The Merchant of Venice (Annotated)

The Merchant of Venice is a play by William Shakespeare in which a merchant in 16th century Venice must default on a large loan provided by an abused Jewish moneylender. It is believed to have been written between 1596 and 1598. Though classified as a comedy in the First Folio and sharing certain aspects with Shakespeare's other romantic comedies, the play is perhaps most remembered for its dramatic scenes, and is best known for Shylock and the famous "Hath Not a Jew eyes?" speech. Also notable is Portia's speech about "the quality of mercy". Bassanio is considered as the central hero of the story, and his dearest friend Antonio, mainly described as the kindest man in this world.

This edition has been formatted for your NOOK, with an active table of contents. This version is also annotated, with additional information about the play and William Shakespeare, such as an overview, characters, plot, sources, date, texts, analysis, context, biographical and bibliographical information.