My rating:

add to my books

read book

The Merchant of Venice

by William Shakespeare

3.71 · rating details · 32,691 ratings · 757 reviews

The Cambridge School Shakespeare series arises out of the research and development work of Shakespeare and School Project. Each play in the series has been carefully edited to enable students to inhabit Shakespeare's imaginative world in accessible and creative ways.

Mass Market Paperback, 288 pages

Published August 23rd 2011 by Washington Square Press (first published 1597)

more details... edit details

Get a copy:

There is a good chance some of your friends read this book. Sign in to see!

Friend Reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

Lists with This Book

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by J.K. Rowling

Best Banned and/or Censored Books (or Worst to have banned)

48th out of 192 books — 953 voters

A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare

Best of William Shakespeare

11th out of 34 books — 330 voters

More lists with this book...

Community Reviews

(showing 1-30 of 42,800)

filter | sort: default (?) | rating details

Jun 16, 2009

Kelly rated it

Shelves: brit-lit, theatre, shakespeare, owned, 1500-1700

Although the most famous speech from this piece is, deservedly and understandably, Shylock's 'prick us' monologue, I think that the more useful speech to talk about what I felt about the play is Portia's only slightly less famous 'quality of mercy' speech in the court room scene:

The quality of mercy is not strain'd,
It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven
Upon the place beneath: it is twice blest;
It blesseth him that gives and him that takes:
'Tis mightiest in...more

like 14 likes

· see review

May 09, 2011

Luana rated it

· review of another edition

Shakespeare è uno di quegli autori che tutti hanno letto in teoria, ma che pochi hanno letto in pratica. Devo ammetterlo, prima della lettura di questo testo, facevo parte della prima schiera di ipocriti. Con 'Il mercante di Venezia' ho smesso di leggiucchiare qualche brano qua e là per dedicarmi, invece, alla lettura approfondita di un intero testo. Ferma restando la grandezza del genio di William Shakespeare, devo ammettere di preferire assai il teatrante in vesti tragiche, che non nei panni d...moreShakespeare è uno di quegli autori che tutti hanno letto in teoria, ma che pochi hanno letto in pratica. Devo ammetterlo, prima della lettura di questo testo, facevo parte della prima schiera di ipocriti. Con 'Il mercante di Venezia' ho smesso di leggiucchiare qualche brano qua e là per dedicarmi, invece, alla lettura approfondita di un intero testo. Ferma restando la grandezza del genio di William Shakespeare, devo ammettere di preferire assai il teatrante in vesti tragiche, che non nei panni della commedia.

Venezia, XV° secolo. Antonio si obbliga con Shylock, usuraio ebreo, a donargli una libbra della sua stessa carne se non riuscirà a restituirgli per la data stabilita i tremila ducati presi a prestito in favore di Bassanio, migliore amico di Antonio, che necessita di tale cifra per potersi presentare come partito a Porzia, ereditiera di Belmont. Porzia, tuttavia, può andare in sposa solo a chi riesca ad aprire lo scrigno giusto tra i tre che il padre ha predisposto affinché ella trovi il marito più assennato e giudizioso. Le navi di Antonio vanno perdute, con esse il loro carico e i tremila ducati che Antonio deve corrispondere in obbligazione a Shylock. Perderà la sua libbra di carne? Leggere per scoprire.
Intorno alla trama principale incentrata su avidità di ricchezza e sete di vendetta, si intrecciano storie d'amore il cui fine non può che essere lieto come il registro da commedia richiede.

Sarà che un testo teatrale va visto interpretato a teatro, sarà che la traduzione non era troppo coinvolgente, sarà che (...), ma sinceramente non ho apprezzato granché la commedia: i personaggi sono troppo statici, manca quella vivacità tipica del teatro, l'interscambio tra le varie scene e situazioni.
E' forte la satira e la capacità persuasiva di Shakespeare, che ci fa apparire giusto anche ciò che è sbagliato (Shylock ha più che ragione a pretendere l'esecuzione del contratto così come si è obbligato), ma che è anche capace di riprendere l'etica contro la legge in maniera magistrale, senza perdere, pur nel tono di commedia, il valore della discussione dibattuto da sempre dai più grandi giuristi e pensatori. Son belle ed ammalianti le parole d'amore, ma perdono tutta la loro lucentezza, come perle finite sullo sfondo di uno scatolone.

Shakespeare, in definitiva, ti preferisco munito di teschio, pugnale e veleno!
(less)

like 3 likes

· see review

Sep 19, 2007

Anne Blocker rated it

Recommends it for: everyone

Shelves: strong-influence

My grandmother knew Shakespeare by heart. Not one play or a few sonnets, but all of it, the body of work. She believed the highest calling was to contribute to the body of human knowledge. She was one of the early professors at The University of Texas.

I knew Shylock and Portia as if they were members of our family when I went with my grandmother at 15 to the open stage at Stratford-on-Avon to see The Merchant of Venice. Growing up on an island in the Gulf of Mexico where every able-...moreMy grandmother knew Shakespeare by heart. Not one play or a few sonnets, but all of it, the body of work. She believed the highest calling was to contribute to the body of human knowledge. She was one of the early professors at The University of Texas.

I knew Shylock and Portia as if they were members of our family when I went with my grandmother at 15 to the open stage at Stratford-on-Avon to see The Merchant of Venice. Growing up on an island in the Gulf of Mexico where every able-bodied person is valued in a storm, I was unable to understand the tone of anti-Semitism. I wrote about that when I next studied the play in college.

In my Forties, our laboratory was conducting research at St. Stephen's School in Austin when the Headmaster called to say I had to come immediately to see the results of a new learning device. The door to the classroom was locked until the bell rang. Seventh grade students streamed into the class and seized the lesson of the day to learn -- Elizabethan vocabulary for The Merchant of Venice. I expected groans and instead, it was like a race. In 15 minutes, they had all learned the lesson to 100% and the teacher turned on a video in process, an exchange of Portia, Antonio and Shylock about the pound of flesh.

When the word forsooth came on, the class, in unison, raised fists into the air and shouted the word. I was startled. Could this be learning?

When the video was turned off, the hands went up enthusiastically. The first question, what are the words we say today that will seem odd three hundred years from now? Cool, tight, talk to the hand seemed to qualify. The next question, what is a pound of flesh and where could you cut it off the body where it would do the most and the least damage? That led to a discussion of emergency medicine, vulnerability of biological systems and triage.

Then, the inevitable, what does it mean to be Jewish and why do they charge interest? If I lent you lunch money today, I wouldn't ask for more than I lent you tomorrow. That would not seem fair. The kids of bankers and Realtors were quick to discuss economic systems, countries where interest was illegal, the first rumors of the success of the Grameen Bank. They were guided in a discussion of the common origin of religions, the children of Abraham who had become Jews, Christians and Muslims.

