{{Short description|Play by Shakespeare}} {{About|Shakespeare's play}} {{Use British English|date=August 2011}} {{Use dmy dates|date=June 2020}} {{Infobox play | name = The Merchant of Venice | image = Merchant venice tp.jpg | alt = Title page of the [[first quarto]] for the Merchant of Venice (1600) | caption = Title page of the [[first quarto]] (1600) | writer = [[William Shakespeare]] | characters = {{plainlist| * [[Antonio (The Merchant of Venice)|Antonio]] * [[Shylock]] * [[Portia (The Merchant of Venice)|Portia]] * [[Bassanio]] * [[Jessica (The Merchant of Venice)|Jessica]] }} | mute = | setting = [[Venice]], 16th century | orig_lang = [[English language|English]] | series = [[First Folio]] | subject = [[Debt]] | genre = [[Shakespearean comedy]] }}
'''''The Merchant of Venice''''' is a play by [[William Shakespeare]], believed to have been written between 1596 and 1598. A merchant in Venice named [[Antonio (The Merchant of Venice)|Antonio]] defaults on a large loan taken out on behalf of his dear friend, [[Bassanio]], and provided by a Jewish moneylender, [[Shylock]], with seemingly inevitable fatal consequences.
Although classified as a [[Shakespearean comedy|comedy]] in the [[First Folio]] and sharing certain aspects with Shakespeare's other [[romantic comedy|romantic comedies]], the play is most remembered for its dramatic scenes, and it is best known for the character Shylock and his famous demand for a "[[pound of flesh]]".
The play contains two famous speeches, that of Shylock, "[[Shylock#Sympathetic reading|Hath not a Jew eyes?]]" on the subject of humanity, and that of [[Portia (The Merchant of Venice)|Portia]] on "[[The quality of mercy (Shakespeare quote)|the quality of mercy]]". Debate exists on whether the play is [[Antisemitism|antisemitic]], with Shylock's insistence on his legal right to the pound of flesh being in opposition to his seemingly universal plea for the rights of all people suffering discrimination.
==Characters== [[File:Charles Macklin as Shylock, c. 1768 by Johann Zoffany.png|thumb|''[[Charles Macklin as Shylock]]'' by [[Johan Zoffany]], 1768]] {{div col|colwidth=20em|rules=yes}} * [[Antonio (The Merchant of Venice)|Antonio]] – a prominent merchant of Venice in a melancholic mood and friend of Bassanio * [[Bassanio]] – Antonio's close friend; suitor to Portia; later the husband of Portia * Gratiano – friend of Antonio and Bassanio; in love with Nerissa; later the husband of Nerissa * Lorenzo – friend of Antonio and Bassanio; in love with Jessica; later the husband of Jessica * [[Portia (The Merchant of Venice)|Portia]] – a rich heiress; later the wife of Bassanio * Nerissa – Portia's waiting maid – in love with Gratiano; later the wife of Gratiano; disguises herself as Portia's clerk * Balthazar – Portia's servant * Stephano – Portia's servant * [[Shylock]] – a Jew; moneylender; father of Jessica * [[Jessica (The Merchant of Venice)|Jessica]] – daughter of Shylock, later the wife of Lorenzo * Tubal – a Jew; friend of Shylock * Launcelot Gobbo – servant of Shylock; later a servant of Bassanio; son of Old Gobbo * Old Gobbo – blind father of Launcelot * Leonardo – servant to Bassanio * Duke of Venice – authority who presides over the case of Shylock's bond * Prince of Morocco – suitor to Portia * Prince of Arragon – suitor to Portia * Salarino and Salanio – friends of Antonio and Bassanio * Salerio – a messenger from Venice; friend of Antonio, Bassanio and others * Magnificoes of Venice, officers of the Court of Justice, gaolers, servants to Portia, and other attendants * Doctor Bellario, cousin of Portia, a character by reference who does not appear onstage {{div col end}}
== Plot summary == [[File:Gilbert-Shylock.jpg|thumb|Gilbert's ''[[Shylock]] After the Trial'', an illustration to ''The Merchant of Venice'']] Bassanio, a young [[Republic of Venice|Venetian]] of noble rank, wishes to woo the beautiful and wealthy heiress of Belmont, [[Portia (The Merchant of Venice)|Portia]]. Having squandered his estate, he needs 3,000 [[ducat]]s to subsidise his expenditures as a suitor. Bassanio approaches his friend [[Antonio (The Merchant of Venice)|Antonio]], a wealthy merchant of Venice, who has previously and repeatedly bailed him out. Antonio agrees, but has no liquid cash as his ships and merchandise are busy at sea to [[Tripoli, Libya|Tripoli]]s, [[the Indies]], [[New Spain|Mexico]] and [[England]] – he promises to cover a bond if Bassanio can find a lender, so Bassanio turns to the Jewish moneylender Shylock and names Antonio as the loan's guarantor.
Antonio has already antagonized Shylock through his outspoken [[antisemitism]] and because Antonio's habit of lending money without interest forces Shylock to charge lower rates. Shylock is at first reluctant to grant the loan, citing abuse he has suffered at Antonio's hand. He finally agrees to lend the sum to Bassanio without interest upon one condition: if Antonio were unable to repay it at the specified date, Shylock may take a [[pound (mass)|pound]] of Antonio's flesh. Bassanio does not want Antonio to accept such a risky condition; Antonio is surprised by what he sees as the moneylender's generosity (no "usance" – interest – is asked for), and he signs the contract. With money in hand, Bassanio leaves for Belmont with his friend Gratiano, who has asked to accompany him. Gratiano is a likeable young man, but he is often flippant, overly talkative, and tactless. Bassanio warns his companion to exercise self-control, and the two leave for Belmont.
Meanwhile, in Belmont, Portia is awash with suitors. Her father left a [[Will and testament|will]] stipulating that each of her suitors must choose correctly from one of three caskets, made of gold, silver and lead respectively. Whoever picks the right casket wins Portia's hand. The first suitor, the Prince of Morocco, chooses the gold casket, interpreting its slogan, "Who chooseth me shall gain what many men desire",<ref>{{Folger inline|The Merchant of Venice|2|7|5}}</ref> as referring to Portia. The second suitor, the conceited Prince of Aragon, chooses the silver casket, which proclaims, "Who chooseth me shall get as much as he deserves",<ref>{{Folger inline|The Merchant of Venice|2|7|8}}</ref> as he believes he is full of merit. Both suitors leave empty-handed, having rejected the lead casket because of the baseness of its material and the uninviting nature of its slogan, "Who chooseth me must give and hazard all he hath".<ref>{{Folger inline|The Merchant of Venice|2|7|11}}</ref> The last suitor is Bassanio, whom Portia wishes to succeed, having met him before. As Bassanio ponders his choice, members of Portia's household sing a song that says that "fancy" (not true love) is "It is engendered in the eye, / With gazing fed";<ref>{{Folger inline|The Merchant of Venice|3|2|69}}</ref> Bassanio chooses the lead casket and wins Portia's hand.
[[File:Shakespeare's Heroines - Jessica.jpg|thumb|left|A depiction of Jessica, from ''The Graphic Gallery of Shakespeare's Heroines'']] In Venice, news arrives that Antonio's ships have been lost at sea, leaving him unable to repay his bond to Shylock. Shylock, angered by his daughter Jessica's elopement with the Christian Lorenzo and her conversion, becomes more determined to exact revenge on the Christians. Jessica had taken with her a considerable portion of Shylock's wealth, including a turquoise ring given to him by his late wife, Leah. Shylock subsequently has Antonio summoned before the court.
At Belmont, Bassanio receives a letter telling him that Antonio has been unable to repay the loan from Shylock. Portia and Bassanio marry, as do Gratiano and Portia's handmaid Nerissa. Bassanio and Gratiano leave for Venice, with money from Portia, to save Antonio's life by offering the money to Shylock. Unknown to Bassanio and Gratiano, Portia sent her servant, Balthazar, to seek the counsel of Portia's cousin, Bellario, a lawyer, at [[Padua]].
