If you prick us, do we not bleed? If you tickle us, do we not laugh? If you poison us, do we not die? And if you wrong us, shall we not revenge?

The quality of mercy is not strained,
It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven
Upon the place beneath. It is twice blest:
It blesseth him that gives and him that takes.

A difficult play, that turns on hatred and injustice between races, but which explores the deep humanity inside us all. To help his friend Bassanio court the noble Portia, Antonio borrows money from the Jewish moneylender Shylock, with a pound of his own flesh being the forfeit if he defaults on the loan. Portia disguises herself as a lawyer to save Antonio from Shylock's knife.