I asked the teacher, noticing the time, when they were going to discuss the play and Shakespeare. She turned and smiled. This is what we study Shakespeare FOR, she said, to teach students to think and feel and deal with what is important -- poetry, ideas, the human condition. This is just the beginning. These kids will be talking about The Merchant of Venice all their lives. I realized she was right.(less)

like 9 likes

· see review

Mar 04, 2011

Asma Albishri rated it

· review of another edition

قرأت الرواية و أنا في الصف الثاني متوسط، و أذكر أن أول شيء خطر ببالي بعد أن انهيتها هو: لماذا اختار شكسبير أن تكون الشخصية المحتالة المرابية المتلاعبة الشريرة شخصية يهودية؟

تعلمت وقتها أن اليهود هكذا في نظر العالم أجمع قديما و حديثا، و أن الربا - الذي كان أيضا من صفات التاجر اليهودي - كان فعلاً منبوذاً كما نؤمن نحن تماماً

أعتقد أنني سأعيد قراءتها !

like 2 likes

· see review

Jan 07, 2011

Lavinia rated it

Shelves: 2011, plays

Now that we are no longer to see the word nigger in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and I soon expect Moby Dick to turn into Moby D., I wonder how long it will take the literary gurus to change Shylock's nationality from Jewish to Italian - how about Silocchio, for instance? :)) - or never mention it at all throughout the play, though, of course, we won't have a play any longer, but Shakespeare wrote so many anyway, it wouldn't matter.

Now seriously, I can see why people would get o...more

like 4 likes

· see review

Jan 22, 2012

Ahmed Yousif rated it

· review of another edition

رائعة جداً..أنهيت قراءتها في أقل من 24 ساعة

المقاطع التي أعجبتني :
-لقد خلقت الطبيعة في مسارها أناساً غريبي الأطوار,بعضهم يظل دوماً يتطلع إلى الزمار وقد ضيق من أعينهم الضحك,فيقهقه قهقهة الببغاء وبعضهم ذو سحنة كئيبة لايفتر وجهه عن ابتاسمة ترينا أسنانه ولو أقسم لنه نستور أن النكتة ظريفة.

-آه يأنطونيو!إني لعرف أناساً لم يشتهروا بالحكمة إلا لامتناعهم عن الحديث وإني لجد واثق من أنهم لو تكلموا لنعتهم مستمعوهم بالغباء .

-حديث جراشيانو يحوي دائماَ قدراً لا نها...moreرائعة جداً..أنهيت قراءتها في أقل من 24 ساعة

المقاطع التي أعجبتني :
-لقد خلقت الطبيعة في مسارها أناساً غريبي الأطوار,بعضهم يظل دوماً يتطلع إلى الزمار وقد ضيق من أعينهم الضحك,فيقهقه قهقهة الببغاء وبعضهم ذو سحنة كئيبة لايفتر وجهه عن ابتاسمة ترينا أسنانه ولو أقسم لنه نستور أن النكتة ظريفة.

-آه يأنطونيو!إني لعرف أناساً لم يشتهروا بالحكمة إلا لامتناعهم عن الحديث وإني لجد واثق من أنهم لو تكلموا لنعتهم مستمعوهم بالغباء .

-حديث جراشيانو يحوي دائماَ قدراً لا نهاية له من الهراء لايداينه فيه أي رجل في البندقية بأسرها.فأما ماقد يحويه كلامه من معانِ فأشبه بحبتين من القمح في جوالين من التبن,تبحث عنهما طيلة الوقت حتى تجدهما فإن وجدتهما تبين لك أنهما لاتستأهلان البحث عنهما.

-كنت وأنا بعدُ طالباً إذا رميت بسهم,ثم لم أعثر عليه ,أُطلق سهماً مثله في نفس الإتجاه وأراقبه مراقبة أدق حتى أعرف مكان الآخر,فإذاً مخاطرتي بالإثنين تؤدي على عثوري على الإثنين.

-أصدِقك ياسيدتي الرقيقة لو أن دواعي بؤسك كانت في كثرة دواعي سعادتك.غير ان التجربة علمتني أن التخمة قد تصيب صاحبها بألم لايقل حدة عن الألم الذي يصيب الجائع.

-فكرتي عنه أنه فظيع في الصباح قبل أن يسكر وفظيع جداً وقت العصر حين يسكر,هو في خير حالاته أقل من إنسان,وفي شر حالاته يشبه الحيوان.

-لاحظ يابساينو كيف أن بوسع الشيطان أن يستشهد بالكتاب المقدس لدعم أغراضه,وما الروح الشريرة التي تلوٍٍح باستشهادات دينية إلا كالوغد ذي الإبتسامة على خديه,أو كالتفاحة العفنة ذات المظهر الجميل..ألا ما أجمل المظهر الخارجي للزور والكذب.

-كل العواطف عندي ,عدا الحب,قد تبخرت في الهواء:شكوكي ويأسي الذي لم يكن له مبرر,وخوفي وارتعادي وغيرتي ..ولكن ترفق أيه الحب واعتدل,وخفف من غلوائك وأمطر علي من نشوتك رذاذاً هادئاً لاسيلاً عارماً !إني لشعر بالبهجة ولكن أكثر مما ينبغي ,فخفف منها حتى لاتدركني التخمة.

-قد بات بوسع كل أبله أن يتلاعب بالألفاظ,حتى لأكاد أحسب أن الحكما عما قريب سيفضلون الإلتزام بالصمت,تاركين الكلام للببغاوات وحدها ..

-إنه دانيال الجديد!دانيا أيه اليهودي.والآن قد وقعت في أيدينا أيها الكافر.من :S(less)

like 1 like

· see review

Nov 02, 2011

Maha rated it

· review of another edition

قصتي مع الكتب تبدا مع هذه.. قبلها كنت مدمنه ماجد :) والمكتبة الخضراء وليدي بيرد
في الصف السادس توفى جدي الله يرحمه.. وكان لازم نروح العزاء كل يوم لفتره طويلة..
امي ما كانت تبيني اقعد كثير مع الناس الكبار :))
المهم جنب بيت جدي كان في مكتبه صغيرة اشترت لي منهم تاجر البندقية وتاراس بولبا وبعد روايتين ما اذكرهم
وكان يومها هو نقطه التحول.. من انسانه طبيعيه .. الى دوده كتب مثل ما كانت تسميني ابلة الشريعه :))
طبعا هذا كله راح مع اللعمر.. واليأس.. وبدايه التجاعيد.. والكتب الي ت...more

like 1 like

· see review

Nov 17, 2009

Jeanette rated it

Shelves: all-fiction, classics, plays, four-star-fiction

About time for a comedy in my stay-at-home Shakespeare Festival.

