and the ring demanded as a fee. The idea for the casket plot is derived from a Latin collection of stories called Gesta Ramanorum. The only difference is that in the Gesta story a princess is choosing to prove her worthiness to her husband, whereas in Merchant Bassanio is choosing to prove himself worthy of Portia. Shakespeare also used the collection of stories Il Novellino, by Masuccio Salernitano, in adding in a few subplots to Merchant. Some of these scenarios involve a young girl closely guarded by her father, a young man uses his female servant to persuade the young girl to run off with him, and how the yo!
             ung girl steals her father's fortune when she runs off with the young man. The major differences between Shakespeare's final version and the preceding stories are his characterization of the Jew character, in this case Shylock, and the addition of new characters. Shakespeare sought to humanize Shylock; unlike the authors before him and added new characters in order to have more slapstick comedy in the play. (Bullough Early Comedies 445-449)
             The plot of Much Ado about Nothing, a lady falsely accused of being unfaithful, cast off by her lover, and then restored to him again, is of great age, dating back to ancient Greece. There are four very well known sources that could have been attained by Shakespeare before the time this was written. The source most widely accepted is Orlando Furioso by Ariosto, which was translated by Sir John Harrington in 1591. Other probable sources include The Faerie Queene by Spencer, The Rock of Regard by George Whetstone and a story translated by Belleforest in Histories Tragiques. Most versions of this story are comparably the same. Similarities include the villain usually being in love with the lady himself and trying to ruin the marriage, the heroine is often the lover's fiancée, and the lover is blamed for so
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