The Merchant of Venice
/ðə ˌmɜːtʃənt əv ˈvenɪs/
/ðə ˌmɜːrtʃənt əv ˈvenɪs/
- a play by William Shakespeare, thought to have been written in 1596. It is about a merchant, Antonio, who borrows money from a Jew called Shylock to help Bassanio marry Portia. According to their agreement, if Antonio fails to pay the money back, Shylock can claim a pound of Antonio's flesh. When Antonio is unable to pay the money back, Shylock demands that Antonio keeps to the agreement. However, he is defeated in a court case by Portia, disguised as a lawyer, who makes a powerful speech, wins the case and saves Antonio's life. The play is the origin of the expression to demand, want, etc. your pound of flesh, meaning to want or insist on getting what you have a legal right to, even when it is morally offensive to do so.
威尼斯商人：威廉·莎士比亚（William Shakespeare）的戏剧，被认为是写于1596年的。这是关于一个商人安东尼奥（Antonio）的，她从一个名叫夏洛克（Shylock）的犹太人那里借钱来帮助巴萨尼奥与波蒂亚结婚。根据他们的协议，如果安东尼奥不还钱，夏洛克可以要求安东尼奥一磅的肉。当安东尼奥无法偿还这笔钱时，夏洛克要求安东尼奥遵守协议。但是，他在法庭上被Portia击败，伪装成律师，他发表了有力的演说，赢得了诉讼，挽救了Antonio的性命。戏剧是表达需求，想要等等的表达的源泉，意思是想要或坚持获得合法的权利，即使这样做在道德上是令人反感的。