This is rather more serious than Shakespeare's other comedies, but you know it's not a tragedy because nobody dies.
I've seen this play on stage two or three times and never caught how uncharitable Shakespeare really was toward Shylock. But the Modern Perspective piece at the end of this version does explain that Shakespeare probably never actually even saw a Jew in person in his lifetime. He was going along with t...more

like 2 likes

· see review

Feb 27, 2008

Travis rated it

Shelves: fiction-english

When I came across the name 'Shylock', it occurred to me that C.S. Lewis mentioned something about Shylock in passing. I didn't understand what he meant, but I think I would now. Great play - MUCH better than Taming of the Screw. It has restored my faith in Shakespeare. There were some problems, however. I think that finding a loophole in Shylock's contract to save Antonio is not a virtuous way to bring about forced mercy. I would rather Shylock be caught in the same demand for justice. I think ...more

like 2 likes

· see review

Nov 24, 2007

Terrill Valentine rated it

Recommends it for: Shakespere Fans

In Shakespeare’s, “The Merchant of Venice,” the life of a Jew was not an easy life to live, from a history of anti-Semitism came with it a period of expulsion and even downright genocide. The Jews have been discriminated against for many years and it is for this very reason you can start to understand why Shylock was portrayed as a monstrous individual who was inhumane in his techniques. Because of his Jewish history and anti-Semitic biases, Shylock is a product of his time and represents the ...more

like 3 likes

· see review

Jan 22, 2012

Artemisia rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: teatro

Porzia: E allora si vada! Io sono rinserrata in uno d'essi. Se mi amate davvero finirete col trovarmi. [...] Che la musica suoni mentr'egli fa la sua scelta, così che s'egli perde, faccia una fine simile a quella del cigno, che si spegne nella musica. E affinché il paragone coincida anche meglio, il mio occhio sarà il ruscello e il suo acqueo letto di morte. <br />[...]<br />Va' Eracle! Se tu vivi, io vivo!E maggiore d'assai è l'ansia di me che assisto alla tenzone di te che quella di te che vi...more

· see review

Dec 10, 2008

Dolly rated it

· review of another edition

Recommends it for: high school students and Shakespeare fans

Shelves: 1980s, english, italy

I was given a decent introduction to Shakespeare during my high school years. And this was one of my favorites - I remember being so excited to be picked to read the parts for Portia. I think I even wanted to name my daughter that at some point, but changed my mind.

We all had to memorize the following passage and it has always stuck with me (at least parts of it!):

"The quality of mercy is not strained.
It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven
Upon t...more

· see review

Feb 07, 2012

Wayne rated it

· review of another edition

Recommends it for: Fans of Will

Recommended to Wayne by: Previous experience

Shelves: english-classic-lit, plays, re-reads

This is more like a romantic-drama that ends "happily ever after."

It could also been seen as a tragedy where Shylock is concerned.
But despite his famous plea for recognition as a fellow human being,
("...hath not a Jew eyes?...If you prick us, do we not bleed?")
he still gets his "just desserts" as the Outsider. And Antonio, almost saintly in demeanour, is revealed by Shylock to have a very nasty side.
But then Everyone hates ...more

· see review

Jan 19, 2012

Sheridan rated it

This is a peppery little comedy that I read on one of my regular sojourns in Italy. I glanced at the critical reviews that took up more than four times the space of the play in the tome I brought with me. While some reviews had interesting little snippets it was clear that each reviewer had spent a narrow little academic life in his specialist area- Shakespeare. Each review betrayed breathtaking ignorance of all outside. For example, a supposed legal review was wrong in the law as quoted and eve...more

· see review

Jan 04, 2012

Annabanana rated it

Recommends it for: Anybody

Recommended to Annabanana by: My Father

The Merchant of Venice was a fantastic story of a fair merchant named Antonio who is faced with hard times (financially) and is in need of a loan. He visits another merchant, a greedy man named Shylock who dislikes Antonio. Shylock agrees to lend Antonio some money on the grounds that it is to be returned within three month exactly and no later, the punishment of returning it late is one pound of Antonios own flesh as payment for the delay. Antonio agrees to this (knowing very well the r...more The Merchant of Venice was a fantastic story of a fair merchant named Antonio who is faced with hard times (financially) and is in need of a loan. He visits another merchant, a greedy man named Shylock who dislikes Antonio. Shylock agrees to lend Antonio some money on the grounds that it is to be returned within three month exactly and no later, the punishment of returning it late is one pound of Antonios own flesh as payment for the delay. Antonio agrees to this (knowing very well the risk and consequenses,) they make the deal and Antonio recieves three-thousand ducats.

There lives a princess in another city who is to be married, Portia (the princess) refuses to be married without having the slightest of say in who her husband is to be. She sets up a game, a sort of riddle, and the suitor who wins the game is her husband. The game consists of three tiny chests:

"The first, of gold, who this inscription bears,
'Who chooseth me shall gain what many men desire;'
The second, silver, which this promise carries,
'Who chooseth me shall get as much as he deserves;'
This third, dull lead, with warning all as blunt,
'Who chooseth me must give and hazard all he hath.'"

(view spoiler)[ Portias three suitors were The Prince of Morocco, The Prince of Arragon, and Bassanio (a friend of Antonios.) Morocco chose the casket of gold, inside discovering a carrion Death, within whose empty eyes is a note:

All that glitters is not gold;
Often have you heard that told:
Many a man his life hath sold
But my outside to behold:
Gilded tombs do worms enfold.
Had you been as wise as bold,
Young in limbs, in judgment old,
Your answer had not been inscroll'd:
Fare you well; your suit is cold.
Cold, indeed; and labour lost:
Then, farewell, heat, and welcome, frost!
Portia, adieu. I have too grieved a heart
To take a tedious leave: thus losers part.

The second, the Prince of Arragon chose the casket of silver, containing within a portrait or an idiot, there was also a note inside which read:

The fire seven times tried this:
Seven times tried that judgment is,
That did never choose amiss.
Some there be that shadows kiss;
Such have but a shadow's bliss:
There be fools alive, I wis,
Silver'd o'er; and so was this.
Take what wife you will to bed,
I will ever be your head:
So be gone: you are sped.
Still more fool I shall appear
By the time I linger here
With one fool's head I came to woo,
But I go away with two.
Sweet, adieu. I'll keep my oath,
Patiently to bear my wroth.

Finally, Bassinio chose the leaden casket which contained a picture of Portia and with it a poem:

You that choose not by the view,
Chance as fair and choose as true!
Since this fortune falls to you,
Be content and seek no new,
If you be well pleased with this
And hold your fortune for your bliss,
Turn you where your lady is
And claim her with a loving kiss.
A gentle scroll. Fair lady, by your leave;
I come by note, to give and to receive.
Like one of two contending in a prize,
That thinks he hath done well in people's eyes,
Hearing applause and universal shout,
Giddy in spirit, still gazing in a doubt
Whether these pearls of praise be his or no;
So, thrice fair lady, stand I, even so;
As doubtful whether what I see be true,
Until confirm'd, sign'd, ratified by you.

