Name:

The Merchant of Venice background:

Read the following and answer the questions.

Shylock and Anti-Semitism

● Shylock is a Jew

● Jews have suffered horrible persecutions – starting in earnest 1500 years

ago

● Throughout history Jews have frequently been prevented from doing certain
businesses or owning land – so few money-making options were open to
them. They were, however, allowed to lend money and charge interest on it,
sometimes called usury. Christians were forbidden the charging of interest
by the New Testament and thought of usury as sinful. Therefore, many
people thought Jews became rich through money lending, creating the
impression that they were making money out of other people’s debts /
misfortunes.

● In addition, many Christians believe that Jews are responsible for Jesus’
death for a number of reasons:
1.
2. There are sections in the bible which show the Jews as having a key
role in his death
3. Many of Shakespeare’s audience would have been familiar with
‘Passion Plays’, as in The Passion of the Christ. These were violent
depictions of Jesus’ crucifixion that blamed the Jews for his death
4. Edward I expelled all Jews from England in 1290. Jews were not
officially allowed back into England until 1655, a date considerably
after Shakespeare’s death. However, Jews were allowed to stay if they
pretended to be Christian
5. Shakespeare’s audience would definitely have been aware that Queen
Elizabeth’s doctor, was executed for trying to poison her in 1594
6. Many of Shakespeare’s audience would also have seen Marlowe’s play
The Jew of Malta, performed in about 1578, which is about a
unrepentantly evil Jew called Barabas

● Only in 1965 did the Vatican officially declare that Jews were not
responsible for Jesus’ death

● However, in Shakespeare’s time, Jews were not really people to fear in

England; they were more like bogey monsters that could be held up as
ready-made villains in much the same way that Hollywood movies used
Russians during the height of the Cold War.
Christians & Jews

Money-lenders preying on Christian debtors

Although Jesus Christ himself was born a Jew, there have been battles between
Jews and Christians for 2000 years. This is because the Romans who then ruled
the area where they lived - now known as Israel - tried to crush the Jewish faith.
Many Jews moved away to escape persecution, taking their customs and cultures
with them. Through their hard work and consequent success in business, Jews
were often resented in their new homes, especially in Christian countries.
In England, when Shakespeare was writing, Jews had been banished for the past
300 years. Shakespeare's audience would not have known any Jews; their
knowledge of Jews would have been based solely on rumour and prejudice. They
would have enjoyed the verbal insults and racist jokes against Shylock, and would
probably not have questioned the treatment Shylock receives as we do today.

Venice:

Shakespeare set his play here because it is a romantic and foreign location.
Despite our concern with Shylock’s villainy, it is actually a love story and is
viewed as one of Shakespeare’s works of comedy, although a Shakespearean
comedy doesn’t actually have to be funny; it just means a play with a happy
ending. As such, setting the play in Venice would have allowed the audience
to suspend their beliefs about reality in order to facilitate the telling of the
romantic story.

Given the legal absence of Jews from England, it was also a place where the
‘bogey man’ Jew, Shylock could live. Additionally, Venice is famous for
trading and a likely setting for rich merchants.

In the Elizabethan imagination, Venice stood for the fabulous wealth and
luxury associated with the new world of merchant trading to which England
had only belatedly gained access.  But, more dangerously, Venice also
represented the potential corruptions that happen when trading for profit.
Shakespeare's play shows how this can be ruthless and nasty in its
competition. Shakespeare places this all onto the alien figure of Shylock -
the Jew whose money-lending fuels the engines of trade.
The Doge's Palace, Venice

Venice was famous as an important Mediterranean trading centre for goods from
the Far East. Silks, spices, jewels and other expensive items were bought and sold
there - including slaves. It had the reputation of being full of fashion, culture and
sophistication. It would have been a very exotic location for an Elizabethan
audience.
Venice was run by a Duke, or Doge, who ruled with an iron fist. All Venetians were
encouraged to do whatever they had to for the security of the state, even spying on
other ports. People who were seen to have committed a crime against the state were
often killed without trial and their bodies were left in the street to serve as a
warning to others.
Because of Venice's position as a centre for trade, it was full of people of many
different nationalities, religions and races. The Christian leaders were keen to put
an end to the activities of the Jews, and so created one of the first Jewish ghettos,
forcing the Jews to live in a particular area.

Characteristics of Shakespearean Comedy

It is important to note that the term "comedy" didn't quite have the same meaning
to Elizabethan audiences as it does today. While there is certainly quite a bit of
humour to be found in Shakespeare's comedies, "comedy" generally referred to a
light-hearted play with a happy ending, as opposed to his more dramatic tragedies
and history plays.

Shakespeare's Comedies
Some of Shakespeare’s comedies are truly funny from beginning to end, while
others, like The Merchant of Venice, have a very serious tone or strong dramatic
moments. In all of these works, you'll find the following elements:

● Young lovers struggling to overcome obstacles: These obstacles are

typically brought about by the elders in the play, often parents or
guardians of the lovers. Various circumstances cause the lovers to be
kept apart and they must find their way back together in the end.

● Mistaken Identity: Mistaken identity was one of Shakespeare's

favourites and most-used plot devices. Gender mix-ups were also quite
popular. Shakespeare quite often had characters masquerading as the
opposite gender. During Shakespeare's lifetime, men played all the roles
in a play, which added another dimension to the comedy.

● Clever plot twists: Shakespearean comedy always involves multiple plot

lines, cleverly intertwined to keep the audience guessing. These
unexpected twists are always straightened out in a happy ending.

● Use of puns: Shakespeare’s comedies are filled with puns and witty

language games. Sometimes silly, sometimes rude, always clever, his
plays on words are a key feature of all his works.

● Happy endings: All Shakespearean comedies end happily. Most often,

this happy ending involves marriage or pending marriage. Love always
wins out in the end.
Answer the following questions:

1. Define Shakespearean comedy.

Shakespearean comedies are usually funny from start to finish, however can
also be serious and dramatic like merchant of Venice. He uses puns and plot
twists like gender mix-ups to make the crowd laugh

2. What do we expect to find in Shakespearean comedies?

We can expect to find puns, happy endings and clever “mishaps” like a
gender mix-up, there are usually young lovers overcoming obstacles and
most importantly a Happy ending

3. Summarise the kinds of views towards Jewish people that could be found in
1600.
Jews were mistreated and were believed to have been a major part in the
killing of Jesus as portrayed in some Shakespeare plays and jews are also
forbidden to own land or run a business leaving very less money making
options for them

4. Describe a range of views about Venice that might be held by a well-

educated member of Shakespeare’s audience.

There were many views about venice,

1. It was a romantic place
2. It was used to trade where many rich merchants would
come to trade
3. Jews were legally banned from England
4. Venice was shown as a place of fabulous wealth