Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice

“If you be well pleased with this
And hold your fortune for your bliss,
Turn you where your lady is, And claim her with a loving kiss.”

Merchant of Venice 3.2

Photo by Roman Kraft on Unsplash

STUDY DETAILS:

• Seven week virtual study (via Zoom)
• Co-facilitated by Jane Wymark and Julie Sutherland
• Tuesdays, 6.00-8.00 pm (BST), 10 May-21 June 2022
• £210, includes opening notes and resources

Part fairy tale, part courtroom drama, Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice is a play of intriguing and sometimes unsettling opposites: Jew/Christian; man/woman; fortune/failure; love/hate. Written in the mid-to-late-1590s for an Elizabethan audience, the play’s first recorded public performance did not take place until 1605, early in the reign of King James I. Although this was a period of growing economic discomfort for England, the nation was also becoming a major player on the commercial stage in Europe and beyond. It is no surprise, then, that the play is invested in themes of commerce and prosperity: the suitors vying for Portia’s hand in marriage care about financial gain; Shylock, as a usurer, is dedicated to profit without labour; and the merchant Antonio risks his livelihood on the high seas to increase his wealth. The play is equally concerned with questions of love, gender, race and identity, all of which are embodied in Shakespeare’s unforgettable cast: the outraged and beleaguered Shylock, the faithful and selfless Antonio, the witty and winning Portia, and the rebellious and romantic Jessica. What is more, some of the Bard’s most beloved poetry appears as his characters battle it out over another set of opposites — mercy versus justice. As Portia eloquently argues in court, “The quality of mercy is not strained: / It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven / Upon the place beneath” (4.1).