The Merchant Of Venice

1. The Merchant Of Venice A few notes

2. Background • Edict of Expulsion Act: Edward I expelled all Jews from the kingdom of England in 1290. It is quite likely that Shakespeare had never met a Jewish person. This ban extended until 1656. • The countries in which Jews were permitted to live, including the republic of Venice, imposed many restrictions: • They lived outside the cities in ghettos. • They were required to wear distinguishing symbols on clothing when leaving ghetto area. • They were restricted to practicing only a handful of trades.

3. Trades Permitted • operating pawn shops • lending money (Now it might be called investment banking or venture capitalism.In our society, these people are among the most admired and powerful.) • operating printing press (Hebrew press) • trading in textiles • practicing medicine

4. How Does Shakespeare Fit? • William Shakespeare was born on or around April 23, 1564 and died April 23, 1616 • If Jews were not allowed into England until 1656, how could he write about them in this play?

5. Note: • Officially, there were no Jews in 16th century England because they had been banished. Some say fewer than 200 Jews lived in Elizabethan England, concealing their religious practices and often meeting in small secret communities to maintain their identity as Jews among themselves. • Jews were a popular target of hatred in this time, as is common for any outsider in a society. This hostility was taken for granted in Shakespeare’s time and perhaps particularly exacerbated by an infamous trial and public execution.

6. The Queen’s Physician • Queen Elizabeth’s physician, Rodrigo Lopez, a Portuguese Jew who lived as a convert to Christianity but met secretly with other Jews, was accused and found guilty of attempting to poison the queen and was executed in 1594. The false accusation stemmed from a personal vendetta from the Earl of Essex, but that’s another story. • Popular sentiment in England encouraged Jews to be vilified.

7. “If you prick us, do we not bleed?” • Many have used Act III, Scene 1, Line 63-64 as justification for a simplistic attempt to cast Shakespeare as being above the type of institutionalized prejudice that was widely accepted in his day: Jews and Christians are both human and therefore should be treated equally. • Honestly, Shakespeare was a man of his time. Shylock’s characterization reveals common prejudices. If we explore 3.63-72 in their context, it becomes clear that Shylock means to exact revenge in precisely the same way his Gentile enemies would, hardly the plea for reconciliation through common humanity that some would call it.

8. “If you prick us, do we not bleed?” • Careful reading of the text reveals such matter-of-fact persecution, such expected societal contempt for all Jews as should make us exceedingly uncomfortable. Upon consideration, we probably won’t like Antonio or Bassanio as much as Shakespeare perhaps intended. • We can and should hold Shylock up to scrutiny, infer whether the personality preceded or resultedfrom the persecution he suffered. A strong and complex villain, but a villain nonetheless, Shylock’s characterization and treatment make this one of the most problematic of Shakespeare’s plays.

9. Justice or Mercy? • Which do you think is more important for society? Why? • Which do you think is more important for relationships? Why?