Merchant of Venice, The


noun
  1. a comedy (1596?) by Shakespeare.

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Cultural definitions for The Merchant of Venice

The Merchant of Venice

A comedy by William Shakespeare. The most memorable character is Shylock, a greedy moneylender who demands from the title character “a pound of flesh” (see alsopound of flesh) as payment for a debt.

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.