Bassinio obviously chose the correct casket of the three, his mind not faltered by the lovley gleam of gold or the empty promise of the silver caskets. Bassinio and Portia were happily wed.

Three months later, Antonio could not pay back his debt to Shylock and they were both taken to court to discuss the issue. Shylock would not back down or accept anthing less than was promised, one pound of Antonios flesh. Antonio couldn't win the case and was almost killed until Portia came and took a role as Antonios lawyer posing as a male. Portia manages to find a loop-hole through the agreement stating:

Tarry a little; there is something else.
This bond doth give thee here no jot of blood;
The words expressly are 'a pound of flesh:'
Take then thy bond, take thou thy pound of flesh;
But, in the cutting it, if thou dost shed
One drop of Christian blood, thy lands and goods
Are, by the laws of Venice, confiscate
Unto the state of Venice.

Shylock does not back-down and pushes for the act to be fulfilled no matter the risk he is taking. Portia then sas to the court:

Therefore prepare thee to cut off the flesh.
Shed thou no blood, nor cut thou less nor more
But just a pound of flesh: if thou cut'st more
Or less than a just pound, be it but so much
As makes it light or heavy in the substance,
Or the division of the twentieth part
Of one poor scruple, nay, if the scale do turn
But in the estimation of a hair,
Thou diest and all thy goods are confiscate.

Shylock reluctantly agrees to release Antonio of the promise. (hide spoiler)]

Obviously, I took many of the quotes from the book, I apoligize ahead of time if anything is misspelled or incorrect, I did this in a hurry. I would like to say that this book is a fantastic book with an amazing storyline and many side stories I did not mention. It is absolutley worth anyones time and you will not regret reading it. Shakspears writing style is hard to understand for most modern day readers so I suggest you have one of the copies with a sidenote which translates or corrects some of the words to suit modern day literature. You are never too young to read Shakespear and I think this is my favorite, I read it first in grade six as a personal project to improve m English, and re-read it in grade eight as more of a way to pass time.I highly reccomend it to anybody who would like to read Shakespear. I will soon be starting A Midsummers Nights Dream which I hope is as good and will rate and review once I am finished. If you made it this far into my review, I thank you for spending your time to read this review, I relize it was very long. Thanks Again!
(less)

· see review

Nov 02, 2011

Trevor rated it

Shelves: literature

My daughter has to write an essay on this play and so we have been talking about it. It would be easy to say the play is anti-Semitic – there is no question that many of the characters we are expected to have the most sympathy with are certainly anti-Semitic. My problem is that I can’t watch this play and not end up feeling sorry for Shylock. Sure, he was going to kill someone who had spat on him in the street and despised him for his religion – but then, he would hardly have been the first p...moreMy daughter has to write an essay on this play and so we have been talking about it. It would be easy to say the play is anti-Semitic – there is no question that many of the characters we are expected to have the most sympathy with are certainly anti-Semitic. My problem is that I can’t watch this play and not end up feeling sorry for Shylock. Sure, he was going to kill someone who had spat on him in the street and despised him for his religion – but then, he would hardly have been the first person in the world to do that if given the chance. Still, his near total destruction on the basis of legal entrapment is anything but edifying.

This is a play about how the law is unlikely to be just unless it is tempered with mercy – although, this ‘lesson’ is one that is variously demonstrated through some of the major story-lines of the play. This is also, of course, a play about identity – who we are, who we would like to appear to be and who we find ourselves to be. It is hardly surprising that the night that Shylock’s daughter leaves her father’s house is a night when the local Christians roam the streets wearing masks and Shylock warns her to stay indoors. Many of the masks in this play are both metaphorical and literal.

During the trial Shylock asks, “What judgement shall I dread, doing no wrong?” And here is the key point of the play. Portia answers this in her rightly famous ‘Quality of mercy’ speech. “Therefore, Jew, though justice be thy plea, consider this, that in the course of justice none of us should see salvation: we do pray for mercy, and that same prayer doth teach us all to render to deeds of mercy.” That is, not even the best person that ever lived is good enough to deserve salvation – we are all, according to God’s law, ultimately sinners and deserving of damnation. Our being saved by God is not due to our deserving salvation, but rather it is an act of mercy gifted to us by God. The law is harsh, but it is made just by the application of mercy.

Now, the most obvious example of this law and mercy relationship is Shylock and his demanding the literal execution of the terms of his deed with Antonio. It is clear that the extraction of a pound of flesh from the body of Antonio is going to cause his death. But it is also clear that Shylock is within his legal right to demand the execution of their deed. It is also clear that he has real grievances against Antonio. The problem is that Shylock’s application of the law is anything but disinterested. As he says to Antonio, “Thou call’dst me a dog before thou had cause, but since I am a dog beware my fangs”. Few of us, Jewish or not, would be able to resist extracting a pound of flesh from our enemies if we thought we could do so with impunity. And Antonio is clearly an enemy of Shylock’s – a long-standing enemy who has mocked and ridiculed him (and worse) for being Jewish.

Venice is shocked that Shylock should seek to enact the terms of the deed – but what is interesting here is that Antonio entered into this deed with both eyes open. Sure, he thought he would be safe with money coming in ahead of time, but there is no question he entered the deed willingly. This puts the State in an interesting position in relation to the deed. They are forced to enact it, that is, until Portia comes along and, with what is supposed to be clever legal footwork (but is actually a terrible kind of entrapment – worse than we can accuse Shylock of – the outcome being certain in this case), she turns the tables on Shylock. He can have his pound of flesh, no more and no less, and must not spill a drop of blood in extracting it. Clearly, an impossible condition to comply with. Furthermore, because he has sought to kill a citizen of Venice he forfeits his life, with half of his property to the state and the other half to his victim. These terms are overturned (as a display of Christian mercy on behalf of the state and Antonio) but on condition he leaves his fortune to his run-away daughter’s new husband and also becomes a Christian. It is hardly a scene to cheer at. And I struggle to believe Shakespeare intended it as such. It is a bitter and pointless act by a state anything but disinterested and one that is devoid of anything approaching ‘justice’. And this is interesting, as Portia earlier explained that the arbitrary cancelling of the deed was impossible – it would be used as a precedent by others to excuse their own debts. But the sleight of hand she performs to entrap Shylock could hardly bring comfort to anyone from outside Venice entering into a contract with a citizen of Venice and their likely treatment of things go belly up. From the perspective of an outsider the story runs like this: two men freely enter into a contract, the terms of the contract were clearly known to both parties before their agreement, one party is unable to meet the terms of their contract, the other party demands the contract be enforced, for doing so he loses control of his own property and is forced to convert to the local religion. Is this a place where you would consider investing? It sounds like the kind of loan and contract you might receive from the IMF or the World Bank…

The relationship between the law and mercy (and thereby producing justice) isn’t very clear in the other stories in the play either. Firstly, there is Portia’s little predicament at the start of the play. Her father is dead, but to make sure she marries someone worthy of her he has set up a kind of parlour trick. There are three caskets and if her suitor picks the right one he will get the girl. How confident would you need to be of your ‘law’ – your belief that the person that picks the right casket will do so for all the right reasons – that you would stake your daughter’s life, fortune and happiness on it? This is made all the more ironic as Portia is clearly the most clever person in the play, but she is not trusted with any leeway in her choice of a husband – something I assume she would have at least as much interest in as her dead father. This is mandatory sentencing gone mad.

