Summary of scenes in Act 1
Scene 1
The play opens with Antonio expressing feelings of depression that he is unable to explain. Salerio and Solanio think he is worried about his ships at sea, but he affirms that his investments are so diversified that he has no fear of loss, yet he is anxious still. Bassanio then arrives with Gratiano and Lorenzo. After a few jests, Bassanio remains with Antonio and asks him for a loan. It seems that Bassanio, who already owes Antonio money, has been living beyond his means, but now desires the funds needed to go to Belmont and woo a wealthy heiress named Portia, who is fair, wise, and noble. He hopes, through a successful endeavor, not only to secure his own happiness but also to repay his debt to his friend. Antonio agrees, though his money is presently tied up in his seagoing ventures, so that he will need to search out a loan in Venice.
Scene 2
In Belmont, Portia complains to her servant Nerissa, that she cannot choose her own husband; her dead father has stipulated in his will that Portia’s suitors must pass a test in which they must choose among three caskets—one lead, one silver, and one gold—to find which one contains her portrait. The one who chooses correctly will become Portia’s husband and inherit her fortune, but if suitors fail, they may never
marry. Portia and Nerissa discuss the faults of suitors who have come and gone, and remember Bassanio as one who might be worthy to be her husband.
marry. Portia and Nerissa discuss the faults of suitors who have come and gone, and remember Bassanio as one who might be worthy to be her husband.
Scene 3
In Venice, Bassanio has contacted Shylock, a Jewish moneylender, and asked him for a loan of three thousand ducats for three months, for which Antonio will provide security. Shylock asks to speak to Antonio, and, when the merchant arrives, has much to say about his mistreatment at the hands of the Venetian citizens in general, and Antonio in particular. He hates Antonio because he lends money without interest, thus reducing Shylock’s profit. Initially, Shylock refuses the loan because of his hatred for the merchant and the way he has been abused by him in public. Eventually he changes his tune, and agrees to loan the money without interest, but with the “merry bond” of a pound of the merchant’s flesh. Antonio, fearing no loss because he has so many ships abroad, cheerfully agrees to the bond, though Bassanio has serious misgivings about Shylock’s motives.