The climax of the play is set in the court of the [[Doge of Venice|Duke of Venice]]. Shylock refuses Bassanio's offer of 6,000 ducats, twice the amount of the loan. He demands his pound of flesh from Antonio. The Duke, wishing to save Antonio but unable to nullify a contract, refers the case to a visitor. He identifies himself as Balthazar, a young male "doctor of the law", bearing a letter of recommendation to the Duke from the learned lawyer Bellario. The doctor is Portia in disguise, and the law clerk who accompanies her is Nerissa, also disguised as a man. As Balthazar, Portia in a [[The quality of mercy (Shakespeare quote)|famous speech]] repeatedly asks Shylock to show mercy, advising him that mercy "is twice blest: / It blesseth him that gives and him that takes."<ref>{{Folger inline|The Merchant of Venice|4|1|192}}</ref> However, Shylock adamantly refuses any compensations and insists on the pound of flesh.
As the court grants Shylock his bond and Antonio prepares for Shylock's knife, Portia deftly appropriates Shylock's argument for "specific performance". She says that the contract allows Shylock to remove only the ''flesh'', not the blood, of Antonio {{Crossreference|text=(see [[Quibble (plot device)|quibble]])}}. Thus, if Shylock were to shed any drop of Antonio's blood, his "lands and goods" would be forfeited under Venetian laws. She tells him that he must cut precisely one pound of flesh, no more, no less; she advises him that "if the scale do turn / But in the estimation of a hair, / Thou diest, and all thy goods are confiscate."<ref>{{Folger inline|The Merchant of Venice|4|1|344–346}}</ref>
Defeated, Shylock consents to accept Bassanio's offer of money for the defaulted bond: first his offer to pay "the bond thrice", which Portia rebuffs, telling him to take his bond, and then merely the principal; but Portia also prevents him from doing this, on the ground that he has already refused it "in the open court". She cites a law under which Shylock, as a Jew and therefore an "alien", having attempted to take the life of a citizen, has forfeited his property, half to [[Venetian Republic|the government]] and half to Antonio, leaving his life at the mercy of the Duke. The Duke spares Shylock's life and says he may remit the forfeiture. Portia says the Duke may waive the state's share, but not Antonio's. Antonio says he is content that the state waive its claim to half Shylock's wealth if he can have his one-half share "[[life tenancy|in use]]" until Shylock's death, when the principal would be given to Lorenzo and Jessica. Antonio also asks that "for this favour" Shylock convert to Christianity and bequeath his entire estate to Lorenzo and Jessica. The Duke then threatens to recant his pardon of Shylock's life unless he accepts these conditions. Shylock, re-threatened with death, accepts with the words, "I am content."<ref>{{Folger inline|The Merchant of Venice|4|1|410}}</ref>
Bassanio, unaware that the lawyer is his disguised wife, offers a gift in gratitude for the supposed legal assistance. Initially declining, Portia eventually requests his ring and Antonio's gloves. Antonio gives his gloves without hesitation, while Bassanio parts with the ring only after Antonio's persuasion, having earlier vowed to his wife never to lose, sell, or give it away. Nerissa, disguised as the lawyer's clerk, similarly obtains her own husband Gratiano's ring, as he fails to recognize her.
At Belmont, Portia and Nerissa playfully taunt and feign accusations against their husbands before revealing their true identities as the lawyer and clerk. Following reconciliations among the characters, Portia informs Antonio that three of his ships were not lost at sea and have safely returned.
== Earlier sources == [[File:Il Pecorone.jpg|thumb|150px|The title page from a 1565 printing of Giovanni Fiorentino's 14th-century tale ''Il Pecorone'']] [[File:Second Folio Title Page of the Merchant of Venice.jpg|thumb|The first page of ''The Merchant of Venice'', printed in the Second Folio of 1632]] The forfeit of a merchant's deadly [[Surety|bond]] after standing surety for a friend's loan was a common tale in England in the late 16th century.{{sfn|Muir|2005|p=49}} In addition, the test of the suitors at Belmont, the merchant's rescue from the "pound of flesh" penalty by his friend's new wife disguised as a lawyer, and her demand for the betrothal ring in payment are all elements present in the 14th-century tale ''[[Il Pecorone]]'' by [[Giovanni Fiorentino]], which was published in Milan in 1558.{{sfnp|Bloom|2007|pp=112–113}} Elements of the trial scene are also found in ''The Orator'' by [[Histoires tragiques|Alexandre Sylvane]], published in translation in 1596.{{sfn|Muir|2005|p=49}} The story of the three caskets can be found in ''[[Gesta Romanorum]]'', a collection of tales probably compiled at the end of the 13th century.{{sfnp|Drakakis|2010|pp=60–61}}
== Date and text == The date of composition of ''The Merchant of Venice'' is believed to be between 1596 and 1598. The play was mentioned by [[Francis Meres]] in 1598, so it must have been familiar on the stage by that date. The title page of the first edition in 1600 states that it had been performed "divers times" by that date. Salerino's reference to his ship the ''Andrew'' (I, i, 27) is thought to be an allusion to the Spanish ship ''St. Andrew'', captured by the English at [[Cádiz]] in 1596. A date of 1596–97 is considered consistent with the play's style.{{citation needed|date=April 2024}}
The play was entered in the [[Stationers' Register|Register]] of the [[Worshipful Company of Stationers and Newspaper Makers|Stationers Company]], the method at that time of obtaining [[copyright]] for a new play, by [[James Roberts (printer)|James Roberts]] on 22 July 1598 under the title "the Marchaunt of Venyce or otherwise called the Jewe of Venyce."<ref>"[https://shakespearedocumented.folger.edu/resource/document/stationers-register-entry-merchant-venice Stationers' Register entry for ''The Merchant of Venice'']", ''Shakespeare Documented'', [[Folger Shakespeare Library]]. 8 February 2020.</ref> On 28 October 1600 Roberts transferred his right to the play to the stationer [[Thomas Heyes]]; Heyes published the first [[book size|quarto]] before the end of the year. It was printed again in 1619, as part of William Jaggard's so-called [[False Folio]]. (Later, Thomas Heyes' son and heir Laurence Heyes asked for and was granted a confirmation of his right to the play, on 8 July 1619.) The 1600 edition is generally regarded as being accurate and reliable. It is the basis of the text published in the 1623 [[First Folio]], which adds a number of stage directions, mainly musical cues.{{sfn|Wells|Dobson|2001|p=288}}
== Themes ==
=== Shylock and the antisemitism debate === {{expand section|date=April 2023}} The play is frequently staged, but is potentially troubling to modern audiences because of its central themes, which can easily appear [[Antisemitism|antisemitic]]. Modern critics argue over the play's stance on the Jews and Judaism. American literary critic [[Harold Bloom]] argued in 1998 that "one would have to be blind, deaf and dumb not to recognise that Shakespeare's grand, equivocal comedy ''The Merchant of Venice'' is nevertheless a profoundly anti-semitic work".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ambrosino |first=Brandon |date=2016-04-21 |title=Four Hundred Years Later, Scholars Still Debate Whether Shakespeare's "Merchant of Venice" Is Anti-Semitic |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/why-scholars-still-debate-whether-or-not-shakespeares-merchant-venice-anti-semitic-180958867/ |access-date=2024-05-26 |website=Smithsonian Magazine |language=en}}</ref> [[File:Maurycy Gottlieb - Shylock e jessica.jpg|thumb|upright|left|''Shylock and Jessica'' (1876) by [[Maurycy Gottlieb]]]]
==== Shylock as an antagonist ==== English society in the Elizabethan and Jacobean era has been described as "judeophobic".{{sfn|Burrin|2005|p=17}} [[History of the Jews in England|English Jews]] had been [[Edict of Expulsion|expelled]] under [[Edward I of England|Edward I]] in 1290 and were not permitted to return until 1656 under the rule of [[Oliver Cromwell]]. Poet [[John Donne]], who was Dean of [[St Paul's Cathedral]] and a contemporary of Shakespeare, gave a sermon in 1624 perpetuating the [[Blood libel|Blood Libel]] – the entirely unsubstantiated antisemitic lie that Jews ritually murdered Christians to drink their blood and achieve salvation.{{sfn|Dautch|2016}} In Venice and in some other places, Jews were required to wear a yellow or red hat at all times in public to make sure that they were easily identified, and had to live in a ghetto.{{sfn|Ravid|1992}}
