It is a well-known fact that Shakespeare is generally indifferent to the naming of his plays. Such titles as As you Like It, Twelfth Night or What You Will point to the truth of this statement. This is true also of the present play.
But in this case the title in not only vague; it is also apt to be misleading. The play is named obviously after Antonio, who does not seem to.be the dominant character in the play. It has been said that when Roberts entered the play in the Stationers Register he entered it as The Merchant of Venice, or otherwise called The Jew of Venice. For long time before the play was printed it was called The Jew of Venice and this seems to be the more significant and appropriate title of the play. But later on, the name was abandoned and the play was called the Merchant of Venice in order to distinguish it from an earlier play, now lost, called The Jew on which the present drama is based.
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