William Shakespeare

David Belasco

The Merchant of Venice: A Comedy

The Merchant of Venice has been performed more often than any other comedy by Shakespeare. Molly Mahood pays special attention to the expectations of the play's first audience, and to our modern experience of seeing and hearing the play. In a substantial new addition to the Introduction, Charles Edelman focuses on the play's sexual politics and recent scholarship devoted to the position of Jews in Shakespeare's time. He surveys the international scope and diversity of theatrical interpretations of The Merchant in the 1980s and 1990s and their different ways of tackling the troubling figure of Shylock.

The Merchant of Venice

Strange rating (Not very experienced in Shakespeare), read the play 3 separate times, great themes of brotherhood and a antagonist who is extremely complex given him being Jewish during that time of Italy.

Frank Fischetti

In The Merchant of Venice, the path to marriage is hazardous. To win Portia, Bassanio must pass a test prescribed by her father’s will, choosing correctly among three caskets or chests. If he fails, he may never marry at all. Bassanio and Portia also face a magnificent villain, the moneylender Shylock. In creating Shylock, Shakespeare seems to have shared in a widespread prejudice against Jews. Shylock would have been regarded as a villain because he was a Jew. Yet he gives such powerful expression to his alienation due to the hatred around him that, in many productions, he emerges as the hero. Portia is most remembered for her disguise as a lawyer, Balthazar, especially the speech in which she urges Shylock to show mercy that “droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven.” The authoritative edition of The Merchant of Venice from The Folger Shakespeare Library, the trusted and widely used Shakespeare series for students and general readers, includes: -Freshly edited text based on the best early printed version of the play -Newly revised explanatory notes conveniently placed on pages facing the text of the play -Scene-by-scene plot summaries -A key to the play’s famous lines and phrases -An introduction to reading Shakespeare’s language -An essay by a leading Shakespeare scholar providing a modern perspective on the play -Fresh images from the Folger Shakespeare Library’s vast holdings of rare books -An up-to-date annotated guide to further reading Essay by Alexander Leggatt The Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, DC, is home to the world’s largest collection of Shakespeare’s printed works, and a magnet for Shakespeare scholars from around the globe. In addition to exhibitions open to the public throughout the year, the Folger offers a full calendar of performances and programs. For more information, visit Folger.edu.

My class was taken to the theater to see the play back in the day. I liked it quite a bit, so I decided to read it as well.

I had a nice time with it but, I honestly don't remember that much about it tho, but I know I liked it 'cause I didn't read that many books I was supposed to for school. Probably should read it again.

Katherine Jaenn

My class was taken to the theater to see the play back in the day. I liked it quite a bit, so I decided to read it as well.

I had a nice time with it but, I honestly don't remember that much about it tho, but I know I liked it 'cause I didn't read that many books I was supposed to for school. Probably should read it again.

nonchi

Shylock melhor personagem... Bassânio e Antônio são tão sem sal. Nunca vi, cruz credo! Por mim fazia toda uma história com a Jéssica e o Lorenzo curtindo Veneza adoidado com o macaco... E agora quero um universo alternativo onde a Pórcia larga o Bassânio e vai atrás do príncipe de Marrocos viver um amor inconsequente, pq ela mais que merece

Mary Horton

Surprisingly enjoyable yet slightly problematic (AKA a summary of every Shakespeare play ever)

A big fan of Portia because of obvious reasons. All hail a queen.

3.5 stars

Venedik Taciri

suspiria

önsözde anti-semitik içeriğin bulunması yazarın anti-semitik görüşe sahip olduğunun anlamına gelemeyeceği yazılmış. bu ancak bir tarafın kazanması gibi bir durum söz konusu olmadığında söylenebilir bence. shylock'un oyunlarının kendine dönmesi, hatta bunun sonucunda hristiyan olmak zorunda kalması anti-semitik bir ifadedir bana kalırsa. shakespeare'den şimdiye kadar okuduğum en kötü eserdi, kendimi de suçlayabilirim, belki derinliğini filan kavrayamadım. bilemiyorum.

Fraser Simons

Well written but the anti-semitism left an extremely bitter after taste.

Sophia De La Garza

This was an alright play, it has pretty controversial subject matter which made me a bit uncomfortable

This edition of the comedy by William Shakespeare includes an introduction and commentary that reveal the author's lively awareness of the importance of perceiving the play as a theatrical document.

Maike Bruls

I liked it, but there are other plays that I like more.

The acclaimed Pelican Shakespeare series edited by A. R. Braunmuller and Stephen Orgel The legendary Pelican Shakespeare series features authoritative and meticulously researched texts paired with scholarship by renowned Shakespeareans. Each book includes an essay on the theatrical world of Shakespeare's time, an introduction to the individual play, and a detailed note on the text used. Updated by general editors Stephen Orgel and A. R. Braunmuller, these easy-to-read editions incorporate over thirty years of Shakespeare scholarship undertaken since the original series, edited by Alfred Harbage, appeared between 1956 and 1967. With definitive texts and illuminating essays, the Pelican Shakespeare will remain a valued resource for students, teachers, and theater professionals for many years to come. For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

Nikki K

I loved this play when I saw it performed on stage, so my view of the text is largely reflective of that. 
The subject of this play is difficult, and I think my review would be far more negative if I hadn’t seen an adaptation which framed the characters negatively and condemned their treatment of Shylock. Every action taken against him carved another chunk of his soul out and left him a husk of his former self. And juxtaposing that with the happily-married endings of the other characters in the final scene tipped it into tragedy.

noha

I personally think that Shylock isn't innocent, but he definitely did NOT deserve what happened to him...

Katherine Kenny

Rumboll

markella

Merchant of Venice (Shakespeare Made Easy)

Jeweliet Coffee

Joe Cloute

Yashmitha Kalyan

Novel Ideas

O'Connor, John

Rhona Bissram

Merchant of Venice

shannon

"Hath not a Jew eyes? Hath not a Jew hands, organs, dimensions, senses, affections, passions?" Shylock's impassioned plea in the middle of The Merchant of Venice is one of its most dramatic moments. After the Holocaust, the play has become a battleground for those who argue that the play represents Shakespeare's ultimate statement against ignorance and anti-Semitism in favour of a liberal vision of tolerance and multiculturalism. Other critics have pointed out that the play is, after all, a comedy that ultimately pokes fun at a 16th-century Jew. In fact, the bare outline of the plot suggests that the play is far more complex than either of these characterisations. Bassanio, a feckless young Venetian, asks his wealthy friend, the merchant Antonio, for money to finance a trip to woo the beautiful Portia in Belmont. Reluctant to refuse his friend (to whom he professes intense love), Antonio borrows the money from the Jewish moneylender. If he reneges on the deal, Shylock jokingly demands a pound of his flesh. When all Antonio's ships are lost at sea, Shylock calls in his debt, and the love and laughter of the first scenes of the play threaten to give way to death and tragedy. The final climactic courtroom scene, complete with a cross-dressed Portia, a knife-wielding Shylock, and the debate on "the quality of mercy" is one of the great dramatic moments in Shakespeare. The controversial subject matter of the play ensures that it continues to repel, divide but also fascinate its many audiences.

The Merchant of Venice: A Comedy

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