Shakespeare's play may be seen as a continuation of this tradition.{{sfn|Hales|1894}} The title page of the [[Folios and Quartos (Shakespeare)|Quarto]] indicates that the play was sometimes known as ''The Jew of Venice'' in its day, which suggests that it was seen as similar to Marlowe's early 1590s work ''[[The Jew of Malta]]''. One interpretation of the play's structure is that Shakespeare meant to contrast the perceived mercy of the main Christian characters while giving the Jewish character vengeful characteristics. Similarly, it is possible that Shakespeare meant Shylock's [[forced conversion]] to Christianity to be a "[[happy ending]]" for the character, as, to some Christian audiences, it saves his soul and allows him to enter Heaven.{{sfn|Beauchamp|2011}}{{page range too broad|date=April 2024}}
Regardless of what Shakespeare's [[authorial intent]] may have been, the play has been made use of by antisemites throughout the play's history. The [[Nazis]] used the usurious Shylock for their propaganda. Shortly after [[Kristallnacht]] in 1938, ''The Merchant of Venice'' was broadcast for propagandistic ends over the German airwaves. Productions of the play followed in [[Lübeck]] (1938), [[Berlin]] (1940), and elsewhere within the Nazi territory.{{sfn|Shapiro|2016}}{{page needed|date=April 2024}}
In a series of articles called ''Observer'', first published in 1785, British playwright [[Richard Cumberland (dramatist)|Richard Cumberland]] created a character named Abraham Abrahams, who is quoted as saying, "I verily believe the odious character of Shylock has brought little less persecution upon us, poor scattered sons of [[Abraham]], than the [[Inquisition]] itself."<ref>{{cite book|last=Newman|first=Louis I.|title=Richard Cumberland: Critic and Friend of the Jews (Classic Reprint)|year=2012|publisher=Forgotten Books}}</ref> Cumberland later wrote a successful play, ''[[The Jew]]'' (1794), in which his title character, [[The Jew|Sheva]], is portrayed sympathetically, as both a kindhearted and generous man. This was the first known attempt by a dramatist to reverse the negative stereotype that Shylock personified.<ref>{{cite book|last=Armin|first=Robert|title=Sheva, the Benevolent|year=2012 |publisher=Moreclacke Publishing}}</ref>
The [[Stereotypes of Jews in literature|depiction of Jews in literature]] throughout the centuries bears the close imprint of Shylock. With slight variations much of English literature up until the 20th century depicts the Jew as "a monied, cruel, lecherous, avaricious outsider tolerated only because of his golden hoard".<ref>David Mirsky, "The Fictive Jew in the Literature of England 1890–1920", in the ''Samuel K. Mirsky Memorial Volume''.</ref>
==== Shylock as a sympathetic character ==== {{more citations needed section|date=April 2024}} [[File:Portia and Shylock (Sully, 1835).jpg|thumb|''Shylock and Portia'' (1835) by [[Thomas Sully]]]] Many modern readers and theatregoers have read the play as a plea for tolerance, noting that Shylock is a sympathetic character. They cite as evidence that Shylock's "trial" at the end of the play is a mockery of justice, with Portia acting as a judge when she has no right to do so. The characters who berated Shylock for dishonesty resort to trickery in order to win. In addition to this, Shakespeare gives Shylock one of his most eloquent speeches:
{{blockquote|<poem> '''SALARINO''': Why, I am sure if he forfeit, thou wilt not take his flesh! What's that good for?
'''SHYLOCK''': To bait fish withal; if it will feed nothing else, it will feed my revenge. He hath disgraced me and hindered me half a million, laughed at my losses, mocked at my gains, scorned my nation, thwarted my bargains, cooled my friends, heated mine enemies— and what's his reason? I am a Jew. Hath not a Jew eyes? Hath not a Jew hands, organs, dimensions, senses, affections, passions? Fed with the same food, hurt with the same weapons, subject to the same diseases, healed by the same means, warmed and cooled by the same winter and summer as a Christian is? If you prick us, do we not bleed? If you tickle us, do we not laugh? If you poison us, do we not die? And if you wrong us, shall we not revenge? If we are like you in the rest, we will resemble you in that. If a Jew wrong a Christian, what is his humility? Revenge. If a Christian wrong a Jew, what should his sufferance be by Christian example? Why, revenge! The villainy you teach me I will execute, and it shall go hard but I will better the instruction.</poem>|Act III, scene I, l. 50–72<ref>{{Folger inline|The Merchant of Venice|3|1|50–72}}</ref>}}
It is uncertain whether the sympathetic reading of Shylock is due to changing sensibilities among readers or that Shakespeare, a writer who created complex, multi-faceted characters, deliberately intended this reading. [[Stephen Greenblatt]] points out that, though Shylock is not a "lovable alien", he is given "more theatrical vitality, quite simply more urgent, compelling life, than anyone else in his world".<ref name=":1">{{Cite magazine|last=Greenblatt |first=Stephen|author-link=Stephen Greenblatt|date=2017-07-03 |title=Shakespeare's Cure for Xenophobia |url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/07/10/shakespeares-cure-for-xenophobia |access-date=2025-08-20|magazine=[[The New Yorker]]}}</ref>
One basis for this interpretation is the emphasis on Shylock's marginalized position within Venetian society. Some critics regard his well-known "Hath not a Jew eyes?" speech as a redeeming moment that lends him qualities of a tragic figure. In this speech, Shylock contends that he is fundamentally no different from the Christian characters.<ref>Scott (2002).{{Incomplete short citation|date=June 2020|reason=William O. Scott?}}</ref> Critics who dispute a sympathetic reading of the speech note that it concludes with a call for revenge: "if you wrong us, shall we not revenge?" Those who view the passage more sympathetically emphasize that Shylock attributes his desire for retribution to the example set by the Christian characters: "If a Christian wrong a Jew, what should his sufferance be by Christian example? Why, revenge. The villainy you teach me, I will execute, and it shall go hard but I will better the instruction."
Even if Shakespeare did not intend the play to be read this way, the fact that it retains its power on stage for audiences who may perceive its central conflicts in radically different terms is an illustration of the subtlety of Shakespeare's characterisations.{{sfnp|Bloom|2007|p=233}} Additionally, when Shylock discovers that his daughter, Jessica, has sold his ring, a gift from his wife Leah,<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Merchant of Venice: Act 3, Scene 1, line 121 |url=https://shakespeare-navigators.ewu.edu/merchant/MerchantText31.html |access-date=2025-08-20 |website=shakespeare-navigators.ewu.edu}}</ref> the audience is provided with sympathetic biographical information tangential to the plot.<ref name=":1" />
Later, in the trial Shylock represents what Elizabethan Christians believed to be the Jewish desire for "justice", contrasted with their obviously superior Christian value of mercy. The Christians in the courtroom urge Shylock to love his enemies, although they themselves have failed in the past. Jewish critic [[Harold Bloom]] suggests that, although the play gives merit to both cases, the portraits are not even-handed: "Shylock's shrewd indictment of Christian hypocrisy delights us, but ... Shakespeare's intimations do not alleviate the savagery of his portrait of the Jew..."{{sfnp|Bloom|2007|p=24}}
Notably, in Nazi Germany, concerns arose that the portrayal of Shylock would elicit too much sympathy for the plight of a Jewish person, thus prompting many alterations to the play, including the excision of Shylock's final speech.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-09-06 |title=Shylock's Shadow: Shakespeare's 'The Merchant of Venice' and the Nazi takeover of theatres |url=https://holocaustcentrenorth.org.uk/blog/shylocks-shadow-shakespeares-the-merchant-of-venice-and-the-nazi-takeover-of-theatres/ |access-date=2025-02-17 |website=Holocaust Centre North |language=en-US}}</ref>
[[File:Charles Buchel Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree as Shakespeare s Shylock.jpg|thumb|Sir [[Herbert Beerbohm Tree]] as Shylock, painted by [[Charles Buchel]] (1895–1935)]]
=== Antonio, Bassanio === Antonio's unexplained depression – "In sooth I know not why I am so sad" – and utter devotion to Bassanio has led some critics to theorise that he is suffering from [[unrequited love]] for Bassanio and is depressed because Bassanio is coming to an age where he will marry a woman. In his plays and poetry Shakespeare often depicted strong male bonds of varying [[homosociality]], which has led some critics to infer that Bassanio returns Antonio's affections despite his obligation to marry:<ref>{{cite book|last=Bloom|first=Harold|author-link=Harold Bloom|title=Interpretations: William Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice|year=2010|publisher=Infobase|location=New York|isbn=978-1-60413-885-6|page=27}}</ref> {{blockquote|<poem> '''ANTONIO''' [...] Commend me to your honorable wife, Tell her the process of Antonio's end, Say how I loved you, speak me fair in death, And when the tale is told, bid her be judge Whether Bassanio had not once a love. [...]
