Setting

Click on the images below to find out more about the setting of The Merchant of Venice and what we know about where the play is set.

Venice is a city state in the north of the country that we now know as Italy.
Belmont is a fictional place, meaning 'beautiful mountain', and is where Portia lives.
Venice is ruled by a senate, at the head of which is a duke.
Venice was a rich, thriving city in and a major centre of trade and commercial deals.
Jewish people living in Venice were forced to live in separate parts of the city from Christians, known as ghettos.
There were rules in Venice about moneylending. Christians were not allowed to charge interest on loans but Jewish people were.

Every performance of The Merchant of Venice will be set in a place that has all of the things above but they can do that in lots of different ways. For example, the play could be set in any place where there is a lot of trade and financial dealings, and where people of different religions or beliefs live in the same city but might be separated in some way.

Why do you think it might be helpful for modern audiences to change the world of a play? What worlds can you think of where The Merchant of Venice might be set?

Teacher Notes

On this page students can explore some of the key things that we know about the setting of The Merchant of Venice by clicking on the pictures.

You can use these pictures, or other images, as a starting point to discuss what they know about the setting of the play and to think about where they would set the play if they were creating their own production. A great way of doing this visually is for students to create a mood board or collage of images that could be used as design inspiration.