#31 in Drama & theatre
The Merchant of Venice
- 146
- Pages
- about 2.5 h
- Reading time
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Our view
“The Merchant of Venice” is a short play that leaves its audience unsure who the real wrongdoer is. The loan Antonio takes from Shylock for a friend’s sake turns a light, often funny story into a study of religious prejudice and of what hatred does to those who nurse it. At under 150 pages it reads quickly, and it suits readers who like a play to leave an argument behind and not a moral.
The view of the BookRank editors, written from readers’ ratings and comments. It does not affect the score or the book’s place in a ranking.
About the book
The Merchant of Venice is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1596 and 1598. A merchant in Venice named Antonio defaults on a large loan taken out on behalf of his dear friend, Bassanio, and provided by a Jewish moneylender, Shylock, with seemingly inevitable fatal consequences.
Where the score comes from
The sources average 7.6 across 348 ratings — not yet many, so the reader vote carries 70% of the weight and the rest pulls toward the Drama & theatre average of 7.6. That is how 7.6 comes out.
| Source | Average | Ratings | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Open Library | 8.0 | 57 | 16% |
| Hardcover | 7.5 | 291 | 84% |
Frequently asked
How long is The Merchant of Venice?
It has 146 pages — longer than 53% of the ranked books in Drama & theatre.
In this book
Themes this book shares with others — each leads to the best books on it.
If you liked this
The same shelf — Drama & theatre — and a score of 7.6, the closest to this book.