'''BASSANIO''' [...] But life itself, my wife, and all the world Are not with me esteemed above thy life. I would lose all, ay, sacrifice them all Here to this devil, to deliver you.</poem>|''The Merchant of Venice''. Act 4, scene 1, ll. 285–298<ref>{{Folger inline|The Merchant of Venice|4|1|285–298}}</ref>}}
In his essay "Brothers and Others", published in ''[[The Dyer's Hand]]'', [[W. H. Auden]] describes Antonio as "a man whose emotional life, though his conduct may be chaste, is concentrated upon a member of his own sex." Antonio's feelings for Bassanio are likened to a couplet from Shakespeare's ''Sonnets'': "But since she pricked thee out for women's pleasure,/ Mine be thy love, and my love's use their treasure." Antonio, says Auden, embodies the words on Portia's leaden casket: "Who chooseth me, must give and hazard all he hath." Antonio has taken this potentially fatal turn because he despairs, not only over the loss of Bassanio in marriage but also because Bassanio cannot requite what Antonio feels for him. Antonio's frustrated devotion is a form of idolatry: the right to live is yielded for the sake of the loved one. There is one other such idolator in the play: Shylock himself. "Shylock, however unintentionally, did, in fact, hazard all for the sake of destroying the enemy he hated, and Antonio, however unthinkingly he signed the bond, hazarded all to secure the happiness of the man he loved." Both Antonio and Shylock, agreeing to put Antonio's life at a forfeit, stand outside the normal bounds of society. There was, states Auden, a traditional "association of sodomy with usury", reaching back at least as far as [[Dante]], with which Shakespeare was likely familiar. (Auden sees the theme of [[usury]] in the play as a comment on human relations in a mercantile society.)
Other interpreters of the play regard Auden's conception of Antonio's sexual desire for Bassanio as questionable. [[Michael Radford]], director of [[The Merchant of Venice (2004 film)|the 2004 film version]] starring [[Al Pacino]], explained that, although the film contains a scene where Antonio and Bassanio actually kiss, the friendship between them is platonic, in line with the prevailing view of male friendship at the time. [[Jeremy Irons]], in an interview, concurs with the director's view and states that he did not "play Antonio as gay". [[Joseph Fiennes]], however, who plays Bassanio, encouraged a homoerotic interpretation and, in fact, surprised Irons with the kiss on set, which was filmed in one take. Fiennes defended his choice, saying "I would never invent something before doing my detective work in the text. If you look at the choice of language ... you'll read very sensuous language. That's the key for me in the relationship. The great thing about Shakespeare and why he's so difficult to pin down is his ambiguity. He's not saying they're gay or they're straight, he's leaving it up to his actors. I feel there has to be a great love between the two characters ... there's great attraction. I don't think they have slept together but that's for the audience to decide."<ref>{{cite web|agency=[[Reuters]]|url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200412/s1273518.htm|url-status=dead|title=Was the Merchant of Venice gay?|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060101175002/http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200412/s1273518.htm|archive-date=1 January 2006|publisher=[[ABC News (Australia)]]|date=29 December 2004|postscript=,}} about [[Michael Radford]]'s [[The Merchant of Venice (2004 film)|2004 film]].</ref> The literary critic [[Hollis Robbins]] has suggested that his melancholy is economic in nature, as decline in Venetian shipping monopolies made voyages far more risky.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Robbins |first1=Hollis |title="In sooth I know not why I am so sad." |url=https://hollisrobbinsanecdotal.substack.com/p/in-sooth-i-know-not-why-i-am-so-sad |website=Anecdotal Value |publisher=Substack |access-date=27 November 2025}}</ref>
[[File:Drury Lane Playbill of the Merchant of Venice.jpg|thumb|The playbill from a 1741 production at the [[Theatre Royal, Drury Lane]]]]
== Performance history == The earliest performance of which a record has survived was held at the court of [[James VI and I|King James]] in the spring of 1605, followed by a second performance a few days later, but there is no record of any further performances in the 17th century.<ref>Charles Boyce, ''Encyclopaedia of Shakespeare'', New York, Roundtable Press, 1990, p. 420.</ref> In 1701, [[George Granville]] staged a successful adaptation, titled ''The Jew of Venice'', with [[Thomas Betterton]] as Bassanio. This version, which featured a [[masque]] (''The Masque of Peleus and Thetis'') was popular, and was acted for the next forty years. Granville cut the clownish [[#Characters|Gobbos]]<ref>{{cite book|last=Warde|first=Frederick|author-link=Frederick Warde|title=The Fools of Shakespeare; an interpretation of their wit, wisdom and personalities|date=1915|publisher=McBride, Nast & Company|location=London|pages=103–120|url=http://www.shakespeare-online.com/plays/characters/merchantgobbo.html|access-date=10 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150429172503/http://www.shakespeare-online.com/plays/characters/merchantgobbo.html|archive-date=29 April 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> in line with [[Neoclassicism|neoclassical]] [[decorum]]; he added a jail scene between Shylock and Antonio; an extended scene of toasting at a banquet scene, and had Bassanio give Portia his ring when she is disguised as a male lawyer, removing any homosexual subtext that could be inferred from that scene in the original play. [[Thomas Doggett]] was Shylock, playing the role comically, perhaps even farcically. [[Nicholas Rowe (dramatist)|Rowe]] expressed doubts about this interpretation as early as 1709; Doggett's success in the role meant that later productions would feature the troupe clown as Shylock.
