Identify and Explain Key Characters in 'The Merchant of Venice'

'The Merchant of Venice': Characters

What do you already know about the characters in 'The Merchant of Venice'?

There are a lot of characters in 'The Merchant of Venice!' Some of the main characters that we meet in the play are:

Antonio

Bassanio

Shylock

Portia

Jessica

Lorenzo

Nerissa

In the exam, you may be asked to write about how a particular character is presented by Shakespeare in an extract from the play.  You will also need to be able to write about the character and how it is presented by Shakespeare in the wider play.

This activity will help you to revise some of the most important features of the characters from 'The Merchant of Venice'.

You should always refer to your own text when working through these examples. These quotations are for reference only.