The merchant of Venice

HUMAN INTEREST In Venice, Bassanio needs money to court a rich heiress. His merchant friend Antonio borrows the money from Shylock, a Jewish moneylender. Shylock demands that the money is repaid in three months or he will take a pound of Antonio’s flesh. The merchant confidently agrees, but ultimately it will take the intelligence of two women to save him… Dossiers: The Origins of the Pound of Flesh Story The Treatment of Jews in Shakepeare’s Time