Very Short Summary
Venice and Belmont, Renaissance era. Antonio, a merchant, borrowed three thousand ducats from Shylock to help his friend Bassanio court the wealthy heiress Portia.
The loan came with an unusual condition: if Antonio failed to repay it, Shylock could take a pound of flesh from his body. Meanwhile, Portia's suitors had to choose correctly among three caskets - gold, silver, and lead - to win her hand in marriage.
While Bassanio traveled to Belmont, Shylock's daughter Jessica eloped with a Christian, Lorenzo, taking her father's money and jewels. Bassanio chose the lead casket correctly and won Portia's hand. However, news arrived that Antonio's ships were lost at sea, and he couldn't repay the loan.
In court, Shylock refused offers of repayment and demanded his pound of flesh. Portia, disguised as a male lawyer, defended Antonio. When Shylock insisted on justice rather than mercy, she delivered her famous speech.
The quality of mercy is not strain'd,
It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven
Upon the place beneath. It is twice blest,
It blesseth him that gives and him that takes.
Portia then turned the tables by pointing out that Shylock could take his pound of flesh but must not shed a drop of blood, as it wasn't specified in the bond. Defeated, Shylock was forced to convert to Christianity and will his fortune to Jessica. Antonio's ships returned safely, and all the couples celebrated their marriages at Belmont.
Detailed Summary by Acts
Act titles are editorial.
Act 1. The Bond and the Caskets
In Venice, the merchant Antonio was experiencing an inexplicable sadness. His friends suggested this was due to worry over his trading ships, but Antonio denied this, stating his ventures were well-diversified. When his dear friend Bassanio arrived, Antonio's other companions departed.
Bassanio confessed to Antonio that he had squandered his fortune living beyond his means, and now sought to clear his debts. He revealed his plan to court Portia, a wealthy heiress in Belmont, but needed funds to appear as a worthy suitor. Antonio, though his wealth was tied up in merchant ships, offered to help by using his credit to secure a loan.
Meanwhile in Belmont, Portia lamented to her waiting woman Nerissa about her inability to choose her own husband. Her late father's will stipulated that suitors must choose between three caskets - gold, silver, and lead - with only the correct choice winning her hand in marriage. As they discussed her current suitors, Portia dismissed them all with witty criticisms, though she fondly remembered Bassanio, who had visited once before.
Back in Venice, Bassanio approached Shylock, a Jewish moneylender, for a loan of three thousand ducats. Shylock, noting Antonio's wealth was currently at sea, proposed a strange bond: if the loan wasn't repaid within three months, he would be entitled to a pound of Antonio's flesh. Despite Bassanio's protests, Antonio agreed to these terms, confident his ships would return in time.
I am a Jew. Hath not a Jew eyes? Hath not a Jew hands, organs, dimensions, senses, affections, passions? Fed with the same food, hurt with the same weapons, subject to the same diseases...
Act 2. Suitors and Escape
The Prince of Morocco arrived in Belmont to try his luck with the caskets. He asked Portia not to judge him by his dark complexion, and she assured him he would be judged solely by the test her father devised. Meanwhile, Shylock's servant Launcelot Gobbo decided to leave his master's service and seek employment with Bassanio instead.
Shylock's daughter Jessica was planning to elope with Lorenzo, a Christian friend of Bassanio's. She arranged to escape during a masquerade party, taking with her much of her father's gold and jewels. When Shylock left for dinner at Bassanio's house, Jessica executed her plan, fleeing with Lorenzo in boy's clothing.
Back in Belmont, the Prince of Morocco faced the casket challenge. The gold casket bore the inscription 'Who chooseth me shall gain what many men desire,' the silver promised 'Who chooseth me shall get as much as he deserves,' and the lead warned 'Who chooseth me must give and hazard all he hath.' After careful deliberation, he chose the golden casket, only to find a skull with a scroll mocking his choice.
All that glisters is not gold,
Often have you heard that told.
Many a man his life hath sold
But my outside to behold.
Gilded tombs do worms infold.
The Prince of Arragon also attempted the challenge, choosing the silver casket only to find a fool's head. Meanwhile, news reached Venice that Antonio's ships were in danger, causing concern about his ability to repay Shylock's loan. Shylock, upon discovering his daughter's flight with his money and jewels, alternated between rage at his losses and desire for revenge against Antonio.
Act 3. Victory and Loss
Rumors circulated in Venice about Antonio's losses at sea, while Shylock's rage intensified upon hearing how his daughter was spending his money. When news arrived that Antonio's ships had indeed been lost, Shylock determined to exact his pound of flesh, refusing offers of repayment exceeding the original loan amount. His bitterness over past mistreatment by Christians, particularly Antonio, fueled his desire for revenge.
If you prick us, do we not bleed? If you tickle us, do we not laugh? If you poison us, do we not die? And if you wrong us, shall we not revenge? If we are like you in the rest, we will resemble you in that.
In Belmont, Bassanio arrived and faced the casket challenge. Guided by Portia's subtle hints through a song about appearances being deceiving, he chose the lead casket and found Portia's portrait within, winning her hand in marriage. His friend Gratiano also became engaged to Nerissa, Portia's waiting woman. Their joy was interrupted by a letter from Antonio, revealing his financial ruin and imminent danger from Shylock's bond.
Act 4. The Trial
At the Venetian court, the Duke presided over Shylock's case against Antonio. Despite appeals for mercy, Shylock insisted on the literal terms of his bond - a pound of flesh from near Antonio's heart. Portia, disguised as a young male lawyer named Balthazar, arrived with a letter of recommendation from the legal scholar Bellario. Nerissa accompanied her, disguised as a clerk.
Portia first appealed to Shylock for mercy, delivering a famous speech about the quality of mercy. When Shylock remained unmoved, she acknowledged his legal right to the flesh but then revealed a crucial technicality: the bond specified flesh but mentioned nothing about blood. If Shylock shed one drop of Antonio's blood while collecting his due, his lands and goods would be forfeit to Venice.
Furthermore, Portia cited another law stating that if any alien attempted to kill a Venetian citizen, half their wealth would go to the intended victim and half to the state. Shylock, defeated, agreed to take just the money, but Portia denied even this. The Duke spared Shylock's life but required him to convert to Christianity and bequeath his estate to Jessica and Lorenzo upon his death.
You take my house when you do take the prop
That doth sustain my house; you take my life
When you do take the means whereby I live.
Before departing, the disguised Portia and Nerissa asked for their husbands' rings as payment for their services, which they had previously made their husbands swear never to remove. Both men reluctantly gave up the rings, setting up a final test of their fidelity.
Act 5. The Resolution
The final act opened at Belmont, where Lorenzo and Jessica were enjoying a romantic evening. Their poetic exchange about famous lovers was accompanied by music, leading to Lorenzo's meditation on the harmony of the spheres and the power of music over both beasts and men.
How sweet the moonlight sleeps upon this bank!
Here will we sit and let the sounds of music
Creep in our ears; soft stillness and the night
Become the touches of sweet harmony.
The man that hath no music in himself,
Nor is not mov'd with concord of sweet sounds,
Is fit for treasons, stratagems, and spoils;
The motions of his spirit are dull as night
Portia and Nerissa returned home, soon followed by their husbands and Antonio. The women confronted their husbands about the missing rings, pretending outrage and suggesting infidelity. After letting their husbands squirm with guilt, they revealed their roles in the court case and returned the rings. The play concluded with news that three of Antonio's ships had safely arrived in port, while Lorenzo and Jessica learned they would inherit Shylock's fortune.