De Koopman van Venetië: Drama in vijf bedrijven

The play alternates between Venice and a wealthy country estate, following a melancholy merchant whose friend needs funds to court a wealthy heiress. To help him, the merchant borrows from a moneylender who exacts a brutal bond requiring a pound of the borrower's flesh if repayment fails. Parallel plots show the heiress testing suitors with a choice among containers, and the lender's daughter eloping with a Christian admirer. When the bond comes due, a courtroom confrontation hinges on legal interpretation and disguise, resolving the debt and reshaping fortunes and relationships while exploring mercy, justice, prejudice, and the tensions between commerce and personal loyalty.