1. Themes
1.1. Prejudice and hatred are cyclical and difficult to escape
1.1.1. Quotes
1.1.1.1. "If a Jew wrong a Christian, what is his humility? Revenge. If a Christian wrong a Jew, what should his sufferance be by Christian example? Why, revenge." -Shylock, Act III, Scene 1
1.1.2. Description of a moment (that can't be expressed in a quote)
1.1.2.1. Shylock speaks of Antonio mistreating him, and that's why he wants to kill Antonio
1.2. Mercy is a necessary quality and should be freely given
1.2.1. Quotes
1.2.1.1. "The quality of mercy is not strain'd" -Portia, Act IV, Scene 1
1.2.2. Description of a moment (that can't be expressed in a quote)
1.2.2.1. The Duke threatens Shylock if he doesn't show mercy
1.3. It's best to choose love and loyalty over personal gain
1.3.1. Quotes
1.3.1.1. "You that choose not by the view" -Letter in the Lead casket, Act III, Scene 2
1.3.2. Description of a moment (that can't be expressed in a quote)
1.3.2.1. Bassanio was willing to pay a great sum of money to save Antonio in Act IV
2. Acts
2.1. 1
2.1.1. They are talking about losing stuff that is precious to them
2.1.2. Bassanio appears and says he hasn't seen Antonio in a while
2.1.3. Gratiano tries to cheer Antonio up
2.2. 2
2.2.1. Portia and Nerissa are in Portia's house, discussing her suitors..
2.2.2. Antonio asks Shylock for money, and Shylock refuses on the grounds that Antonio has treated Shylock poorly before.
2.2.3. The Prince of Morocco and the Duke of Arragon fail the test they needed to pass to marry Portia.
2.2.4. Jessica runs away from her father (Shylock), with the assistance of Launcelot, who has recently left Shylock's service.
2.3. 3
2.3.1. Salanio and Salarino confront Shylock about his desire to kill Antonio, and he tells them that he wants to do it due to how horribly Antonio has treated him
2.3.2. Bassanio passes the test and gets engaged to Portia.
2.3.3. Bassanio and Portia hear of Antonio's plight and head to Venice to help him, leaving their house in the care of Jessica and Lorenzo.
2.4. 4
2.4.1. Shylock attempts to claim his claim on Antonio's life, refusing their pleas to show mercy.
2.4.2. Portia pretends to be a lawyer and successfully saves Antonio and ruins Shylock.
2.4.3. Antonio allows Shylock to keep his money if he leaves it to Jessica and Lorenzo, and converts to Christianity.
2.5. 5
2.5.1. Stephano informs Lorenzo and Jessica of Portia's return.
2.5.2. Launcelot (in his own . . . special way) informs them of Bassanio's return.
2.5.3. Portia and Nerissa reveal that they were the lawyer and clerk, and that Antonio's ships didn't actually crash.
3. Vocab
3.1. "Quiring"
3.1.1. Definition: Singing in concert
3.1.2. Synonym: Chorus
3.1.3. Modern sentence: The quiring choir sounded divine
3.2. "Cur"
3.2.1. Definition: Dog, Mastiff, Watchdog
3.2.2. Synonyms: Watchdog, Guarddog
3.2.3. Modern Sentence: He watched me like a cur a criminal
3.3. "Dardanian"
3.3.1. Definiton: Trojan
3.3.2. Synonyms: Trojan, Person from Troy
3.3.3. Modern sentence: The Dardanian Horse
3.4. "Barrabas"
3.4.1. Definition: In the Bible, when Jesus was in prison, the citizens of a city were asked to choose one prisoner to be released, and they chose Barrabas instead of Jesus. Basically, it means unbeliever in the Christian faith
3.4.2. Synonyms: Atheist, Jew, Nihilist
3.4.3. Modern sentence: Robbie is a Jew and a Barrabas as such
3.5. "Strond"
3.5.1. Definition: A capital or main city
3.5.2. Synonyms: Capital
3.5.3. Modern Sentence: Saint Paul is the strond of Minnesota
3.6. "Wanton"
3.6.1. Definition: Unrestrained and random, somewhat chaotic
3.6.2. Synonyms: Chaotic, uncontrolled, unpredictable
3.6.3. Modern sentence: Spreading wanton destruction everywhere she went
3.7. "Sirrah"
3.7.1. Definition: A title used for politeness
3.7.2. Synonyms: Sir, ma'am, mister, miss
3.7.3. Modern sentence: Yes, sirrah
3.8. "Imputation"
3.8.1. Definition: Reputation and prestige
3.8.2. Synonyms: Reputation
3.8.3. Modern sentence: Your imputation precedes you
3.9. "Masque"
3.9.1. Definition: A disguise or masquerade
3.9.2. Synonyms: Masquerade, deception
3.9.3. Modern sentence: Your masque is done
3.10. "Crost"
3.10.1. Definition: Past tense of cross, misspelling of crossed. To have gone across a divide of some sort
3.10.2. Synonyms: Crossed, Traversed
3.10.3. Modern sentence: I crost the river
3.11. "Younker"
3.11.1. Definition: A fashionable or fine young gentleman
3.11.2. Synonyms: Gallant, Dapper
3.11.3. Modern sentence: He was such a nice younker
3.12. "Strumpet"
3.12.1. Definition: A woman who sleeps with men for money
3.12.2. Synonyms: Prostitute, harlot
3.12.3. Modern sentence: We have a problem with strumpets in America
3.13. "Withal"
3.13.1. Definition: A word used to link up other words; in addition, moreover
3.13.2. Synonyms: And
3.13.3. Modern sentence: The cheese is melting, withal we're out of milk
3.14. "Argosy"
3.14.1. Definition: large merchant ship
3.14.2. Synonyms: Galleon, shipping boat
3.14.3. Modern sentence: FedEx has 57 airplanes and 139 argosys! (actual numbers unknown (I was too lazy to look up the actual numbers))
3.15. "Tranect"
3.15.1. Definition: A small boat used to transport people across water commercially
3.15.2. Synonyms: Ferry
3.15.3. Modern sentence: I said my goodbyes and boarded the tranect
3.16. "Garnish'd"
3.16.1. Definition: Past tense of garnish. To have provided a good supply of
3.16.2. Synonyms: Generosity
3.16.3. Modern sentence: He has garnish'd us with words
3.17. "Stockish"
3.17.1. Definition: Not very intelligent
3.17.2. Synonyms: Dimwitted, dumb
3.17.3. Modern sentence: Him and his stockish brother
3.18. "Shrive"
3.18.1. Definition: To forgive
3.18.2. Synonyms: Forgive, make peace with
3.18.3. Modern sentence: I do you wrong, yet you still shrive me
3.19. "Edifice"
3.19.1. Definition: A large, imposing building
3.19.2. Synonyms: Structure, monolith
3.19.3. Modern sentence: The Empire State Building is a fine example of an edifice
3.20. "Gudgeon"
3.20.1. Definition: A type of fish often used as bait
3.20.2. Synonyms: Fish (really none)
3.20.3. Modern sentence: I baited the line with a gudgeon and cast it into the lake