In 1741, [[Charles Macklin]] returned to the original text in a very successful production at [[Theatre Royal, Drury Lane|Drury Lane]], paving the way for [[Edmund Kean]] seventy years later (see below).<ref>F. E. Halliday, ''A Shakespeare Companion 1564–1964'', Baltimore, Penguin, 1964; pp. 261, 311–312. In 2004, the film was released.</ref>
[[Arthur Sullivan]] wrote [[incidental music]] for the play in 1871.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Information about Sullivan's incidental music to the play |url=https://www.gsarchive.net/other_sullivan/venice/index.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091125144749/https://www.gsarchive.net/other_sullivan/venice/index.html |archive-date=25 November 2009 |website=The Gilbert and Sullivan Archive}}</ref> As part of the 500 year anniversary of the [[Venetian Ghetto]], which converged with the 400 year anniversary of Shakespeare's death, ''The Merchant of Venice'' was performed in the ghetto main square in 2016 by the [[Karin Coonrod#Compagnia de' Colombari|Compagnia de' Colombari]].<ref name="Smithsonian (magazine) 6 November 2015">{{cite news |last=Worrall |first=Simon |title=The Centuries-Old History of Venice's Jewish Ghetto |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/venice-ghetto-jews-italy-anniversary-shaul-bassi-180956867/ |access-date=19 April 2024 |work=[[Smithsonian (magazine)|Smithsonian]] |date=6 November 2015 |language=en}}</ref><ref name="The Merchant in Venice: Shakespeare in the Ghetto">{{cite book |editor1-last=Bassi |editor1-first=Shaul |editor2-last=Chillington Rutter |editor2-first=Carol |editor1-link=Shaul Bassi |title=The Merchant in Venice: Shakespeare in the Ghetto |date=2021 |publisher=[[Ca' Foscari University of Venice]] |location=Venezia |isbn=978-88-6969-503-2|url=https://edizionicafoscari.unive.it/it/edizioni/libri/978-88-6969-504-9/}}</ref>{{rp|141–142}}
[[File:Edmund Kean as Shylock.jpg|thumb|left|A print of [[Edmund Kean]] as Shylock in an early 19th-century performance]]
=== Shylock on stage === {{See also|Shylock}}
Jewish actor [[Jacob Adler]] and others report that the tradition of playing Shylock sympathetically began in the first half of the 19th century with [[Edmund Kean]],<ref>{{harvp|Adler|1999}} erroneously dates this from 1847 (at which time Kean was already dead); the ''Cambridge Student Guide to The Merchant of Venice'' dates Kean's performance to a more likely 1814.</ref> and that previously the role had been played "by a comedian as a repulsive [[clown]] or, alternatively, as a monster of unrelieved evil." Kean's Shylock established his reputation as an actor.{{sfnp|Adler|1999|p=341}}
From Kean's time forward, all of the actors who have famously played the role, with the exception of [[Edwin Booth]], who played Shylock as a simple villain, have chosen a sympathetic approach to the character; even Booth's father, [[Junius Brutus Booth]], played the role sympathetically. [[Henry Irving]]'s portrayal of an aristocratic, proud Shylock (first seen at the Lyceum in 1879, with Portia played by [[Ellen Terry]]) has been called "the summit of his career".{{sfnp|Wells|Dobson|2001|p=290}} Jacob Adler was the most notable of the early 20th century: Adler played the role in [[Yiddish theatre|Yiddish]]-language translation, first in [[Manhattan]]'s [[Yiddish Theatre District]] on the [[Lower East Side]], and later on [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]], where, to great acclaim, he performed the role in [[Yiddish]] in an otherwise English-language production.{{sfnp|Adler|1999|pp=342–344}}
Kean and Irving presented a Shylock justified in wanting his [[revenge]]; Adler's Shylock evolved over the years he played the role, first as a stock Shakespearean villain, then as a man whose better nature was overcome by a desire for revenge, and finally as a man who operated not from revenge but from [[pride]]. In a 1902 interview with ''Theater'' magazine, Adler pointed out that Shylock is a wealthy man, "rich enough to forgo the interest on three thousand ducats" and that Antonio is "far from the chivalrous gentleman he is made to appear. He has insulted the Jew and spat on him, yet he comes with hypocritical politeness to borrow money of him." Shylock's fatal flaw is to depend on the law, but "would he not walk out of that courtroom head erect, the very apotheosis of defiant hatred and scorn?"{{sfnp|Adler|1999|pp=344–350}}
Some modern productions take further pains to show the sources of Shylock's thirst for vengeance. For instance, in the [[The Merchant of Venice (2004 film)|2004 film adaptation]] directed by [[Michael Radford]] and starring [[Al Pacino]] as Shylock, the film begins with text and a montage of how Venetian Jews are cruelly abused by bigoted Christians. One of the last shots of the film also brings attention to the fact that, as a convert, Shylock would have been cast out of the Jewish community in Venice, no longer allowed to live in the ghetto. Another interpretation of Shylock and a vision of how "must he be acted" appears at the conclusion of the autobiography{{clarify|date=April 2023|reason=Which one? I'd guess 'Shtetl to the Stage', ch. Shylock.}} of [[Alexander Granach]], a noted Jewish stage and film actor in Weimar Germany (and later in Hollywood and on Broadway).<ref>Granach (1945; 2010), pp. 275–279.{{Incomplete short citation|date=June 2020}}</ref>
== Adaptations and cultural references == The play has inspired many adaptions and several works of fiction.
===Film, TV and radio versions=== * 1914 – ''[[The Merchant of Venice (1914 film)|The Merchant of Venice]]'', a silent film directed by [[Lois Weber]] and [[Phillips Smalley]]. Weber played Portia and Smalley, her husband, played Shylock. With this film, Weber became the first woman to direct a full-length feature film in America.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9nokDQAAQBAJ&q=%22merchant+of+venice%22|title=Lois Weber in Early Hollywood|first=Shelley|last=Stamp|date= 2015|publisher=Univ of California Press|pages=46–47|isbn=978-0520241527}}</ref> * 1916 – ''[[The Merchant of Venice (1916 film)|The Merchant of Venice]]'', an unsuccessful silent British film produced by [[Walter West (director)|Walter West]] for [[Broadwest]].<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dVHaAAAAQBAJ&q=%22Merchant+of+Venice%22+1916+%22Walter+West%22&pg=PA295|title=The History of British Film (Volume 3): The History of the British Film 1914–1918|first=Rachael|last=Low|year=2013|publisher=Routledge|pages=84, 295|isbn=978-1136206061}}</ref> * 1923 – ''[[The Merchant of Venice (1923 film)|The Merchant of Venice]]'' (''Der Kaufmann von Venedig''), also ''The Jew of Mestri'', a silent German film directed by [[Peter Paul Felner]]. Though based in part on Shakespeare's play, it was also based on [[Christopher Marlowe]]'s ''[[The Jew of Malta]]'', as well as stories by [[Giovanni Fiorentino]], [[Masuccio Salernitano]] and [[Pietro Aretino]].<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-7NrKzgRozIC&q=felner|title=Shakespeare on Silent Film: A Strange Eventful History|first=Robert Hamilton|last=Ball|date=2013|publisher=Routledge|page=151|isbn=978-1134980987}}</ref> * 1941 – ''[[Shylock (1940 film)|Shylock]]'', an Indian [[Tamil language]] film directed by the duo Sama-Ramu.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.thehindu.com/features/cinema/cinema-columns/shylock-1941/article5848280.ece | title=Blast from the Past: Shylock (1941) | work=[[The Hindu]] | date=29 March 2014 | access-date=22 September 2016 | last=Guy | first=Randor | author-link=Randor Guy}}</ref> * 1953 – ''[[The Merchant of Venice (1953 film)|The Merchant of Venice]]'', a French-Italian [[drama film]] directed by [[Pierre Billon (director)|Pierre Billon]] and starring [[Michel Simon]], [[Andrée Debar]] and [[Massimo Serato]]. * 1961 – ''[[The Merchant of Venice (1961 film)|The Merchant of Venice]]'', an Australian television adaptation. * 1969 – ''[[The Merchant of Venice (1969 film)|The Merchant of Venice]]'', an unreleased 40-minute television film directed by and starring [[Orson Welles]]; the film was completed, but the soundtrack for all but the first reel was stolen before it could be released.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/venice-film-festival-2015-lost-813819|title=Venice Film Festival: Lost Orson Welles Film to Get Pre-Opening Showcase|date=7 August 2015 |publisher=Hollywood Reporter|access-date=10 October 2018}}</ref> * 1972 – ''The Merchant of Venice'', BBC video-taped television version directed by [[Cedric Messina]] for the BBC's ''[[Play of the Month]]'' series.