An emperor named Anselme, of Rome, arranged a marriage between his son and the daughter of the king of Ampluy. As the young lady was on her journey to Rome her ship was wrecked, and she was saved only by being swallowed by a whale. Released from this prison, she went on to Rome where the emperor subjected her to the following test: He brought forth three vessels-the first of gold, but filled with dead bones; the second of silver, but filled with earth and worms; the third of lead, but full of precious stones. The first bore the inscription, "Whoso chooseth me shall finde that he deserveth"; the second, "Whoso chooseth me shall finde that his nature desireth"; the third, "Whoso chooseth me shall finde that God hath disposed to him." The lady chose the third, and thus showed herself worthy of the emperor's heir. The two stories given contain practically all the material of The Merchant of Venice, except the Launcelot Gobbo and the Lorenzo-Jessica episodes. The former may have been a direct inheritance from the earlier play. The latter may have been suggested to Shakspere by Marlowe's Jew of Malta. In this play, written in 1589 or 1590, Marlowe's hero, the Jew Barabas, has a daughter, Abigail, who is loved by two Christian knights. Barabas persuades her to encourage both, in order that they shall destroy each other. Abigail, in repentance, flees from her father, and takes refuge in a nunnery, where she dies. The situation is unlike that in Shakspere's play, except in the mere facts that in both cases the Jew has a daughter who is loved by a Christian, and is ultimately lost to her father. It is almost impossible, however, to avoid the conclusion that in portraying Shylock's frenzy at the loss of Jessica, Shakspere had in mind Marlowe's earlier treatment of the same theme, e. g.: Mer. of Ven., II. viii. My daughter! O my ducats!-O my daughter! Jew of Malta, II. i. Oh, my girl, My gold, my fortune, my felicity, Oh, girl, oh, gold, oh, beauty, oh, my bliss. [NOTE. An elaborate discussion of the date of the play and its sources is found in Dr. Furness's Variorum Merchant of Venice, pp. 277-331.] 3. THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE DRAMA The preceding discussion of the sources of The Merchant of Venice makes it clear where Shakspere could have obtained the material of his drama. In considering the use to which Shakspere put this material, it is useful to have in mind a few of the characteristics of the dramatic form. A drama undertakes to tell a story by presenting a few episodes or situations from which the entire course of the action can be inferred. Inasmuch as these scenes are to be presented in rapid succession to an audience, not only must they be clear and easy to follow, but also, to be interesting, they must afford opportunity for striking, significant action on the part of the characters. Further, inasmuch as in a drama the author has no opportunity to tell his audience directly what he thinks of his characters, these latter must reveal their natures and purposes by their attitude toward one another, as manifested in speech or action. It is most important that every action in a drama be explained, prepared for, given a motive, by something which has already taken place, or some trait of character already indicated. Finally, a comedy follows roughly a certain order, in accordance with which the opening scenes give the "exposition," or set forth the relations of the characters to each other at the outset; the next follow a certain development of action called the "complication" by which the hero is brought into difficulties, which finally reach a climax; after which, as the result of another train of events, sometimes called the "counter-plot," the Gordian knot is cut or untied by the "catastrophe." The action of the play then seeks its close. In studying the play before us with a view to noting the details in which it corresponds to these principles of dramatic construction, there is some danger of over-emphasis. In the uncertainty as to whether Shakspere used the stories of Fiorentino and the Gesta Romanorum directly, or found them dramatized, we must remain in some doubt whether to attribute specific examples of dramatic skill to him or to an unknown predecessor. Moreover, it must be remembered that an Elizabethan audience did not demand that a play be strictly dramatic. It was to them a vehicle for the presentation of information, philosophy, and fun, somewhat like the novel of today. Hence, even in so symmetrical a play as 'The Merchant of Venice, we need not expect to find every scene or speech contributing to the advancement of the action or the development of the characters. Even with this concession, however, it is evident that The Merchant of Venice is a wellconstructed play, one in which the technical requirements of the dramatic form are fulfilled. The first scene gives, by way of exposition, the relations between Antonio and Bassanio, and the latter's plan for winning Portia. The second makes clear the conditions under which Portia must be wooed, and hints at her attitude toward Bassanio. The two stories of the bond and the caskets stand to each other as plot and counter-plot: the first brings Antonio into his extreme peril; the second supplies the resolution of his difficulties through Portia. Both are set in motion by the same force, viz., Bassanio's love of Portia; both unite in the scene in which Portia saves Antonio. Shakspere's management of the Lorenzo-Jessica story and the use which he makes of it to supply employment for the minor characters, to hint at the passage of the necessary three months, and to strengthen the motive of Shylock's ferocity, are to be noted. Another point in the construction of the play is the skillful preparation for the ring episode, which gives the final touch of comedy by transferring the action from Venice, with its tragedies partly or wholly accomplished, to Belmont, with its idylls, Where music and moonlight and feeling are one. The care with which the action of the play, particularly in the bond story, is explained has been much praised. The forfeit of a pound of flesh, despite its frequent appearance in medieval literature, must have seemed on its face incredible to an Elizabethan audience. This difficulty Shakspere relieves by making the terms of the bond grow out of the verbal fence between Shylock and Antonio. Further, he anticipates the feeling of the audience by Bassanio's expressed horror at the proposal, which is disarmed by Shylock's pretense of a jest, and by Antonio's stubborn pride. Again, the catastrophe of the play is skillfully prepared. Shylock's insistence on his bond is given motive by the scenes with Tubal, and with Antonio's friends, in which he is goaded to desperate irritation. Moreover, the hearer's skepticism as to the validity of |