Merchant Of Venice – 1.1 Summary
 Set in the streets of Venice
 Antonio (a merchant) expresses his sadness
 His friends Solanio and Salarino suggests he’s either worried about his ships or in
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love (lovers of Shakespeare’s time would typically be melancholy)
Bassiano, Lorenzo and Gratiano enter
Salarino and Solanio leave for their other friends
Gratiano advises Antonio to cheer up
Bassiano tells the story of a rich lady (Portia) who he wants to marry – but he needs
some money to impress her
He says all his money problems would be over seen as Portia is very wealthy
Antonio is willing to help Bassanio, but all his money is tied up in the ships at sea, so
he will have to borrow money