The Merchant of Venice Author:William Shakespeare In Act IV, Scene i, appears the dramatic highlight of The Merchant of Venice, when Portia attempts to save Antonio from Shylock and Shylock from himself. It is here that she utters the famous speech on mercy, possibly the best-known passage in all of Shakespeare's plays, in a vain effort to soften the usurer's implacable determination to have An... more »tonio's very flesh in retaliation for the slights he has suffered from the Venetian merchant.« less