The Merchant of Vernice…abridged version haha

I have been an English teacher all my working life but lack a working knowledge of Shakespeare’s works because in my country, language is taught as a different subject from literature. So I never studied Shakespeare before. Technically speaking, I can coast along in my job without reading Shakespeare. However, given that Shakespeare contributed more than a thousand words to the English language, I feel compelled to understand the role he played in the development of the English language. Moreover, a famous drama company does an adaptation of a Shakespeare play, so any reading I do in advance will help me understand the performance better.

I thought the Merchant of Vernice has some intriguing storylines. Like Syhlock the moneylender demanded for a pound of flesh. Or Portia pretending to be a male lawyer to absolve the defendant from blame. But on the whole, I thought there were so many couples that it kinda distracted me from the main plot.

What do you think of The Merchant of Vernice?