Portia (The Merchant of Venice) Portia (The Merchant of Venice) Portia is the protagonist of William Shakespeare's "The Merchant of Venice". A rich, beautiful, and intelligent heiress of Belmont, she is bound by the lottery set forth in her father's will, which gives potential suitors the chance to choose among three caskets. If he chooses the right casket, he wins Portia's hand in marriage. If he chooses the incorrect casket, he must leave and never seek another woman in marriage. She is said to be blonde and has curly hair. As Bassanio says to Antonio in (Act I scene I), she is more beautiful than
The Merchant of Venice (2004 film) a catastrophe due to his own flaws. The film begins with text and a montage of how the Jewish community is abused by the Christian population of Venice and brings attention to the fact that, as a convert, Shylock would have been cast out of the Jewish ghetto in Venice. The film is a co-production between the United Kingdom, Italy, and Luxembourg. "The Merchant of Venice" received generally positive reviews; it has a "fresh" rating of 72% at Rotten Tomatoes based on 124 critic reviews, with the consensus, "A respectable if uneven take on the Bard's "The Merchant of Venice"."