The Merchant of Venice in the court of the Duke of Venice. Shylock refuses Bassanio's offer of 6,000 ducats, twice the amount of the loan. He demands his pound of flesh from Antonio. The Duke, wishing to save Antonio but unable to nullify a contract, refers the case to a visitor. He identifies himself as Balthasar, a young male "doctor of the law", bearing a letter of recommendation to the Duke from the learned lawyer Bellario. The doctor is Portia in disguise, and the law clerk who accompanies her is Nerissa, also disguised as a man. As Balthasar, Portia repeatedly asks Shylock to show
Title role title character is the primary antagonist. The title role and the lead can be different genders; for example, in the 2003 revival of August Wilson's "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom", Whoopi Goldberg had the title role, but the lead was Charles S. Dutton. The title character in narrative works is one who is named or referred to in the title, such as The Doctor in the TV series "Doctor Who", Harry Potter in the namesake series of novels and films, "Romeo and Juliet" in the Shakespeare play or Annie Oakley in the musical "Annie Get Your Gun". The "title character" need