The Merchant of Venice
The Merchant of Venice is 21,693 words — about 1h 27m at 250 words per minute, across 19 chapters. Measure your own speed and read it here.
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21,693 words · 19 chapters · counted from the full text, not estimated from a page count. Measure your own speed and this becomes your number.
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How it opens
ACT II Scene I. Belmont. A room in Portia’s house. Scene II. Venice. A street. Scene III. The same. A room in Shylock’s house. Scene IV. The same. A street. Scene V. The same. Before Shylock’s house. Scene VI. The same. Scene VII. Belmont. A room in Portia’s house. Scene VIII. Venice. A street. Scene IX. Belmont. A room in Portia’s house.…
Details
- AuthorWilliam Shakespeare
- SourceProject Gutenberg #1515
- Length21,693 words · 1h 27m of reading
- Chapters19
- DictionaryIncluded
- CopyrightPublic domain in the United States
- Source checked2026-08-28
Contents
19 chapters
Recovered from the original source text, so you can open the book at any of them.
- 01Dramatis Personæ
- 02SCENE III. Venice. A public place.
- 03SCENE I. Belmont. A room in Portia’s house.
- 04SCENE II. Venice. A street.
- 05SCENE III. The same. A room in Shylock’s house.
- 06SCENE IV. The same. A street.
- 07SCENE V. The same. Before Shylock’s house.
- 08SCENE VI. The same.
- 09SCENE VII. Belmont. A room in Portia’s house.
- 10SCENE VIII. Venice. A street.
- 11SCENE IX. Belmont. A room in Portia’s house.
- 12SCENE I. Venice. A street.
- 13SCENE II. Belmont. A room in Portia’s house.
- 14SCENE III. Venice. A street.
- 15SCENE IV. Belmont. A room in Portia’s house.
- 16SCENE V. The same. A garden.
- 17SCENE I. Venice. A court of justice.
- 18SCENE II. The same. A street.
- 19SCENE I. Belmont. The avenue to Portia’s house.
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