Concept

The Merchant of Venice

Overview

The Merchant of Venice is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1596 and 1598. A merchant in Venice named Antonio defaults on a large loan taken out on behalf of his dear friend, Bassanio, and provided by a Jewish moneylender, Shylock, with seemingly inevitable fatal consequences.

Although classified as a comedy in the First Folio and sharing certain aspects with Shakespeare's other romantic comedies, the play is most remembered for its dramatic scenes, and it is best known for the character Shylock and his famous demand for a "pound of flesh".

The play contains two famous speeches, that of Shylock, "Hath not a Jew eyes?" on the subject of humanity, and that of Portia on "the quality of mercy". Debate exists on whether the play is antisemitic, with Shylock's insistence on his legal right to the pound of flesh being in opposition to his seemingly universal plea for the rights of all people suffering discrimination.

Overview adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0; see the article history for authors).

Possible passages

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1. Antonio was a rich and prosperous merchant of Venice. His ships were on nearly every sea, and he traded with Portugal, with Mexico, with England, and with India. Although proud of his riches, he was very generous with them, and delighted to use them in relieving the wants of his friends, among whom his relation, Bassanio, held the first place. Now Bassanio, like many another gay and gallant gentleman, was reckless…

   E. Nesbit, Beautiful Stories from Shakespeare

   The chapter “THE MERCHANT OF VENICE” is titled for The Merchant of Venice.

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2. Much about the time at which the Commonwealth was relieved of its feudal trammels, as a result of the favour or the necessities of Matilda, it was beginning to extend its commerce and increase its industry. Starting somewhat late on the career on which Venice, Genoa, and Pisa were already far advanced, Florence was as if strenuous to make up for lost time, and soon displayed a rare comprehension of the nature of the…

   Dante Alighieri, The Divine Comedy of Dante Alighieri

   The author is tied to The Merchant of Venice in the knowledge graph.

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3. “A tedious brief scene of young Pyramus and his love Thisbe: very tragical mirth,” ran the title in the programme, and very mirthful tragedy most of the spectators found it. The Merchant of Venice A Merry Bond Shunned, hated, despised, insulted, the Jews in the Middle Ages led a cruel and embittered existence among their Christian brethren. But beaten down and oppressed as they were in most of the countries of…

   Mary Macleod, The Shakespeare Story-Book

   Names The Merchant of Venice.

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Philosophers who discussed The Merchant of Venice

• Heraclitus
• Sarah Kofman
• Francesco Giorgi

Related ideas

• Antisemitism
• Abraham
• University of Hamburg
• Lübeck
• Neoclassicism
• The Guardian
• Oliver Cromwell
• Usury
• Lewiston, New York
• Harold Bloom
• James VI and I
• Los Angeles Times
• Tamil language
• The New York Times
• The New Yorker
• Victorian era
• William Shakespeare
• World War II
• W. H. Auden
• Berlin
• The Times
• Edward I
• Oxford University Press
• Brighton

Place in the tradition

Part of Heraclitus.

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