Matthew Ehret: 27-08-2026, 
In Shakespeare’s famous play The Merchant of Venice, we are introduced to the strange character Shylock – a Jewish money lender living in the Venetian Republic who finds himself obsessed with revenge over the disrespect which he and his people have suffered at Christian hands for generations.
Shylock has internalized the rage and victimhood of his oppressed people to a toxic degree and becomes owned by the sense of resentment of having been used like a tool for the wealthy and powerful elite of Venice as a financier making loans at high interest.
In Shakespeare’s play, a moral but short-sighted Christian merchant and rival money lender by the name of Antonio wishes to assist his friend Bassanio by providing 3000 ducats to court a young noble heiress whom Bassanio adores by the name of Portia.
The Christian merchant believes himself to be wealthy with four vessels replete with goods scheduled to arrive home in the months ahead, yet he is also short of liquidity with all his wealth locked up in his overseas business ventures, and so thinks it no great danger to request a loan of Shylock saying:
“All my fortunes are at sea,
Neither have I money, nor commodity
To raise a present sum.
Therefore go forth —
Try what my credit can in Venice do.”
Shylock finally agrees after a period of negotiation… but only on condition that should the three thousand ducats not be repaid within an agreed-upon time span,