The Merchant of Venice
By William Shakespeare
Cover: Portia and Bassanio (c. 1826) by Richard Parkes Bonington (1802–1828) · Wikimedia Commons · Public domain (artist died 1828)
To help his friend Bassanio court Portia, the merchant Antonio borrows money from the moneylender Shylock and signs a bond for a pound of his own flesh. When his ships fail, the case goes to court, and Portia appears in disguise to argue it.
Summary written with Claude Sonnet 5.5.