The Merchant of Venice was probably written in either 1596 or 1597, after Shakespeare had written such plays as Romeo and Juliet and Richard III, but before he penned the great tragedies of his later years. Its basic plot outline, with the characters of the merchant, the poor suitor, the fair lady, and the villainous Jew, is found in a number of contemporary Italian story collections, and Shakespeare borrowed several details, such the choice of caskets that Portia inflicts on all her suitors, from preexisting sources. The Merchant of Venice’s Italian setting and marriage plot are typical of Shakespeare’s earlier comedies, but the characters of Portia, Shakespeare’s first great heroine, and the unforgettable villain Shylock elevate this play to a new level.
Shylock’s cries for a pound of flesh have made him one of literature’s most memorable villains, but many readers and playgoers have found him a compelling and sympathetic figure. The question of whether or not Shakespeare endorses the anti-Semitism of the Christian characters in the play has been much debated. Jews in Shakespeare’s England were a marginalized group, and Shakespeare’s contemporaries would have been very familiar with portrayals of Jews as villains and objects of mockery. For example, Christopher Marlowe’s The Jew of Malta, a bloody farce about a murderous Jewish villain, was a great popular success and would have been fresh in Shakespeare’s mind as he set about creating his own Jewish character. Shakespeare certainly draws on this anti-Semitic tradition in portraying Shylock, exploiting Jewish stereotypes for comic effect. But Shylock is a more complex character than the Jew in Marlowe’s play, and Shakespeare makes him seem more human by showing that his hatred is born of the mistreatment he has suffered in a Christian society. Shakespeare’s character includes an element of pathos as well as comedy, meaning that he elicits from readers and audiences pity and compassion, rather than simply scorn and derision.
Narrative and Plot
Antonio, otherwise known as The Merchant of Venice, lends three thousand ducats to his friend, Bassanio, who attempts to get with the extremely wealthy Portia of Belmont. Antonio's money is tied up with his business ventures of trade ships that are still at sea, so he attempts to try and borrow money from Shylock, a Jewish loaner, who he holds grudges with. Shylock lends the money to Antonio and Bassanio, but have a complication. If the loan is not paid off on the agreed date, Shylock has a pound of Antonio's flesh. Later on, Portia's father dies and in his will, it states that she will marry the suitor who chooses one of three caskets containing lead. The other caskets contains gold and silver. Bassanio makes the right choice and then marries Portia. Soon after the marriage, news comes around that Antonio's business, his collection of trade ships, is lost at sea and so he is unable to pay his debt of three thousand ducats to Shylock who takes the case to a law court made by the Duke of Venice. Hearing this, Portia dresses up to make herself to be Antonio's lawyer whilst in court. She argues her defence by saying Shylock should be sent to prison for acting against a Venetian citizen. The duke says that he won't go unless he gives half his wealth to Antonio and half to the state. Antonio agrees with this condition but Shylock has to covert his faith to Christianity and leave his house with Shylock's daughter, Jessica, who ran off with a Christian boy named Lorenzo. Soon after the ruling, Bassanio and Portia finally complete their marriage by entrusting rings together which the men have promised they won't ever part with their rings or their wives.
Themes
Money,
Love – Shylock discovers his daughter, Jessica
has eloped with a Christian with all his money (Act Two Scene Eight)
Prejudice,
Revenge – Shylock speaks of his bitterness of
Christians and how he’s treated, which is explained through Shylock's monologue of 'To bait fish withal' in Act Three Scene One.
Social
Injustice –
During the trial, Shylock demands Antonio’s flesh, but in the end loses
half his wealth and required to convert to Christianity, which is near the end (Act Four Scene One)
Original staging conditions
Public, rather than court, performances of Shakespeare's plays were performed in the open air, in daylight, on a simple thrust stage. No scenery and a minimum of props allowed the action to move swiftly and the audience to focus on the language. Music and costume added to the effect. Shakespeare wrote his plays with the strengths and talents of his fellow players in mind. His gifted boy players took the female roles so that the original audience had the unsettling experience of watching boys playing girls playing boys in the roles of Portia and Nerissa in the trial scene.
Performance History of the Texts
The Shakespeare play has inspired several films.
- 1914—silent film directed by Lois Weber and Phillips Smalley
- Weber, who also stars as Portia, became the first woman to direct a full-length feature film in America with this film.
- The Merchant of Venice at the Internet Movie Database
- 1916–The Merchant of Venice, a silent British film directed by Walter West for Broadwest.