The other example is to do with the ring. When Portia becomes engaged to Bassanio she gives him a ring – the law in this situation being that he is not to take the ring off or to give it to anyone else, as it is a symbol of their love and to do such a thing would mean the end of their love. But Portia attends the court and frees Bassanio’s best friend, Anthony. They don’t realise who she is, (that game with identity that is played with throughout – husbands not recognising wives, fathers not recognising sons) she is dressed as a young man, and so they offer her lots of money – which she refuses. But she asks for Bassanio’s ring. This puts Bassanio in a tailspin, but finally he agrees to hand over the ring. Later, when again dressed as herself, she asks where the ring is and causes all sorts of trouble over his giving it away. Again, just as with Shylock earlier, she is involved in entrapment. The point here, I think, is that creating absolute rules, creating unquestionable laws, is generally a bad idea. And this brings us back to the question of mercy. Laws need to be strict and to admit of no exceptions – but life and justice requires that people should be able to plead mitigation. And when universal laws are applied blindly to specific circumstances all too often they can lead to injustice.

If, ultimately, this is an anti-Semitic play, it isn’t one that I think really could leave anti-Semites feeling terribly comfortable with their beliefs or proud of their racism. Shylock’s motives are anything but worthy, but how he is treated is hardly an example of the best of Christian morality. His enforced conversion is repulsive in the extreme, his entrapment is also repulsive – in fact, there ought to be laws against such behaviour.
(less)

like 8 likes

· see review

Oct 30, 2011

Brittany rated it

It's been a while since I have read Shakespeare - luckily, I read the version that had the modern English on the adjacent page. However, the more I read, the more the old language made sense. I am always surprised at how modern a Shakespeare tale can feel, even in the old English. The story is timeless and entertaining, though the discord between Jews and Christians was very outdated. It's been a while since one was forced into Christianity. I enjoyed many of the characters - especially Portia a...more

· see review

Oct 13, 2011

Chelsea rated it

The Merchant. The Merchant of Venice follows the story of Bassanio, a young man in Venice who is in love with Portia. But Portia is really wealthy and hot, and so he needs money in order to woo her. He goes to his friend Antonio, a local merchant, and together the two go to Shylock, a Jewish moneylender who gives Bassanio the money he needs to woo Portia after demanding that Antonio (who essentially cosigned the loan for Bassanio) give him a pound of flesh if the loan isn’t repayed. Antonio agr...more

· see review

Oct 04, 2011

Lady Jane rated it

This is one of my favorite plays by William Shakespeare, and for me, one of the most quotable. My favorite character is, naturally, Shylock because he represents the so-called eccentric individual who must face society and the majority. Shakespeare had to no choice but to use this character as the antagonist because he had to cater to the anti-Semitic public of the time (how else is one to make a living but to cater to the majority!?) It is precisely against the tyrannical majority that Shylock ...more

like 1 like

· see review

Aug 03, 2011

Nicola rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: arc, own

Reason for Reading: Mostly due to the fact that the publisher sent me a review copy, however, I am familiar with this Shakespeare play and am always interested in graphic or picturebook retellings of Shakespeare.

Written in modern day English, thankfully! I am one of those who (gasp) appreciate Shakespeare in our own language and can't stand trying to fumble through Elizabethan English. The book starts off with a one page intro to Shakespeare and then a Characters page which is very ...more

· see review

Jul 28, 2011

Glenda rated it

· review of another edition

I thought I should reacquaint myself w/ "The Merchant of Venice" before seeing a production of the play. My favorite lines are Portia's "Quality of Mercy" speech in IV.i

"The quality of mercy is not strained.
It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven,
Upon the place beneath.
It is twice blessed.
It blesseth him that gives and him that takes.
It is mightiest in the mightiest,
It becomes the throned monarch better than his crown.
His ...more

· see review

Jul 22, 2011

Kettie Loveday rated it

The Merchant of Venice takes you through the life of a Jew in a "Chirstians" world.
With the beauitful, perfect, Elizabethan woman Portia, but when you look into it, you realize she is more devilish than she appears. And Shylock our villian? Or victim?
Anotnio - gay? maybe? He sure does throw his hands on the blade for Bassanio a lot. And Bassanio our romantic, so in love with Portia, or Portia's beauty and wealth? Who knows?
Gratiano is hilarious and obvious, everything...more

· see review

Jun 19, 2011

Edward rated it

“All things that are,
Are with more spirit chased than enjoyed...”
I think this quote from Act II, Scene 6 applies to much of the play, certainly to Portia being obtained only by the correct guessing of the meaning of the three sealed chests of gold, silver, and lead. The two wrong guesses, and the reasoning behind them are more fun than seeing Bassanio leadenly guess the right one and end up with his prize, Portia.
In the same way, what is a reader to make of the me...more

like 1 like

· see review

Jun 10, 2011

Manugw rated it

A CLASSIC WITH REFERENCES TO RELIGIOUS ANTI-SEMITISM
For those who study the historical events related to the history of religious anti-semitism, this Shakespeare play provides a character, Shylock the Jewish moneylender, and is portrayed as Christian folks of that era would relate and treat him through the lens of that prejudice, for them "it is not Shylock (his name), is the Jew," a devilish usurer in opposition with the antagonist character merchant Antonio who lends money to fr...more

· see review

May 15, 2011

Janel rated it

Shakespeare is pure genius that is all to say. His themes touch all and his complex characters are so interesting. I really liked this play and hope to see it on stage soon. I did like the comment that maybe if there were not so many minor characters that got involved I wouldn't have to refer back so much to the character sketches in the front of the book and I would keep better track of what is going on. I did read the No Fear Shakespeare edition and it made it much more enjoyable to read. I ke...more

· see review

Mar 30, 2011

Rosiris Crisostomo rated it

I really liked the Merchant of Venice because the purity of love, 'comedy', and money are all intertwined with three stories that cross, as all Shakespearean plays do, in Act III. This book was fabulous because the theme of religion feeds into the Shylock-Bassanio and Antonio story, making money, as in life, the main centre of attention. This factor (money) is good and also bad because it brings out the natural evil in love. It also stops people like Bassanio from meeting rich people like Portia...more

