SHAKESPEARE’S MERCHANT OF VENICE

1. SHAKESPEARE’S MERCHANT OF VENICE CONTEXT

3. Consider… • • When, if ever, is the desire for revenge justified? • • Whose side is the author on? • • Is this man a villain or a victim? • • Do reactions to the content change depending on whether you think it is pre or post- 1946?

4. context • William Shakespeare wrote The Merchant of Venice around 1596-1598, during the Elizabethan Era. Many Elizabethans held a number of prejudices about Jewish people which were widely accepted/tolerated. • Read the following statements and try to decide whether they are true or false.

5. TRUE OR FALSE? • During Medieval times Jews developed the reputation of being ‘scheming money lenders’. However usury (lending money for interest) was one of the few jobs that Jews were allowed to undertake; Christians were forbidden to do so under Papal decree.

6. TRUE OR FALSE? • In 1594 Rodrigo Lopez (A Spanish Jew) was accused of trying to poison Queen Elizabeth I. He was hung, drawn and quartered even though he protested his innocence. As a result, there was a surge of anti-Semitism (suspicion/hatred of Jewish people) in England.

7. TRUE OR FALSE? • 1290, King Edward I issued an edict expelling all Jews from England. This lasted over 350 years until it was formally overturned in 1656. The edict was the culmination of over 200 years of conflict on matters of usury.

8. TRUE OR FALSE? • Most Elizabethans would have met a Jew.

9. TRUE OR FALSE? • In 1516, the doges, Venice’s ruling council, forced the Jews to live Ghetto Nuova, a small, dirty island: the world’s first ghetto.

10. TRUE OR FALSE? • In many places in Europe, Christians would show their own piety by spitting upon a Jew if they passed one in the street.

11. TRUE OR FALSE • Venice was not a powerful commercial city in the late 1500s when the play was written.

12. TRUE OR FALSE? • Jews were only allowed to leave the Ghetto during the day and were locked inside at night.

13. TRUE OR FALSE? • Christians believed that Jews possessed magical powers which they had obtained by making a pact with the Devil. Jews were therefore associated with Elizabethan witches.

14. TRUE OR FALSE? • The Merchant of Venice reflects the racial and religious stereotypes of the Elizabethan Era and Shakespeare depicts the characters in accordance with his own, rather limited, world view.

15. TRUE OR FALSE? • The main character in The Merchant of Venice is Shylock, a Jew who is portrayed as unkind, money- grabbing and vengeful. Given the historical background, do you think Shakespeare was being anti-Semitic or simply a product of his culture?

16. SETTING • Venice was famous as an important Mediterranean trading centre for goods from the Far East. Silks, spices, jewels and other expensive items were bought and sold there - including slaves. It had the reputation of being full of fashion, culture and sophistication. It would have been a very exotic location for an Elizabethan audience.

17. Venice was run by a Duke, or Doge, and a Council of Ten, who ruled with an iron fist. All Venetians were encouraged to do whatever they had to for the security of the state, even spying on other ports. People who were seen to have committed a crime against the state were often killed without trial and their bodies were left in the street to serve as a warning to others.

18. Written some time around 1597 • Written as a romantic comedy since it is about love and ends happily • Fuses many dramatic elements: romantic courtship, riddling love tests, eloping lovers, comic confusions, a gripping courtroom trial, and a seemingly harmonious final act • At the core of the play is Shylock, the Jewish moneylender. He only appears in five of the 20 scenes, but his presence dominates the play.

19. Because of Venice's position as a centre for trade, it was full of people of many different nationalities, religions and races. The Christian leaders were keen to quell the activities of the Jews, and so created one of the first Jewish ghettos, forcing the Jews to live in a particular area. Yet the Jewish community continued to flourish in spite of the prejudice shown against them.

20. PLACEMENT IN SHAKESPEARE’S CANON • The Merchant of Venice was written in either 1596 or 1597. • This was just after he had written Romeo and Juliet and Richard III.

21. SOURCES • The Merchant of Venice combines two folk-tales: • The story of a savage creditor who tries to obtain a pound of human flesh as payment for a debt; and • The story of a lover who gains his lady because he chooses the right casket among three in a riddle game.

22. WHY ARE WE READING THIS? • UMMM for your paper two… • Portia was Shakespeare’s first great heroine. • Shylock is Shakespeare’s first great villain. • Deals with themes that are still relevant today: Selfishness versus love, Mercy for others, and racisim (i.e. anti-semitism) intolerance and judgement

23. MALE CHARACTERS • Antonio: a merchant of Venice • Bassanio: his friend, suitor to Portia • Solanio, Gratiano, Salerio: friends to Antonio and Bassanio • Lorenzo: in love with Jessica • Shylock: a rich Jew

24. Tubal: a Jew, his friend • LauncelotGobbo: a clown, servant to Shylock • Old Gobbo: father to Launcelot • Leonardo: servant to Bassanio • Balthazar and Stephano: servants to Portia

25. FEMALE CHARACTERS AND OTHERS • Portia: a rich heiress of Belmont • Nerissa: her waiting-gentlewoman ( lady-in waiting and confidant) • Jessica: daughter to Shylock • The Duke of Venice, Prince of Morocco, Prince of Arragon: suitors for Portia

26. PLOT • An impoverished young Venetian, Bassanio, is making preparations to gain in marriage the hand of Portia, a rich and beautiful heiress of Belmont .

32. THEMES….. • Through the contradictions between Antonio and Shylock, the play shows the conflict between friendship, love and greed, cruelty. • Shakespeare, as a humanist of the time, praises the friendship between Antonio and Bassanio, the love between Bassanio and Portia, idealizes Portia as a heroine of beauty, wit and loyalty, and exposes Shylock's greed and cruelty. • Many people today tend to regard the play as a satire of the Christians' hypocrisy and love, their cunning ways of pursuing worldliness and their unreasoning prejudice against Jews.

33. PORTIA • Portia, the heroine of this comedy, is one of the most ideal woman characters ever created by Shakespeare. She is the daughter of Renaissance who loves deeply and genuinely only for her lover’s good quality and for love’s sake. She is beautiful, prudent, cultured, courteous, courageous, determined and very clever. She is brave enough to rise to an emergency and clever and cultured enough to save her husband’s friend from the evil plot of the most cunning and wicked Jew Shylock with the wise interpretation of the bond, which would otherwise kill Antonio. She embodies all the elements of humanism, that is, love for this world and happiness existing in human life. She gets happiness from true love and true friendship and is ready to defend them with her wit.

34. PORTIA • And more important, she is very independent. After hearing Antonio’s misfortune, she rises to the emergency instead of crying for men’s help. She knows her ability and does better than all the men in this play. In addition, she is very optimistic. She keeps optimistic even in the face of the most powerful enemy, because she is very confident of her intellect and ability. Through this heroine, Shakespeare expresses his belief in humanism and his confidence of the victory of the rising bourgeoisie.

35. LET’S START… • WOOOOHOOOO…. • LET’S READ AND ENJOY! • MAKE SURE THAT WHILE WE READ YOU ARE CONSIDERING MAIN IDEAS THAT UNDERPIN TEXT AND HOW MEANING IS CREATED! • MAYBE YOU COULD MAKE COMPARISONS TO THE NOVEL ‘THE READER’