The Merchant of Venice (opera) latter's flesh. Lorenzo kidnaps Jessica, together with much of Shylock's wealth. Shylock is taunted by the citizens of Venice. Act II takes place at Portia's residence at Belmont, where Bassanio is able to win her hand after defeating two foreign princes in choosing correctly between three caskets of gold, silver and lead. Act III is set in the Duke's courtroom; Antonio's business ventures seem to have failed, and Shylock claims his pound of flesh. Portia and her servant Nerissa, disguised as lawyers, successfully defend Antonio and force Shylock to forgo his loan, to accept Lorenzo as a son-in-law, and to
Jessica (The Merchant of Venice) followed the First Folio, not the Second. Malone's response was simply that "In answer to Mr. Steevens, I have to state that I printed this play in 1784, and that Mr. Reed's edition did not appear till 1785. I may add that I communicated to that gentleman this very correction." The back and forth continued in notes on Jessica's line in Act 5, Scene 1: "I am never merry when I hear sweet music." Steevens opinied that: For this point, Steevens cites the word's use in "Measure for Measure" and a similar usage of "dulcia" by Horace in his "Art