Vocabulary
Forfeit
Penalty
"I hold the world but as the world, Gratiano,
A stage where every man must play a part,
And mine a sad one" (I.i).
Antonio
Jewish usurer who makes a bond for 1lb of flesh.
Shylock
Where the choosing of the caskets takes place
Belmont
What suitors need to choose from in order to win Portia's hand in marriage.
The chests.
An angry dispute.
Quarrel
"How like a fawning publican he looks!
I hate him for he is a Christian..." (I.iii)
Shylock
Prince who chooses the gold casket
Prince of Morocco
Antonio and his friends celebrate a masquerade in these streets.
Venice
This inhumane item symbolizes a desire for vengeance rather than mercy.
Pound of flesh
A commemorative inscription on a tomb; a brief poem or other writing in praise of a deceased person.
Epitaph
"The quality of mercy is not strained,
It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven" (IV.i).
Portia
The blind father of Lancelot
Old Gobbo
Bassanio gets into a bond in order to travel to THIS place.
Belmont
Where Antonio's wealth is held.
His ships
The extension to great, unnecessary, or tedious length; wordiness.
Prolixity
"But love is blind, and lovers cannot see
The pretty follies that themselves commit" (II.vi)
Jessica
Portia's lawyer alter-ego
Balthazar
Venice
When told that Jessica has stolen it and traded it for a monkey, Shylock very poignantly laments its loss: “I would not have given it for a wilderness of monkeys” (III.i.101–102).
Leah's Ring
Moneylender, especially one who charges an excessive rate of interest.
Usurer
“I know he will be glad of our success.
We are the Jasons, we have won the Fleece” (II.ii).
Gratiano
Portia's cousin in Padua
Bellario
Bassanio's new home
Belmont
The metaphor Shylock uses in the beginning of his monologue.
To bait fish