{{sfn|Pearce|2009}} Cast includes [[Maggie Smith]], [[Frank Finlay]], [[Charles Gray (actor)|Charles Gray]] and [[Christopher Gable]].{{sfn|Pearce|2009}} * 1973 – ''The Merchant of Venice'' British [[Associated Television]] version directed by [[John Sichel]]. Broadcast in the United States over [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC-TV]].{{sfn|Pearce|2009}}<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1973/02/10/archives/2-shakespearean-classics-to-be-televised-by-abc-mgm-television.html|title=2 Shakespearean Classics to Be Televised by A.B.C.|date=10 February 1973|work=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=2018-10-20}}</ref> Set in the late [[Victorian era]], the cast included [[Laurence Olivier]] as Shylock, [[Anthony Nicholls (actor)|Anthony Nicholls]] as Antonio, [[Jeremy Brett]] as Bassanio, and [[Joan Plowright]] as Portia.{{sfn|Pearce|2009}} * 1980 – ''The Merchant of Venice'', a version for the [[BBC Television Shakespeare]] directed by [[Jack Gold]].{{sfn|Pearce|2009}} The cast includes [[Gemma Jones]] as Portia, [[Warren Mitchell]] as Shylock and [[John Nettles]] as Bassanio.{{sfn|Pearce|2009}} * 1996 – ''The Merchant of Venice'', a [[Channel 4]] television film directed by Alan Horrox.<ref name="auto3">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AC9DO7yanGwC&q=%22Alan+Horrox%22|title=A History of Shakespeare on Screen: A Century of Film and Television|first=Kenneth S.|last=Rothwell|year=2004|publisher=Cambridge University Press|page=117|isbn=978-0521543118}}</ref> The cast included [[Bob Peck]] as Shylock and [[Haydn Gwynne]] as Portia.<ref name="auto3"/> * 2001 – ''The Merchant of Venice'', a [[Royal National Theatre]] production directed by [[Trevor Nunn]].<ref name="auto4">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MVsMP5nbdzUC&q=%22Merchant+of+Venice%22+%22Trevor+Nunn%22&pg=PA8|title=The Merchant of Venice|first1=William|last1=Shakespeare|first2=Tony|last2=Farrell|date= 2018|publisher=Nelson Thornes|page=8|isbn=978-0748769575}}</ref> Set around 1930, [[Henry Goodman]] played Shylock.<ref name="auto4"/> * 2002 – ''[[The Maori Merchant of Venice|The Māori Merchant of Venice]]'', directed by [[Don Selwyn]].<ref name="auto5">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ChdHBQAAQBAJ&q=%22The+Māori+Merchant+of+Venice%22+selwyn&pg=PA198|title=Shakespeare and the Ethics of Appropriation|first1=Alexa|last1=Huang|first2=Elizabeth|last2=Rivlin|date=2014|publisher=Springer|page=198|isbn=978-1137375773}}</ref> In [[Māori language|Māori]], with English subtitles. This film was based on a 1945 translation of the play to Māori by [[Pei Te Hurinui Jones]].<ref name="auto5"/> * 2003 – In ''Shakespeare's Merchant'', a film directed by Paul Wagar, Antonio and Bassanio have a homosexual relationship.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MbDeCwAAQBAJ&q=%22Shakespeare%27s+Merchant%22+%22PAUL+WAGAR%22&pg=PT96|title=Shakespeare and Immigration|first=Ruben|last=Espinosa|date=2016|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1317056614}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lycmDwAAQBAJ&q=%22Shakespeare%27s+Merchant%22+%22PAUL+WAGAR%22&pg=PA17|title=For the Gay Stage: A Guide to 456 Plays, Aristophanes to Peter Gill|first=Drewey Wayne|last=Gunn|date=2017|publisher=McFarland|page=17|isbn=9781476670195}}</ref> * 2004 – ''[[The Merchant of Venice (2004 film)|The Merchant of Venice]]'', directed by [[Michael Radford]] and produced by Barry Navidi. This was the first "big-screen" adaptation of the play. The cast included [[Al Pacino]] as Shylock, [[Jeremy Irons]] as Antonio, [[Joseph Fiennes]] as Bassanio, [[Lynn Collins]] as Portia, and [[Zuleikha Robinson]] as Jessica.<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://bostonreview.net/alan-stone-redeeming-shylock|title=Redeeming Shylock|last=Stone|first=Alan A.|date=2012|journal=Boston Review|access-date=11 October 2018}}</ref> * Broadcast on [[BBC Radio 3]] on 22 April 2018 and transposing the plot from Venice to the City of London and the [[2008 financial crisis]]. The cast included [[Andrew Scott (actor)|Andrew Scott]] as Shylock, [[Ray Fearon]] as Antonio, [[Colin Morgan]] as Bassanio, [[Hayley Atwell]] as Portia, and Lauren Cornelius as Jessica.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.spectator.co.uk/2018/04/all-the-worlds-a-stage-2/|title=How do you make Shakespeare work on the radio? |date=28 April 2018|publisher=The Spectator|access-date=11 October 2018}}</ref>
=== Operas === * [[Josef Bohuslav Foerster]]'s three-act Czech opera ''[[Jessika (opera)|Jessika]]'' was first performed at the [[National Theatre (Prague)|Prague National Theatre]] in 1905.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1C0KAQAAMAAJ&q=jessika|title=Symphonic Program Music and Its Literary Sources|first=Lawrence|last=Casler|date=2001|location=[[Lewiston, New York]]|publisher=[[Edwin Mellen Press]]|isbn=9780773474895}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ff6wDAAAQBAJ&q=%22Merchant+of+Venice%22+%22Josef+Bohuslav+Foerster%22+jessika&pg=RA2-PA10|title=The Bard and the Bible: A Shakespeare Devotional|first=Bob|last=Hostetler|date= 2016|publisher=Worthy Publishing|isbn=9781617958427}}</ref> * Adrian Welles [[Beecham baronets|Beecham]], 15-year-old son of [[Thomas Beecham|Sir Thomas Beecham]], composed an operatic version which premiered at the Grand Theatre in [[Brighton]] on 18 September 1922 followed by 32 performances at the [[Duke of York's Theatre]] in London from 20 November to 16 December 1922.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last=Wearing|first=J. P.|author-link=J. P. Wearing|title=The London stage, 1920–1929 : A Calendar of Productions, Performers, and Personnel|date=2014|isbn=978-0-8108-9301-6|edition=2nd|location=Lanham|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|oclc=863695327}}</ref> Augustus Milner sang Shylock, later replaced during the run by producer [[Frank Benson (actor)|F. R. Benson]].<ref name=":0" /> Although described in the vocal score as "a Shakespearean Opera" the play was perhaps better defined as a "play with music", with 27 musical sections or arias.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Beecham|first=Adrian Welles|title=The Merchant of Venice – a Shakespearean Opera – Vocal score|publisher=Schott & Co|year=1921|location=London}}</ref> * [[Reynaldo Hahn]]'s three-act French opera ''[[Le marchand de Venise]]'' was first performed at the [[Paris Opéra]] on 25 March 1935.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lZdvAAAAQBAJ&q=%22Le+marchand+de+Venise%22+hahn&pg=PA144|title=Edinburgh Companion to Shakespeare and the Arts|first=Mark Thornton|last=Burnett|date= 2011|publisher=Edinburgh University Press|isbn=9780748649341}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JAQJAQAAMAAJ&q=marchand|title=The Paris Opéra: an encyclopedia of operas, ballets, composers, and performers|first=Spire|last=Pitou|date=1990|publisher=Greenwood Press|isbn=978-0313277825}}</ref> * [[André Tchaikowsky]]'s (1935–1982) opera ''The Merchant of Venice'' premiered at the [[Bregenz Festival]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.bregenzerfestspiele.com/en/node/2820|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20131202235612/http://www.bregenzerfestspiele.com/en/node/2820|url-status=dead|title="The Merchant of Venice – World premiere", Bregenzer Festspiele.|archivedate=2 December 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://andretchaikowsky.com/composer/merchant_of_venice.htm|title=Andre Tchaikowsky Composer|website=andretchaikowsky.com|access-date=16 September 2018}}</ref> on 18 July 2013. * A modernized interpretation of ''The Merchant of Venice'' was staged at the [[Royal Lyceum Theatre|Royal Lyceum]] in Edinburgh from late 2024 to early 2025.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Radcliffe |first=Allan |date=2025-01-23 |title=''The Merchant of Venice'' review – fascinating, bleak and disquieting |url=https://www.thetimes.com/culture/theatre-dance/article/the-merchant-of-venice-review-fascinating-bleak-and-disquieting-dzhxnm2tk|access-date=2025-07-06|newspaper=[[The Times]]}}</ref>