· see review

Feb 04, 2011

Tiger Holland (All-Consuming Books) rated it

This particular play is one of the times where Shakespeare's re-use of stock plots has some undesirable affects. He's combining two old plays and writing them into a unified piece that has some logic gaps between the "love plot" and the "hate plot". The love plot involves a young noble called Bassanio who wants to court a the far-off lady Portia, but lacks the funds to do so. Bassanio asks his older friend Antonio for a loan, but Antonio, the "merchant of Venice" is...moreThis particular play is one of the times where Shakespeare's re-use of stock plots has some undesirable affects. He's combining two old plays and writing them into a unified piece that has some logic gaps between the "love plot" and the "hate plot". The love plot involves a young noble called Bassanio who wants to court a the far-off lady Portia, but lacks the funds to do so. Bassanio asks his older friend Antonio for a loan, but Antonio, the "merchant of Venice" is in an unusual financial spot and basically has to borrow money himself from Shylock the Jewish moneylender. Bassanio heads off and wins Portia, so the love plot is mostly satisfied but meanwhile back in Venice, the hate plot is just getting underway. Shylock made a weird, presumably joking stipulation that if Antonio couldn't pay him back on time, he'd forfeit a pound of his own flesh. Antonio can't pay, and the pound of flesh thing means that Shylock has the right to kill him. But Portia disguises herself as a man and wins Antonio's court case, which settles the hate plot but complicates the love plot, because Portia also manages to show her husband Bassanio that he hasn't really appreciated her properly.

The first element that almost any English class (either in high school or college), will focus on is the antisemitism issue. Shylock is the villain of the play, and plenty of his villainy seems to spring as a supposedly natural result of his religion/culture, rather than from him just being an awful person. Modern audiences definitely don't like the whole heavy handed Jewishness=villainy vibe that the play presents, especially since Shylock is forced to convert to Christianity at the end of the play. Professors often ask whether students think Shylock is portrayed sympathetically or as a straight-up monster, and the answer is: Yes. So much of how you view Shylock depends upon your own preconceptions as a reader, and if you see the play performed, your view depends upon how the director and actor chose to portray him. I personally see him as a cross between a victim and a monster. He has a downright ugly heart, but his ill treatment by other people certainly contributes to it--the supposedly virtuous Antonio is pretty beastly to him. At any rate, if you discuss the play in an academic setting, Shylock and the hate plot is virtually all that anyone's going to want to discuss.

That being said, I'm more disturbed by the love plot. The play is supposed to have a great feminist slant to it because Portia saves the day with her genius, but I see it in almost the opposite light. Portia is in a decidedly unenviable position at the start of the play, bound to marry any suitor who picks the right casket out of a choice of three. The casket test doesn't really make sense. This is an issue with the old material Shakespeare is using, because the changes he introduced to make the two plays fit together have the unintended consequence of leaving almost no one with adequate motivation for their actions. We've seen Shakespearean fathers choose son-in-laws arbitrarily, but this is the first time we've seen one choose randomly, and after his death to boot. Why does a painfully intelligent woman like Portia submit to selecting her spouse by a coin toss? Her father isn't even alive to enforce it.

What's almost more bothersome is the fact that though random chance picks Bassanio as Portia's husband and he's the guy she would've chosen anyway, he's not shown to be a good choice. When describing Portia's virtues, Bassanio lists her wealth first and foremost, and it's Portia's money that is set aside to redeem Antonio's life because Bassanio doesn't have any money. Though Portia is a wise and clever woman, Bassanio doesn't seem to equal her, and his only accomplishments are racking up massive amounts of debt, as he says to Antonio in Act I: "I have disabled mine estate,/ By something showing a more swelling port/ Than my faint means would grant continuance". He likes to live large, and marrying Portia or another heiress of equal or greater value is the only way he can continue doing that. Then later when Portia's disguised as a man, she hears Bassanio say that his friend Antonio means more to him than she ever could, so the love plot is all very depressing, really. Apparently, the play is now seen as more of a pure drama than a comedy, because though no one dies and it can't be classified as a tragedy, it's murky enough to not seem very humorous or romantic. Grade: B

Willy Wonka bonus: In Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, the famous chocolatier is always quoting bits of classic lit at the oddest times. When Violet Beauregard is being rolled away after the blueberry incident, Wonka watches her exist and says “Where is fancy bred? In the heart or in the head?” This line comes from Act 3 in The Merchant of Venice, in a song played just before Bassanio chooses the lead casket. The song is asking whether love begins with our intellect or our feelings, so it has nothing to do with the blueberry scene at all. Mr. Wonka's just well-read like that.(less)

· see review

Sep 27, 2010

Brad rated it

This play is about a Merchant who lives in Venice. I really enjoyed this, though I read it far too quickly. The characters and interchanges are great, as one would expect. I was surprised at so much blatant antisemitism I know, I shouldn't be, but it was a bit of a shock. That being said, Shylock was a great character. So fun, so bitter, so evil. I love that Willy is always willing to make a truly evil villain.

One question that many of the comedies bring to mind: Did people ...more

· see review

Jun 04, 2010

Rowland Bismark rated it

· review of another edition

The Merchant of Venice was probably written in either 1596 or 1597, after Shakespeare had written such plays as Romeo and Juliet and Richard III,but before he penned the great tragedies of his later years. Its basic plot outline, with the characters of the merchant, the poor suitor, the fair lady, and the villainous Jew, is found in a number of contemporary Italian story collections, and Shakespeare borrowed several details, such the choice of caskets that Portia inflicts on all her suitors, fro...moreThe Merchant of Venice was probably written in either 1596 or 1597, after Shakespeare had written such plays as Romeo and Juliet and Richard III,but before he penned the great tragedies of his later years. Its basic plot outline, with the characters of the merchant, the poor suitor, the fair lady, and the villainous Jew, is found in a number of contemporary Italian story collections, and Shakespeare borrowed several details, such the choice of caskets that Portia inflicts on all her suitors, from preexisting sources. The Merchant of Venice’s Italian setting and marriage plot are typical of Shakespeare’s earlier comedies, but the characters of Portia, Shakespeare’s first great heroine, and the unforgettable villain Shylock elevate this play to a new level.

Shylock’s cries for a pound of flesh have made him one of literature’s most memorable villains, but many readers and playgoers have found him a compelling and sympathetic figure. The question of whether or not Shakespeare endorses the anti-Semitism of the Christian characters in the play has been much debated. Jews in Shakespeare’s England were a marginalized group, and Shakespeare’s contemporaries would have been very familiar with portrayals of Jews as villains and objects of mockery. For example, Christopher Marlowe’s The Jew of Malta, a bloody farce about a murderous Jewish villain, was a great popular success and would have been fresh in Shakespeare’s mind as he set about creating his own Jewish character. Shakespeare certainly draws on this anti-Semitic tradition in portraying Shylock, exploiting Jewish stereotypes for comic effect. But Shylock is a more complex character than the Jew in Marlowe’s play, and Shakespeare makes him seem more human by showing that his hatred is born of the mistreatment he has suffered in a Christian society. Shakespeare’s character includes an element of pathos as well as comedy, meaning that he elicits from readers and audiences pity and compassion, rather than simply scorn and derision.

