Portia (The Merchant of Venice) original Portia Shakespeare drew from was Porcia Catonis, the wife of the Roman statesman Brutus. She was also compared to the wife of Brutus within the play in Act 1 scene 1 when Bassanio talks to Antonio. The strength of the role of Portia has made it attractive to many notable actresses. Frances Abington, Sarah Siddons and Elizabeth Whitlock all played Portia in the 18th century when actresses first started appearing on stage in performances of the play. More recently, the role has been depicted in the cinema and on television by a number of notable actresses such as Maggie
Jessica (The Merchant of Venice) of Poetry". Malone responds that ""Sweet" is "pleasing", "delightful", and such is the meaning of "dulcis" in Horace." All references to "The Merchant of Venice", unless otherwise specified, are taken from the Folger Shakespeare Library's "Folger Digital Texts" edition, edited by Barbara Mowat and Paul Werstine. Under their referencing system, acts, scenes, and lines are marked in the text, so 2.6.34–40 would be Act 2, Scene 6, lines 34 through 40. Jessica (The Merchant of Venice) Jessica is the daughter of Shylock, a Jewish moneylender, in William Shakespeare's "The Merchant of Venice" (). In the play, she elopes with Lorenzo,