=== Cultural references === [[Edmond Haraucourt]], French playwright and poet, was commissioned in the 1880s by the actor and theatrical director [[Paul Porel]] to make a French-verse adaptation of ''The Merchant of Venice''. His play ''Shylock'', first performed at the [[Théâtre de l'Odéon]] in December 1889, had incidental music by the French composer [[Gabriel Fauré]], later incorporated into an orchestral [[Shylock (Fauré)|suite of the same name]].<ref>{{cite book|first=Jean-Michel|last=Nectoux|author-link=Jean-Michel Nectoux|title=Gabriel Fauré: A Musical Life|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=1991|isbn=0-521-23524-3|pages=143–146}}</ref>
[[St. John Ervine]] wrote a sequel play, ''The Lady of Belmont'', in 1924, in which the characters from Shakespeare's work reunite ten years after the events of the earlier play.<ref>[[St. John Greer Ervine|Ervine, St. John]], ''The Lady of Belmont'', New York: Macmillan, 1924.</ref>
[[Ralph Vaughan Williams]]' choral work ''[[Serenade to Music]]'' (1938) draws its text from the discussion about music and the music of the spheres in act V, scene 1.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1ROAAQAAQBAJ&q=%22Serenade+to+Music%22+williams+%22Merchant+of+Venice%22&pg=PA127|title=The Cambridge Companion to Vaughan Williams|first1=Alain|last1=Frogley|first2=Aidan J.|last2=Thomson|date= 2013|publisher=Cambridge University Press|page=127|isbn=978-0521197687}}</ref>
In both versions of the comic film ''To Be or Not to Be'' ([[To Be or Not to Be (1942 film)|1942]] and [[To Be or Not to Be (1983 film)|1983]]) the character "Greenberg", specified as a Jew in the later version, gives a recitation of the "Hath not a Jew eyes?" speech to Nazi soldiers.<ref name="Bernardi2001">{{cite book|last1=Sammond|first1=Nicholas|last2=Mukerji|first2=Chandra|editor=Bernardi, Daniel|editor-link=Daniel Bernardi|title=Classic Hollywood, Classic Whiteness|url=https://archive.org/details/classichollywood00bern|url-access=limited|year=2001|publisher=University of Minnesota Press|location=Minneapolis|isbn=0-8166-3239-1|pages=[https://archive.org/details/classichollywood00bern/page/n41 15]–27}}</ref>
The rock musical ''Fire Angel'' was based on the story of the play, with the scene changed to the Little Italy district of New York. It was performed in Edinburgh in 1974 and in a revised form at [[Her Majesty's Theatre]], London, in 1977. [[Braham Murray]] directed.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://bufvc.ac.uk/shakespeare/index.php/title/av37348|title=Fire Angel |publisher=British Universities Film & Video Council|website=bufvc.ac.uk|access-date=5 October 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mt4MAQAAMAAJ&q=%22Fire+Angel%22+%22Merchant+of+Venice%22+Murray|title=Jewish Observer and Middle East Review|date=1977|publisher=William Samuel & Company Limited}}</ref>
[[Arnold Wesker]]'s play ''[[The Merchant (play)|The Merchant]]'' (1976) is a reimagining of Shakespeare's story.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/14/theater/arnold-wesker-british-playwright-known-for-working-class-dramas-dies-at-83.html|title=Arnold Wesker, 83, Writer of Working-Class Dramas, Dies|access-date=16 September 2018|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=13 April 2016|last=Chan|first=Sewell|author-link=Sewell Chan}}</ref> In this retelling, Shylock and Antonio are friends and share a disdain for the crass anti-Semitism of the Christian community's laws.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2016/apr/13/arnold-wesker-radical-bard-of-working-britain-class-plays|title=Arnold Wesker: the radical bard of working Britain|first=Michael|last=Billington|author-link=Michael Billington (critic)|date=13 April 2016|work=[[The Guardian]]|access-date=16 September 2018}}</ref>
[[David Henry Wilson]]'s play ''Shylock's Revenge'', was first produced at the [[University of Hamburg]] in 1989, and follows the events in ''The Merchant of Venice''. In this play Shylock gets his wealth back and becomes a Jew again.{{sfnp|Gross|1994|page=335}}
The ''[[Star Trek]]'' franchise sometimes quote and paraphrase Shakespeare, including ''The Merchant of Venice''. One example is the Shakespeare-aficionado [[Chang (Star Trek)|Chang]] in ''[[Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country]]'' (1991), a [[Klingon]], who quotes Shylock.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wfVsAAAAQBAJ&q=%22Star+Trek%22+%22Merchant+of+Venice%22&pg=PA30|title=Faith, Reason, and Political Life Today|first1=Peter Augustine|last1=Lawler|first2=Dale|last2=McConkey|date=2001|publisher=Lexington Books|page=29|isbn=978-0739154960}}</ref>
[[Steven Spielberg]]'s ''[[Schindler's List]]'' (1993) depicts SS Lieutenant [[Amon Göth]] quoting Shylock's "Hath not a Jew eyes?" speech when deciding whether to rape his Jewish maid.{{sfn|Burnett|2007|pp=93–94}}
In [[David Fincher]]'s 1995 crime thriller ''[[Seven (1995 film)|Seven]]'', a lawyer, Eli Gould, is coerced to remove a pound of his own flesh and place it on a scale, alluding to the play.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gZr0qFS2Vt4C&q=%22Merchant+of+Venice%22|title=Riddles, Knights, and Cross-dressing Saints: Essays on Medieval English Language and Literature|first=Thomas|last=Honegger|date=2018|publisher=Peter Lang|page=5|isbn=978-3039103928}}</ref>
The German [[Belmont Prize]] was established in 1997,<ref>[http://www.stiftung.forberg-schneider.de/index.php?id=3&L=1 "The Foundation"] Forberg Schneider Foundation</ref> referring to 'Belmont' as "a place of destiny where Portia's intelligence is at home." The eligibility for the award is encapsulated by the inscription on the play's lead casket, "Who chooses me must give and hazard all he hath."<ref>[http://www.stiftung.forberg-schneider.de/index.php?id=10&L=1 "The Belmont Prize"]</ref>
One of the four short stories comprising [[Alan Isler]]'s ''The Bacon Fancier'' (1999) is also told from Shylock's point of view. In this story, Antonio was a converted Jew.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/books/97/06/22/reviews/970622.22saynort.html|title=The Joy of Theft|website=archive.nytimes.com|access-date=26 September 2018}}</ref>
''[[The Pianist (2002 film)|The Pianist]]'' is a 2002 film based on [[The Pianist (memoir)|a memoir]] by [[Władysław Szpilman]]. In this film, Henryk Szpilman reads Shylock's "Hath not a Jew eyes?" speech to his brother Władysław in the [[Warsaw Ghetto]] during the [[Occupation of Poland (1939–1945)|Nazi occupation]] in [[World War II]].{{sfn|Burnett|2007|p=93}}
In the 2009 spy comedy ''[[OSS 117: Lost in Rio]]'', a speech by the Nazi Von Zimmel parodies Shylock's tirade.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/07/movies/07oss.html|title=French Spy Spoof Set in Swinging '67 Rio|first=Mike|last=Hale|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=5 October 2018|date=6 May 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://jewishweek.timesofisrael.com/blame-it-on-rio/|title=Blame It on Rio|date=4 May 2010 |newspaper=[[The Times of Israel]]|access-date=5 October 2018}}</ref>
[[Christopher Moore (author)|Christopher Moore]] combines ''The Merchant of Venice'' and ''[[Othello]]'' in his 2014 comic novel ''[[The Serpent of Venice]]'', in which he makes Portia (from ''The Merchant of Venice'') and Desdemona (from ''Othello'') sisters. All of the characters come from those two plays with the exception of Jeff (a monkey); the gigantic simpleton Drool; and Pocket, the Fool, who comes from Moore's earlier novel ''Fool'', based on ''[[King Lear]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://old.seattletimes.com/html/books/2023452962_mooreserpentvenicexml.html|title='The Serpent of Venice': a Shakespeare-Poe mash-up|work=[[The Seattle Times]]|access-date=5 October 2018}}</ref>
[[Naomi Alderman]]'s ''The Wolf in the Water'' is a radio-play first broadcast on [[BBC Radio 3]] in 2016. The play continues the story of Shylock's daughter Jessica, who lives in an anti-semitic Venice and practices her Jewish faith in secret. Part of the BBC's Shakespeare Festival, the play also marked that 500 years had passed since the [[Venetian Ghetto]] was instituted.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b07bvjcs|title=The Wolf in the Water, Drama on 3 |website=BBC Radio 3|access-date=16 September 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.thetimes.com/culture/theatre-dance/article/the-merchant-of-venice-what-happened-next-6lpfgvc3p|title=The Merchant of Venice: what happened next|first=Naomi|last=Alderman|date=7 May 2016|access-date=9 October 2018|via=www.thetimes.co.uk}}</ref>