On the surface, the main difference between the Christian characters and Shylock appears to be that the Christian characters value human relationships over business ones, whereas Shylock is only interested in money. The Christian characters certainly view the matter this way. Merchants like Antonio lend money free of interest and put themselves at risk for those they love, whereas Shylock agonizes over the loss of his money and is reported to run through the streets crying, “O, my ducats! O, my daughter!” (II.viii.15). With these words, he apparently values his money at least as much as his daughter, suggesting that his greed outweighs his love. However, upon closer inspection, this supposed difference between Christian and Jew breaks down. When we see Shylock in Act III, scene i, he seems more hurt by the fact that his daughter sold a ring that was given to him by his dead wife before they were married than he is by the loss of the ring’s monetary value. Some human relationships do indeed matter to Shylock more than money. Moreover, his insistence that he have a pound of flesh rather than any amount of money shows that his resentment is much stronger than his greed.

Just as Shylock’s character seems hard to pin down, the Christian characters also present an inconsistent picture. Though Portia and Bassanio come to love one another, Bassanio seeks her hand in the first place because he is monstrously in debt and needs her money. Bassanio even asks Antonio to look at the money he lends Bassanio as an investment, though Antonio insists that he lends him the money solely out of love. In other words, Bassanio is anxious to view his relationship with Antonio as a matter of business rather than of love. Finally, Shylock eloquently argues that Jews are human beings just as Christians are, but Christians such as Antonio hate Jews simply because they are Jews. Thus, while the Christian characters may talk more about mercy, love, and charity, they are not always consistent in how they display these qualities.

The conflict between Shylock and the Christian characters comes to a head over the issue of mercy. The other characters acknowledge that the law is on Shylock’s side, but they all expect him to show mercy, which he refuses to do. When, during the trial, Shylock asks Portia what could possibly compel him to be merciful, Portia’s long reply, beginning with the words, “The quality of mercy is not strained,” clarifies what is at stake in the argument (IV.i.179). Human beings should be merciful because God is merciful: mercy is an attribute of God himself and therefore greater than power, majesty, or law. Portia’s understanding of mercy is based on the way Christians in Shakespeare’s time understood the difference between the Old and New Testaments. According to the writings of St. Paul in the New Testament, the Old Testament depicts God as requiring strict adherence to rules and exacting harsh punishments for those who stray. The New Testament, in contrast, emphasizes adherence to the spirit rather than the letter of the law, portraying a God who forgives rather than punishes and offers salvation to those followers who forgive others. Thus, when Portia warns Shylock against pursuing the law without regard for mercy, she is promoting what Elizabethan Christians would have seen as a pro-Christian, anti-Jewish agenda.

The strictures of Renaissance drama demanded that Shylock be a villain, and, as such, patently unable to show even a drop of compassion for his enemy. A sixteenth-century audience would not expect Shylock to exercise mercy—therefore, it is up to the Christians to do so. Once she has turned Shylock’s greatest weapon—the law—against him, Portia has the opportunity to give freely of the mercy for which she so beautifully advocates. Instead, she backs Shylock into a corner, where she strips him of his bond, his estate, and his dignity, forcing him to kneel and beg for mercy. Given that Antonio decides not to seize Shylock’s goods as punishment for conspiring against him, we might consider Antonio to be merciful. But we may also question whether it is merciful to return to Shylock half of his goods, only to take away his religion and his profession. By forcing Shylock to convert, Antonio disables him from practicing usury, which, according to Shylock’s reports, was Antonio’s primary reason for berating and spitting on him in public. Antonio’s compassion, then, seems to stem as much from self-interest as from concern for his fellow man. Mercy, as delivered in The Merchant of Venice, never manages to be as sweet, selfless, or full of grace as Portia presents it.

Throughout the play, Shylock claims that he is simply applying the lessons taught to him by his Christian neighbors; this claim becomes an integral part of both his character and his argument in court. In Shylock’s very first appearance, as he conspires to harm Antonio, his entire plan seems to be born of the insults and injuries Antonio has inflicted upon him in the past. As the play continues, and Shylock unveils more of his reasoning, the same idea rears its head over and over—he is simply applying what years of abuse have taught him. Responding to Salarino’s query of what good the pound of flesh will do him, Shylock responds, “The villainy you teach me I will execute, and it shall go hard but I will better the instruction” (III.i.60–61). Not all of Shylock’s actions can be blamed on poor teachings, and one could argue that Antonio understands his own culpability in his near execution. With the trial’s conclusion, Antonio demands that Shylock convert to Christianity, but inflicts no other punishment, despite the threats of fellow Christians like Gratiano. Antonio does not, as he has in the past, kick or spit on Shylock. Antonio, as well as the duke, effectively ends the conflict by starving it of the injustices it needs to continue.

The Merchant of Venice depends heavily upon laws and rules—the laws of the state of Venice and the rules stipulated in contracts and wills. Laws and rules can be manipulated for cruel or wanton purposes, but they are also capable of producing good when executed by the right people. Portia’s virtual imprisonment by the game of caskets seems, at first, like a questionable rule at best, but her likening of the game to a lottery system is belied by the fact that, in the end, it works perfectly. The game keeps a host of suitors at bay, and of the three who try to choose the correct casket to win Portia’s hand, only the man of Portia’s desires succeeds. By the time Bassanio picks the correct chest, the choice seems like a more efficient indicator of human nature than any person could ever provide. A similar phenomenon occurs with Venetian law. Until Portia’s arrival, Shylock is the law’s strictest adherent, and it seems as if the city’s adherence to contracts will result in tragedy. However, when Portia arrives and manipulates the law most skillfully of all, the outcome is the happiest ending of all, at least to an Elizabethan audience: Antonio is rescued and Shylock forced to abandon his religion. The fact that the trial is such a close call does, however, raise the fearful specter of how the law can be misused. Without the proper guidance, the law can be wielded to do horrible things.

