The Merchant of Venice

by William Shakespeare, Library 1stworld Library, 1stworld Library

Overview

ANTONIO. In sooth, I know not why I am so sad. It wearies me; you say it wearies you; But how I caught it, found it, or came by it, What stuff 'tis made of, whereof it is born, I am to learn; And such a want-wit sadness makes of me That I have much ado to know myself. SALERIO. Your mind is tossing on the ocean; There where your argosies, with portly sail- Like signiors and rich burghers on the flood, Or as it were the pageants of the sea- Do overpeer the petty traffickers, That curtsy to them, do them reverence, As they fly by them with their woven wings.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781421813592
Publisher:	1st World Publishing
Publication date:	11/12/2005
Pages:	100
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.24(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

"Handy, reliable, altogether excellent...with introductions that truly cover everything and notes that explain all that needs to be explained."—Bibliotheque d'Humanisme et Renaissance

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