How The Merchant of Venice drew on The Gospels
A documented line of influence: William Shakespeare demonstrably engaged Matthew’s work. The commentary below is Gröblé’s, verbatim from each work’s page.
The source
The Gospels
Matthew · c. 85
BibleThe influenced
The Merchant of Venice
William Shakespeare · c. 1596
ShakespeareRelevance
7/10
On The Merchant of Venice’s page
- Portia's famous "quality of mercy" plea is the Sermon on the Mount turned into legal rhetoric — "Blessed are the merciful" made flesh
- Her appeal that "that same prayer doth teach us all to render the deeds of mercy" leans on the Lord's Prayer's "forgive us our debts" (Matthew 6)
- The play's mercy-versus-justice spine is a theological argument; reading Matthew first tells you which side the Gospel is on
On The Gospels’s page
- The Sermon on the Mount becomes a courtroom argument — Portia's "quality of mercy" speech is built on "Blessed are the merciful" (Matthew 5)
- She presses the logic of the Lord's Prayer too: "we do pray for mercy, and that same prayer / Doth teach us all to render the deeds of mercy" (Matthew 6's "forgive us our debts")
- The Merchant of Venice sets New-Law mercy against Old-Law justice — and the New Law it quotes is Matthew's