- The Merchant of Venice at the Internet Movie Database
- 1923–The Merchant of Venice, a silent German film directed by Peter Paul Felner.
- The Merchant of Venice at the Internet Movie Database
- 1969–The Merchant of Venice, an unreleased 40-minute television film directed by and starring Orson Welles; the film was completed, but the soundtrack for all but the first reel was stolen before it could be released.
- The Merchant of Venice at the Internet Movie Database
- 1972—British video-taped television version directed by Cedric Messina for the BBC's Play of the Month series
- Cast includes Maggie Smith, Frank Finlay and Charles Gray and Christopher Gable
- 1973—British video-taped television version directed by John Sichel
- The cast included Laurence Olivier as Shylock, Anthony Nicholls as Antonio, Jeremy Brett as Bassanio, Joan Plowright as Portia, Louise Purnell as Jessica.
- The Merchant of Venice at the Internet Movie Database
- 1980—A BBC video-taped version for the BBC Television Shakespeare directed by Jack Gold
- The cast includes Gemma Jones as Portia, Warren Mitchell as Shylock and John Nettles as Bassanio
- The Merchant of Venice at the Internet Movie Database
- 1996—A Channel 4 television film directed by Alan Horrox
- The cast included Paul McGann as Bassanio and Haydn Gwynne as Portia
- The Merchant of Venice at the Internet Movie Database
- 2001—A BBC television film directed by Trevor Nunn
- Royal National Theatre production starring Henry Goodman as Shylock
- The Merchant of Venice at the Internet Movie Database
- 2002—The Maori Merchant of Venice, directed by Don Selwyn.
- In Maori, with English subtitles. The cast included Waihoroi Shortland as Shylock, Scott Morrison as Antonio, Te Rangihau Gilbert as Bassanio, Ngarimu Daniels as Portia, Reikura Morgan as Jessica.
- The Maori Merchant of Venice at the Internet Movie Database
- 2003—Shakespeare's Merchant, directed by Paul Wagar and produced by Lorenda Starfelt, Brad Mays and Paul Wagar.
- Shakespeare's Merchant at the Internet Movie Database
- 2004—The Merchant of Venice, directed by Michael Radford and produced by Barry Navidi.
- The cast included Al Pacino as Shylock, Jeremy Irons as Antonio, Joseph Fiennes as Bassanio, Lynn Collins as Portia, and Zuleikha Robinson as Jessica.
- The Merchant of Venice at the Internet Movie Database
Character Description
Shylock, name meaning 'loan shark', a stereotypical, wicked, Jewish moneylender who's best known for his villainous ways in William Shakespeare's 'The Merchant Of Venice'. My interpretation of the character, Shylock will emphasise his description as I will portray him an evil, a lust for money, who wants to achieve his goal not to just get his money back from Antonio but to get a pound of flesh of his. There are many famous actors that have played this famous character, a couple include Peter O'Toole and Al Pachino. I want to represent my character similar to Al Pachino's when he starred in the 2004 film, 'The Merchant Of Venice'. From seeing his performance, I saw that he is a very angry character and is determined to get revenge after being treated so badly by Christians around Venice. I want to portray my character similar to this, but instead of being angry, I want to be very patronising in the way I speak, for example during Shylock's speech in Act III, Scene I, when he talks about him being a Jew and saying he is no different to a Christian, I want to not be angered, but very questioning when I say each line. Although critics tend to agree that Shylock is The Merchant of Venice’s most noteworthy figure, no consensus has been reached on whether to read him as a bloodthirsty bogeyman, a clownish Jewish stereotype, or a tragic figure whose sense of decency has been fractured by the persecution he endures. Certainly, Shylock is the play’s antagonist, and he is menacing enough to seriously imperil the happiness of Venice’s businessmen and young lovers alike. Shylock is also, however, a creation of circumstance; even in his single-minded pursuit of a pound of flesh, his frequent mentions of the cruelty he has endured at Christian hands make it hard for us to label him a natural born monster. In one of Shakespeare’s most famous monologues, for example, Shylock argues that Jews are humans and calls his quest for vengeance the product of lessons taught to him by the cruelty of Venetian citizens. On the other hand, Shylock’s coldly calculated attempt to revenge the wrongs done to him by murdering his persecutor, Antonio, prevents us from viewing him in a primarily positive light. Shakespeare gives us unmistakably human moments, but he often steers us against Shylock as well, painting him as a miserly, cruel, and prosaic figure.
