Using the ideas and motifs of the contextual text "Il Pecorone", William Shakespeare constructs a
play - "The Merchant of
Venice" - with a focus on sexuality and gender, creating equal grounds to contrast the characters Antonio and Portia. This paper shows that, adding a depth to the
play that was not present in the original document, Shakespeare presents a world of romantic rivalry in which the woman assumes characteristics generally associated with the masculine - such as power, authority and self-control, while the man is shown as a weak character victimized by his own emotional instability.