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The Merchant of Venice | Does Shylock actually convert to Christianity?

Toward the end of the trial scene (Act IV, scene i.), Antonio's exoneration would seem to bring the play's main plot to its final resolution, but Portia extends the proceedings by commanding "Tarry Jew." Still in her lawyer's disguise, Portia first asserts that the statutes of Venice call for the execution of false accusers and the confiscation of the worldly goods. Antonio displays Christian mercy by suggesting that Shylock be spared and allowed to keep half his wealth on two conditions: that Shylock arrange for Jessica and Lorenzo to inherit his worldly goods upon his death and that he...

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