Yet its depiction of the tensions between Jews and Christians in early modern Venice - and its highly dramatic trial scene in Act 4 - create darker currents in the play. In its focus on love and marriage, the play shares certain concerns with Shakespeare's other comedies. A subplot concerns the elopement of Shylock's daughter Jessica with a Christian, Bassanio's friend Lorenzo. Antonio pledges to pay Shylock a pound of flesh if he defaults on the loan, which Bassanio will use to woo a rich heiress, Portia. Bassanio, an impoverished gentleman, uses the credit of his friend, the merchant Antonio, to borrow money from a wealthy Jew, Shylock. William Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice was probably written between 15, and was printed with the comedies in the First Folio of 1623. LibriVox recording of The Merchant of Venice, by William Shakespeare
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