Shylock came in, he said, ` Please, Shylock, show mercy.'
` Never,' replied Shylock. ` The pound of flesh is mine by law and I
want it.Antonio is my enemy and I hate him.'
`Does everyone kill the things
that they hate?' asked Bassanio. ` Don't try to talk to Shylock,' said Antonio
sadly. ` He doesn't want to listen. Please be quick and judge me. Give Shylock
what he wants.'
`I'll pay you 6,000 gold pieces for the 3,000 that Antonio borrowed,'
said Bassanio.
` If you offer me six times that amount of money,' said Shylock, ` I'll
still take my pound of flesh. Give me my pound of flesh ! '
` How can you hope for mercy for yourself when you show no mercy to
Antonio?' asked the duke.
` I'm not afraid. I've done
nothing wrong,' said Shylock.
The duke didn't know what to
do. Then a young man came
into the room and gave the
duke a letter. The young man was really Nerissa. But nobody knew her because
she was dressed like a man.
`Sir, a young judge has just arrived from Padua,' she said. `A friend of
yours has sent him to judge Antonio and Shylock. This letter explains
everything.'
The duke read the letter and
said, `Ask him to come in.'
The young judge came into the room. It was really Portia, wearing the
clothes of a judge. But nobody knew her.
As she sat down, the duke asked, ` Do you know what's happened here?'
`Yes,'said
Portia.`Where areAntonio and Shylock?' ` Here,' said the duke.
Portia looked at the two men. Then she said, ` Shylock has the law of
Venice behind him. So he must show mercy to Antonio:
` Why must I show mercy?'
asked Shylock. ` Tell me.'
`Because mercy is a wonderful thing,' replied Portia. `It falls like
soft rain from the sky on to the earth. It brings good things to the person who
gives it. Kings have mercy in their hearts, and we should show mercy to other
people. So, Shylock, do you still want your pound of flesh?'
` Yes ! ' answered Shylock. `
I want what is mine by law ! '
Then Bassanio said, ` I'll offer Shylock ten times the amount of money
that Antonio has borrowed. If this isn't enough for him, please change the law
Please change it and save Antonio.'
` No,' replied Portia. ` If we change one law, then people will want to
change other laws.We can't do that:
` Oh, wise young judge ! '
cried Shylock.
`Can I see the paper that Antonio signed?' asked Portia. `I want to see
his promise to Shylock - his promise to give Shylock a pound of his flesh.'
Portia read the paper and said, `Yes, Shylock is right. By law he can
take a pound of Antonio's flesh. He can cut the flesh from the .r
place near Antonio's heart.
Shylock, show some mercy. Take three times the amount of money.Tell me to
destroy this paper.'
` No,' said Shylock, ` I want
my pound of flesh.'
` Then Antonio must
prepare himself for the knife: ` Oh, wise young judge ! ' cried Shylock again.
`Do you want to say anything?'
Portia asked Antonio.
`Only a few words,' replied Antonio. `Bassanio, my dearest friend,
goodbye. Don't be sad for me. Tell your wife about me. Tell her how much I
loved you. If Shylock cuts deeply I'll pay him with all my heart:
`I love my wife very much,' said Bassanio sadly. `But your life means
more to me than my wife and everything in the world. I'll happily lose my wife
to save you:
` It's good that your wife
isn't here now,' said Portia.
Then Gratiano said, ` I too love my wife very much. But if it can save
Antonio, I'll lose her too.'
When she heard this, Nerissa laughed quietly. ` If you say those things
in front of your wife,' she said to Gratiano, `you'll have a lot of problems at
home:
` Let's hurry ! ' said Shylock impatiently.
` Take your pound of flesh,' said I'ortia. ` It's yours by law. This
court gives you permission to take it:
As Shylock moved towards
Antonio, Portia spoke again.
` Wait ! ' she said. `There's one more thing. In this paper, Antonio
promised to give you a pound of his flesh. So you can take a pound of flesh.
But there's nothing in the paper about blood. He didn't promise to give you any
blood. So if one drop of his blood falls, you'll lose your land and your
money.'
` Oh, wise young
judge ! ' cried Gratiano. `Is that really the law?' asked Shylock.
` Yes,' replied 1'ortia. ` Now you've got what you wanted,
Shylock.You've got more than you wanted.'
Shylock was very angry. But he
knew that he couldn't win. `If I cut off a pound of Antonio's flesh, he'll lose
a lot of blood,' he thought. ` What shall I do ?' Finally he said, ` All right,
I'll take the money. Give me three times the amount that Antonio borrowed from
me.'
