<b>The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare</b>&nbsp;is a 16th-century play written by&nbsp;William Shakespeare&nbsp;in which a merchant in Venice named Antonio defaults on a large loan provided by a Jewish moneylender,&nbsp;Shylock. It is believed to have been written between 1596 and 1599.<br /><br />Although classified as a&nbsp;comedy&nbsp;in the&nbsp;First Folio&nbsp;and sharing certain aspects with Shakespeare&#39;s other&nbsp;romantic comedies, the play is most remembered for its dramatic scenes, and it is best known for&nbsp;Shylock&nbsp;and his famous demand for a &quot;pound of flesh&quot; in retribution, as well as its &quot;Hath not a Jew eyes?&quot; speech on humanity. As a result a debate exists on whether the play is&nbsp;anti-Semitic. Also notable is&nbsp;Portia&#39;s speech about &quot;the quality of mercy&quot;.<br /><br />Bassanio, a young&nbsp;Venetian&nbsp;of noble rank, wishes to woo the beautiful and wealthy heiress&nbsp;Portia&nbsp;of Belmont. Having squandered his estate, he needs 3,000&nbsp;ducats&nbsp;to subsidise his expenditures as a suitor.<br /><br />Bassanio approaches his friend&nbsp;Antonio, a wealthy merchant of Venice, who has previously and repeatedly bailed him out. Antonio agrees, but since he is cash-poor &ndash; his ships and merchandise are busy at sea to&nbsp;Tripolis,&nbsp;the Indies,&nbsp;Mexico&nbsp;and&nbsp;England&nbsp;&ndash; he promises to cover a bond if Bassanio can find a lender, so Bassanio turns to the Jewish moneylender Shylock and names Antonio as the loan&#39;s guarantor.