For the modern viewer, the play is fundamentally the tragedy of
Shylock. That is
Shylocks ultimate revenge.
The book exaggerates, I think, both Shakespeare's respect for Judaism and the harshness of
Shylocks sentence of conversion.
Since the 1980s, Africa has been being cut to ribbons, but still the modern
Shylocks are not satisfied.
Calumnies like these that underscore
Shylocks usury and avarice as a trait apparently embodied by those Jews who emigrated to Palestine mark a prominent and continued shift in focus onto the alleged habits of Jews themselves, and away from other political realities, notably the failure of Arabs to unite in a cogent and strategic opposition to Zionist incursions, a miscalculation that has proved increasingly problematic over the years.
Conventional wisdom would seem to require directors (unless they really are neo-Nazis) to steer clear of blatantly anti-Semitic interpretations that might diminish
Shylock's humanity.
The play tells the story of a Venetian community which comes together to confront the Jew,
Shylock, who threatens one of their own.
In their helplessness, people in need of funds turn to
Shylocks.
This similarity in Antonio and
Shylocks behaviour, if studied in Jungian terms reveals that, the quality of mercy lacked in both.
Using the term "
shylocks" to describe unscrupulous bankers who prey on servicemen and servicewomen deployed overseas was a bad idea, US Vice President Joe Biden said Wednesday.
After an initial series of "expiation
Shylocks" in which the character was played as an innocent, more sinned against than sinning, Germans began to incorporate their own past into the play.
My favorite episode "Exploring a Character" might as well be called "Dueling
Shylocks." Patrick Stewart and David Suchet both played the part in Merchant under Barton's direction but their interpretations are distinct.
Shakespeare must highlight the essential differences between
Shylock and Antonio to test the viability of an alternative to the Barabases, the
Shylocks, and even the Dukes of the new world.
