The Merchant of Venice

by William Shakespeare

Overview

The Merchant of Venice is an intriguing drama of love, greed and revenge. At its heart, the play contrasts the characters of the maddened and vengeful Shylock, a Venetian moneylender, with the gracious, level-headed Portia, a wealthy young woman besieged by suitors. At the play's climax, Shylock insists that a binding contract be enforced which will cost the life of the merchant Antonio. Pleading Antonio's case before the Duke of Venice, Portia shrewdly defeats Shylock's evil purpose.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781840224313
Publisher:	Wordsworth Editions, Limited
Publication date:	08/01/1997
Series:	Classics Library
Pages:	128
Product dimensions:	5.08(w) x 7.80(h) x 0.26(d)

About the Author

M. M. Mahood was Professor of English Literature at the University of Kent.

Tom Lockwood is Reader in English Literature at the University of Birmingham.

Date of Death:

2018

Place of Birth:

Stratford-upon-Avon, United Kingdom

Place of Death:

Stratford-upon-Avon, United Kingdom

Table of Contents

Introduction; Note on the text; List of characters; The play; Supplementary note; Textual analysis; Appendix: Shakespeare's use of the Bible in The Merchant of Venice; Revised reading list.

Editorial Reviews

Gorgeous new Shakespeare paperbacks.” 
—Marlon James, author of A Brief History of Seven Killings

“I have been using the Pelican Shakespeare for years in my lecture course—it's invaluable, the best individual-volume series available for students.”
—Marjorie Garber, William R. Kenan, Jr. Professor of English and Visual and Environmental Studies, Harvard University 

From the Publisher

"This translation is easy to read, but retains the iambic pentameter and flow of an original Shakespeare. Overall, very well done."

Seattle Book Review

Two worlds contrast in this problematic Shakespearean opus--sordid, mercantile Venice, where the usurer Shylock exacts a pound of flesh for collateral, and the magic island of the virtuous, clever Portia, whose father has set a fairy tale challenge for her suitors. The play is nearly impossible to perform in its original character--not only because of its manifest anti-Semitism, but because, with the exception of Portia, the good guys are no more pleasant than the villain. Nonetheless, the so-called comedy enjoys frequent revivals. In this CBC production, part of its Stratford Festival series, the producers have opted to give it no character whatsoever. While the production is meticulous, the acting is bland. The performers do little to clearly interpret the Elizabethan diction for listeners--again with the exception of Portia (Lucy Peacock), and her companion, Nerissa (Sarah Dodd). Y.R. © AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine

FEB/MAR 03 - AudioFile