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The Merchant of Venice was my favourite as a teenager. Feminism and anti-semitism with brilliant stuff in between although why she loved him who can tell? I agree that they are all wonderful for different reasons. It depends on your mood. That is the true brilliance of Shakespeare. Want to laugh? Want to cry? Want to sigh? Want to blood and gore? Want to be on the side of hard done by parents, or kids, rich people or poor? Has he got a play for you!!!
I got to be Portia in The Merchant of Venice and I fell in love with it.
I think Shylock is pretty interesting, and when the play has been done, Shylock has been presented in many guises from nasty to pathetic. In just reading the play, I think Shakespeare is generally sympathetic towards Shylock which is surprising in that there was such widespread anti-Semitism during the age. I wonder if Shakespeare was ahead of the time in his humanitarism or was there some deep personal reason to portray a moneylending Jew with compassion.
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Mary
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Jan 04, 2013 01:47AM
The Merchant of Venice was my favourite as a teenager. Feminism and anti-semitism with brilliant stuff in between although why she loved him who can tell? I agree that they are all wonderful for different reasons. It depends on your mood. That is the true brilliance of Shakespeare. Want to laugh? Want to cry? Want to sigh? Want to blood and gore? Want to be on the side of hard done by parents, or kids, rich people or poor? Has he got a play for you!!!
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I got to be Portia in The Merchant of Venice and I fell in love with it.
I think Shylock is pretty interesting, and when the play has been done, Shylock has been presented in many guises from nasty to pathetic. In just reading the play, I think Shakespeare is generally sympathetic towards Shylock which is surprising in that there was such widespread anti-Semitism during the age. I wonder if Shakespeare was ahead of the time in his humanitarism or was there some deep personal reason to portray a moneylending Jew with compassion.
