How is Venice an apt setting in Merchant of Venice?



The city functioned as a meeting point between Western European lands and Eastern regions. Venice was also surrounded by water, giving ships easy access.

Why is The Merchant of Venice set in Venice?

Shakespeare’s The Merchant Of Venice is set in renaissance Venice, with a few scenes in a fictional Italian town called Belmont. The setting is important – Venice was one of the wealthiest towns in Europe, as it was right on the sea, with excellent shipping facilities for trading with the east.

What are the two settings of Merchant of Venice?

The settings: Venice and Belmont





University of Victoria Library. Shakespeare makes use of two distinct settings for The Merchant of Venice. Venice, as in Shakespeare’s time, is the city of commerce where wealth flows in and out with each visiting ship.

Where is Merchant of Venice set?

Venice

The Merchant of Venice is set in Venice and at Portia’s house in Belmont.

What is the setting of the first scene in The Merchant of Venice?

Act 1 Scene 1





The play opens with Antonio, a Venetian merchant, sharing with his friends Salerio and Solanio that he feels ‘sad’, but does not know why. His friends suggest that he is either worried about his ships, which are ‘tossing on the ocean’ and full of valuable goods, or that he is ‘in love’.

What kind of place is Venice in Merchant of Venice?

The Merchant of Venice is set in Italy in the sixteenth century, mainly in Venice. At that time, Venice was an independent city-state. In Shakespeare’s era, setting plays, especially comedies, in Italy was a popular practice, and Shakespeare used Italian settings for many of his works.