Presents the original text of Shakespeare's play side by side with a modern version, with marginal notes and explanations and full descriptions of each character.

Antonio, the merchant in The Merchant of Venice, secures a loan from Shylock for his friend Bassanio, who seeks to court Portia. Shylock, a Jewish moneylender, recalls past insults from Antonio and, instead of asking interest on the loan, asks instead--in what he calls a "merry sport"--That if the loan is not repaid, Antonio will owe a pound of his own flesh. Bassanio sails to Belmont, where the wealthy heiress Portia is being courted by suitors from...

Presents the original text of Shakespeare's play side by side with a paraphrased version and gives brief background on the author, the sources of the play, society in Elizabethan England, and the play's plot, themes, characters, and figures of speech.