Sarah B. Mantell's ''Everything that Never Happened'' is a play first produced in 2017 at the [[Yale School of Drama]]. Similar to ''[[Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead]]'', the play occurs in the gaps between scenes of the canonical ''The Merchant of Venice'', with the characters gradually recognizing how conflicts over assimilation and anti-Semitism recur throughout past, present, and future.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/arts/theater/reviews/la-et-cm-everything-that-never-happened-20181012-story.html|title=Review: ''Everything that Never Happened'' reconsiders ''The Merchant of Venice'' through a Jewish perspective|date=2018-10-12|website=[[Los Angeles Times]]|access-date=2019-12-17}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.sarahmantell.com/plays|title=Plays|website=Sarah B. Mantell|access-date=2019-12-17}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://bostoncourtpasadena.org/events/everything-that-never-happened/|title=''Everything that Never Happened'' – Boston Court Pasadena|date=20 September 2018 |access-date=2019-12-17}}</ref>
== See also == * [[List of idioms attributed to Shakespeare]]
== Notes and references == === Notes === {{notelist}}
=== References === {{reflist}}
== Sources == === Editions of ''The Merchant of Venice'' === * {{cite book |title = The Merchant of Venice |last = Shakespeare |first = William |author-link = William Shakespeare |display-authors = 0 |editor-last = Drakakis |editor-first = John |series = [[Arden Shakespeare]], third series |publisher = [[Bloomsbury Publishing|Bloomsbury]] |year = 2010 |isbn = 978-1-903436-81-3 |doi = 10.5040/9781408160398.00000006 |via = [[Bloomsbury Drama Online]] |ref = {{harvid|Drakakis|2010}} }} * {{cite book |title = The Merchant of Venice |editor-last = Pearce |editor-first = Joseph |series = Ignatius Critical Editions |first = William |last = Shakespeare |display-authors = 0 |year = 2009 |publisher = Ignatius Press |isbn = 978-1681495200 |ref = {{harvid|Pearce|2009}} }}{{better source needed|date=April 2024}}
=== Secondary sources === * {{cite book |last = Adler |first = Jacob |author-link = Jacob Adler |year = 1999 |title = A Life on the Stage: A Memoir |translator-last = Rosenfeld |translator-first = Lulla |location = New York |publisher = Knopf |isbn = 0-679-41351-0 }} * {{cite journal |first = Gorman |last = Beauchamp |date = 2011 |title = Shylock's Conversion |journal = [[Humanitas]] |volume = 24 |pages = 55–92 |doi = 10.5840/humanitas2011241/23 |s2cid = 169983679 |url = http://www.nhinet.org/beauchamp24-1.pdf |archive-url = https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://www.nhinet.org/beauchamp24-1.pdf |archive-date = 2022-10-09 |url-status=live |access-date = 26 October 2017 }} * {{cite book |editor1-last = Bloom |editor1-first = Harold |editor1-link = Harold Bloom |editor2-last = Heims |editor2-first = Neil |title = The Merchant of Venice |publisher = Infobase |location = New York |year = 2007 |isbn = 978-0-7910-9576-8 |ref = {{harvid|Bloom|2007}} }} * {{cite book |last = Burnett |first = Mark Thornton |title = Filming Shakespeare in the Global Marketplace |year = 2007 |publisher = Springer |isbn = 978-0230800809 }} * {{cite book |title = Nazi Anti-Semitism: From Prejudice to Holocaust |last = Burrin |first = Philipe |year = 2005 |publisher = The New Press |isbn = 1-56584-969-8 }} * {{cite web |title = A Jewish reading of The Merchant of Venice |last = Dautch |first = Aviva |author1-link = Aviva Dautch |date = 2016-03-15 |website = [[British Library]] |access-date = 2019-09-13 |url = https://www.bl.uk/shakespeare/articles/a-jewish-reading-of-the-merchant-of-venice }} * {{cite book |last = Gross |first = John |year = 1994 |title = Shylock: A Legend and its Legacy |publisher = Touchstone |isbn = 978-0-671-88386-7 }} * {{cite journal |title = Shakespeare and the Jews |last = Hales |first = John W. |author-link = John Wesley Hales |journal = [[The English Historical Review]] |volume = IX |number = XXXVI |pages = 652–661 |date = October 1894 |issn = 0013-8266 |eissn = 1477-4534 |doi = 10.1093/ehr/IX.XXXVI.652 |url = https://archive.org/details/englishhistorica09londuoft/page/652/mode/2up }} * {{cite book |last = Muir |first = Kenneth |author-link = Kenneth Muir (scholar) |title = Shakespeare's Sources: Comedies and Tragedies |year = 2005 |publisher = Routledge |location = New York |isbn = 0-415-35269-X }} * {{cite journal |last1 = Ravid |first1 = Benjamin |title = From Yellow to Red: On the Distinguishing Head-Covering of the Jews of Venice |journal = Jewish History |date = 1992 |volume = 6 |issue = 1/2 |pages = 179–210 |doi = 10.1007/BF01695218 |jstor = 20101128 |issn = 0334-701X }} * {{cite book |title = Shakespeare and the Jews |last = Shapiro |first = James S. |author-link = James S. Shapiro |publisher = Columbia University Press |location = New York |year = 2016 |isbn = 9780231178679 }} * {{cite book |editor1-last = Wells |editor1-first = Stanley |editor2-first = Michael |editor2-last = Dobson |editor1-link = Stanley Wells |year = 2001 |title = The Oxford Companion to Shakespeare |publisher = [[Oxford University Press]] |location = Oxford |series = Oxford Companions to Literature }}
==Further reading== * Abend-David, Dror (2003). [https://www.amazon.com/Scorned-Nation-Translations-Comparative-Literatures/dp/0820457981/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1284135061&sr=1-1 ''"Scorned My Nation": A Comparison of Translations of The Merchant of Venice into German, Hebrew, and Yiddish''], New York: Peter-Lang. {{ISBN|978-0-8204-5798-7}}. * Caldecott, Henry Stratford (1895). "Our English Homer; or, the Bacon-Shakespeare Controversy". ''[[The Times (South Africa)|Johannesburg Times]]''. * {{cite journal|last=McKendy|first=Thomas|title=Gypsies, Jews, and ''The Merchant of Venice''|journal=[[The English Journal]]|publisher=[[National Council of Teachers of English]]|issn=0013-8274|volume=77|issue=7|year=1988|pages=24–26|doi=10.2307/818931|jstor=818931|ref=none}} * {{cite journal|last=Perng|first=Ching-Hsi|title = A 'Bangzi ''Merchant of Venice''' in Taipei: ''Yue/Shu'' (''Bond'')|journal = [[Asian Theatre Journal]] | publisher = [[University of Hawaiʻi Press]] | issn = 0742-5457 | eissn = 1527-2109 | volume = 28 | issue = 1 | year = 2011 | pages = 222–233 | jstor = 41306478|ref=none|doi=10.1353/atj.2011.0014|s2cid=161349603}} * {{cite book|last=Short|first=Hugh|editor=Mahon, John W. |editor2=Mahon, Ellen Macleod|title=The Merchant of Venice: New Critical Essays|year=2002|publisher=Routledge|location=London|isbn=978-0-415-92999-8|page=201|chapter=Shylock is content|ref=none}} * Smith, Rob: ''Cambridge Student Guide to The Merchant of Venice''. {{ISBN|0-521-00816-6}}. * Yaffe, Martin D.: ''Shylock and the Jewish Question''. {{ISBN|0801856485}}
== External links == {{Sister project links |s = Merchant of Venice (Shakespeare) |d=Q206400|display=''The Merchant of Venice'' |b = no|wikt=no |commons = Category:The Merchant of Venice |n = no|m=no|mw=no|species=no|voy=no |v = no }} * {{StandardEbooks|Standard Ebooks URL=https://standardebooks.org/ebooks/william-shakespeare/the-merchant-of-venice}} * {{gutenberg|no=1515|name= The Merchant of Venice}} * {{Folger inline|The Merchant of Venice}} * [http://www.bl.uk/works/the-merchant-of-venice ''The Merchant of Venice''] at the [[British Library]] * {{librivox book | title=The Merchant of Venice | author=William Shakespeare}} * [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vznq94vgfrI Shakespeare in the Ghetto, the Ghetto in Shakespeare], 2021 video with [[Shaul Bassi]].
{{The Merchant of Venice|state=expanded}} {{Shakespeare}} {{DramaDesk Play 1955–1974}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Merchant of Venice, The}} [[Category:The Merchant of Venice| ]] [[Category:Shakespearean comedies]] [[Category:1590s plays]] [[Category:Antisemitic works]] [[Category:Plays about Jews and Judaism]] [[Category:Plays set in Venice]] [[Category:Cross-dressing in theatre]] [[Category:Works about debt]] [[Category:British plays adapted into films]] [[Category:Plays adapted into operas]] [[Category:Plays set in the 16th century]] [[Category:Plays set in Italy]] [[Category:Cross-dressing in literature]] [[Category:Race-related controversies in theatre]] [[Category:Antisemitism in England]] [[Category:Shakespearean problem plays]]