` Here it is ! ' cried
Bassanio happily. ` Take it ! '
But Portia stopped him. ` No,' she said. ` Shylock didn't want the money
before. He only wanted his pound of flesh.'
`But I've changed my mind,' said Shylock. `I don't want his flesh now'
He turned to leave the court.
` Wait, Shylock,' said Portia. ` When someone tries to kill a person
from Venice, he must give all his money away He must give one half of his money
to the state of Venice. The other half must go to the person that he tried to
kill. And the duke must decide if he lives or not.This is the law So now you
must ask the duke for mercy'
` Kill me, then,' said Shylock. ` If you take my money, you also take my
life.'
`I don't want Shylock's money,' said Antonio. `But he must promise to
leave his money to his daughter, Jessica, and her husband when he dies.'
`Good,' said the duke. `Do you promise, Shylock? Will you sign this
paper?'
` Yes, yes ! ' said Shylock. ` I'll sign. But please, I must go home
now. I'm not well:
The duke agreed and Shylock
left the court.
Antonio and Bassanio were very
grateful to Portia. They tried to give her money but Portia refused to take it.
` Dear sir,' said Bassanio. ` Please take something to remember us. We
want to thank you.'
Then Portia had an idea. She
decided to play a joke on
Bassanio. So she pretended to
notice a ring on his finger. It was the ring that she gave him.
` That's a beautiful ring,' she said. ` Please give it to me. It's the only
thing that I want from you:
Bassanio remembered his promise to Portia about the ring. `What will
Portia say?' he thought. `She wants me to wear this ring for ever. I can't give
it to this young judge.'
`I'll buy you the best ring in Venice,' he said to Portia, `but I can't
give you this ring. It's very special. My wife gave it to me. I mustn't sell
it, or give it away, or lose it.'
`I understand,' said Portia. `You don't want me to have the ring. All
right, then. Goodbye ! '
She began to walk away.
`Bassanio, please give the judge the ring,' said Antonio. ` He did a lot
for us today He saved my life:
Bassanio thought about this. He knew that Antonio was right. So he told
Gratiano to take the ring to Portia. She was very pleased with it and thanked
Gratiano.
Gratiano met Nerissa again. She was still dressed as a man, so he didn't
know her. Nerissa decided to play a joke on her husband too. Gratiano also had
a ring from his wife. Now Nerissa, too, got this ring back from her husband.
Portia and Nerissa returned to
Belmont, and Bassanio and Antonio arrived soon after them.
Bassanio introduced
Antonio to Portia and told her about the wise young judge.As they were talking,
Nerissa began to cry `What's the matter?' Portia asked her.
` Gratiano has given away the ring that I gave him,' replied Nerissa. `
He gave it to a young man.'
` The young man was the servant of the wise young judge,' said Gratiano.
` He was only a boy:
`You
were wrong to give the ring away Gratiano,' said Portia. ` You promised Nerissa
to wear it for ever. I also gave nry husband a ring. I know that he'll never
give that away'
` But Bassanio gave his ring away too,' said Gratiano. ` He gave his
ring to the clever young judge. Then the boy the judge's servant, wanted my
ring. What could I do ?'
Portia spoke angrily to Bassanio. `You've broken your promise to me ! '
she cried. ` I'll never love you again ! '
`You don't understand, Portia,' said Bassanio. `I didn't want to give
the ring to the judge, but I had to. He saved the life of my dearest friend. I
offered him 3,000 gold pieces but he didn't want it. He only wanted this ring.'
` Please forgive Bassanio,' said Antonio. ` The young judge saved my
life. I promise you that Bassanio will always be a good husband to you.'
` Then,' said Portia, taking out a ring, ` give him this ring. Tell him
to look after it better than the other one.'
Bassanio looked at the ring. `But it's the same ring~' he cried. ` I
gave this ring to the young judge. I don't understand. What does this mean?'
` It means,' said Portia, ` that I was the young judge. And here's that
young boy my servant. It was Nerissa:
Bassanio and Gratiano were very surprised. At first they couldn't speak.
They couldn't believe Portia's story
Portia had other news. She gave a letter to Antonio. In the letter was
information about three of his ships. They weren't lost at sea; they were safe
in Venice.
` This is wonderful news ! ' cried Antonio. ` Now I can live happily
again ! '
` It's almost morning,' said
Portia. ` Let's go inside and talk there: `Yes,' said Gratiano. `Come, young servant
of the judge - or would you like to be my wife now?'
THE
END
No comments:
Post a Comment