Like Shakespeare’s other comedies, The Merchant of Venice seems to endorse the behavior of characters who treat filial piety lightly, even though the heroine, Portia, sets the opposite example by obeying her father’s will. Launcelot greets his blind, long lost father by giving the old man confusing directions and telling the old man that his beloved son Launcelot is dead. This moment of impertinence can be excused as essential to the comedy of the play, but it sets the stage for Jessica’s far more complex hatred of her father. Jessica can list no specific complaints when she explains her desire to leave Shylock’s house, and in the one scene in which she appears with Shylock, he fusses over her in a way that some might see as tender. Jessica’s desire to leave is made clearer when the other characters note how separate she has become from her father, but her behavior after departing seems questionable at best. Most notably, she trades her father’s ring, given to him by her dead mother, for a monkey. The frivolity of this exchange, in which an heirloom is tossed away for the silliest of objects, makes for quite a disturbing image of the esteem in which The Merchant of Venice’s children hold their parents, and puts us, at least temporarily, in Shylock’s corner.(less)

like 1 like

· see review

Mar 17, 2010

Michael rated it

· review of another edition

Recommends it for: Shakespeare fans, literati, history students

Recommended to Michael by: Miriam Moses

Shelves: classics, drama

This isn't one of my favorite Shakespeare plays, but it is of interest because of the controversy it generates. It was one of the required books for my "Information Ethics" course (aka: "Banned Books"), because of frequent challenges to its use in schools. The reason for the controversy is anti-Semitism: the main villain, Shylock, is a Jew who lives by lending money at interest, and who concocts a plot to mutilate and kill a man he believes has humiliated him and his religion...moreThis isn't one of my favorite Shakespeare plays, but it is of interest because of the controversy it generates. It was one of the required books for my "Information Ethics" course (aka: "Banned Books"), because of frequent challenges to its use in schools. The reason for the controversy is anti-Semitism: the main villain, Shylock, is a Jew who lives by lending money at interest, and who concocts a plot to mutilate and kill a man he believes has humiliated him and his religion. To make matters worse, throughout the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, performances of this play tended to emphasize Shylock's diabolism, and to downplay some of the mitigating factors in his persona, creating a legacy of hate that is still remembered.

The editors of this edition do their best to counter-act this legacy through arguments that Shylock is a somewhat less prominent villain than others in Shakespeare, and that he is somewhat ambivalently written. Certainly the lines "hath not a Jew eyes...if you prick us do we not bleed" are among the best-remembered of this play, and the speech from which it comes can be seen as an eloquent call for tolerance, but it is hard to see that Shakespeare, in putting these words into the mouth of a cynic and usurer, meant it to be taken literally. The "pound of flesh" Shylock demands is at least as oft quoted, and seems to be more the image we are intended to take away from the play. I am not certain that Shylock is portrayed more ambivalently than Richard III, who becomes a villain only because he is "rudely stamped" (ugly) and "not shaped for sportive tricks," (disabled) and who suffers the memory of those he has wronged on the night before his decisive battle. Yet Richard is undeniably one of the great villains of theater.

The editors are right about Shylock's lack of prominence in the play, however. To compare again him to Richard, who consumes nearly the entirety of the play bearing his name, Shylock (who, incidentally, is not the eponymous merchant) appears in less than a third of the scenes of this play, and is out of the final act altogether. This last act is concerned with wrapping up a romantic sub-plot which has taken considerable space: the reconciliation of Bassanio with Portia after she finds that he has failed to keep a promise to her (and the simultaneous reconciliation of their betrothed servants, whose story mirrors that of the main characters). This plot is more typical of a Shakespearean comedy, and perhaps he put more into it because he felt on securer ground than he did with the somewhat grim matter of Shylock's bitterness. As befits a comedy, Shylock is not killed at the end, but lives on in some disgrace and presumed poverty: his fortune has been confiscated and he is forced to convert to Christianity - meaning that he can no longer lend at interest, the only profession he knows.

I would say that I can understand why this might be a controversial teaching tool, but that if used with sensitivity, it might be a launching point for valuable discussions about the history of anti-Semitism and the use of stereotypes in drama. (less)

· see review

« previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 … 1426 1427 next »

new topic
Discuss This Book

topics	posts	views	last activity
Antique books	1	18	May 19, 2011 09:17am

combine
Other Editions (391)

More editions...

Genres

Classics

1,058 users

Plays

807 users

Drama

393 users

Literature

129 users

Academic > School

74 users

Plays > Theatre

72 users

Poetry

65 users

Young Adult > High School

42 users

Academic > Read For School

46 users

Academic > College

36 users

See top shelves...

Readers Also Enjoyed

About William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare (baptised 26 April 1564) was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon" (or simply "The Bard"). His surviving works consist of 38 plays, 154 sonnets, two long narrative poems, and several other poems. Hi...moreWilliam Shakespeare (baptised 26 April 1564) was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon" (or simply "The Bard"). His surviving works consist of 38 plays, 154 sonnets, two long narrative poems, and several other poems. His plays have been translated into every major living language, and are performed more often than those of any other playwright.

Shakespeare was born and raised in Stratford-upon-Avon. At the age of 18 he married Anne Hathaway, who bore him three children: Susanna, and twins Hamnet and Judith. Between 1585 and 1592 he began a successful career in London as an actor, writer, and part owner of the playing company the Lord Chamberlain's Men, later known as the King's Men. He appears to have retired to Stratford around 1613, where he died three years later. Few records of Shakespeare's private life survive, and there has been considerable speculation about such matters as his sexuality, religious beliefs, and whether the works attributed to him were written by others.

Shakespeare produced most of his known work between 1590 and 1613. His early plays were mainly comedies and histories, genres he raised to the peak of sophistication and artistry by the end of the sixteenth century. Next he wrote mainly tragedies until about 1608, including Hamlet, King Lear, and Macbeth, considered some of the finest examples in the English language. In his last phase, he wrote tragicomedies, also known as romances, and collaborated with other playwrights. Many of his plays were published in editions of varying quality and accuracy during his lifetime, and in 1623, two of his former theatrical colleagues published the First Folio, a collected edition of his dramatic works that included all but two of the plays now recognised as Shakespeare's.

Shakespeare was a respected poet and playwright in his own day, but his reputation did not rise to its present heights until the nineteenth century. The Romantics, in particular, acclaimed Shakespeare's genius, and the Victorians hero-worshipped Shakespeare with a reverence that George Bernard Shaw called "bardolatry". In the twentieth century, his work was repeatedly adopted and rediscovered by new movements in scholarship and performance. His plays remain highly popular today and are consistently performed and reinterpreted in diverse cultural and political contexts throughout the world.
(less)

More about William Shakespeare...

Books by William Shakespeare

More…

Share This Book

Facebook Twitter Your website

Pin It

Trivia About تاجر البندقية

40 trivia questions
2 quizzes

More quizzes & trivia...

Quotes from The Merchant of Venice

“You speak an infinite deal of nothing.” — 1,472 people liked it

“The devil can cite Scripture for his purpose.” — 76 people liked it

More quotes…

Groups That Shelved تاجر البندقية

Romance Readers Reading C...

4390 members

last activity 40 minutes ago

shelf: read

Tudor History Lovers

1347 members

last activity 7 hours, 37 min ago

shelf: read

Around the World in 80 Books

328 members

last activity 4 hours, 54 min ago

shelf: read

title link	preview: The Merchant of Venice
avg rating	preview: The Merchant of Venice Goodreads rating: 3.71 (32691 ratings)
small image	preview: click here [close]
med image	preview: click here [close]
BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/24128.The_Merchant_of_Venice?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1327871054m/24128.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/24128.The_Merchant_of_Venice?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare[/url]

The Merchant of Venice

Friend Reviews

Community Reviews

Readers Also Enjoyed

Share This Book

Share This Book on Your Website