A Routledge Literary Sourcebook on William Shakespeare's The Merchant of VeniceWith Shylock's pound of flesh and Portia's golden ring, The Merchant of Venice is one of Shakespeare's most controversial, disturbing and unforgettable plays. Combining accessible commentary with a range of reprinted materials, S. P. Cerasano: *explores the contexts of the play, including early modern images of Venice, the commercialism of the play, Shakespeare's theatre and London, and images of Jewishness *samples modern criticism of Shakespeare's Merchant, grouped into sections on The Economic Framework, Choosing and Risking, and Shylock and Other Strangers *offers an invaluable discussion of the play in performance, considering crucial staging issues and changing interpretations of the roles of Portia and Shylock *closely examines key passages of the work, providing both commentary and extensively annotated sections of play text *prepares readers for additional study of the play with a useful guide to further reading. Assuming no prior knowledge of the play, this sourcebook is the essential guide to one of the most haunting works of English drama. |
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Contents
Key Passages | 3 |
Contextual Overview | 7 |
Jews in Venice and London | 15 |
Chronology | 22 |
Venice and Venetian Life | 32 |
Merchants Capitalism and the Controversy over Usury | 38 |
Virtuous Women and Learned Ladies | 46 |
Critical History | 55 |
Modern Criticism | 79 |
Choosing and Risking | 88 |
The Work in Performance | 97 |
The Debate about Portia | 119 |
Staging Issues | 126 |
Introduction | 133 |
Recommended Editions | 199 |
Early Critical Reception | 64 |
Other editions - View all
A Routledge Literary Sourcebook on William Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice S. P. Cerasano No preview available - 2004 |
A Routledge Literary Sourcebook on William Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice S. P. Cerasano No preview available - 2004 |
Common terms and phrases
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Bibliographic information
| Title | A Routledge Literary Sourcebook on William Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice Routledge guides to literature Routledge literary sourcebooks |
| Editor | S. P. Cerasano |
| Edition | illustrated, annotated |
| Publisher | Psychology Press, 2004 |
| ISBN | 0415240522, 9780415240529 |
| Length | 211 pages |
| Subjects | › Literary Criticism / Shakespeare |
| Export Citation | BiBTeX EndNote RefMan |