Here is a sample Annotated Bibliography for Merchant of Venice
Merchant of Venice
Auden, W.H. “Belmont and Venice.” Twentieth Century Interpretations of The Merchant of Venice. Ed. by Sylvan Barnet. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1970. 113-116.
Both Shylock and Antonio are members of an acquisitive society, though Shylock hoards and Antonio is generous with money. Antonio’s goods are luxury goods (spices, silks). Neither would be comfortable in Belmont, full of music and masques (disguises). Thus at the end of the play, it is logical that we see Antonio left outside Portia’s house, not through being excluded but by his own choice. Belmont’s a timeless world; Venice, governed by time. Looking at lovers, none seems particularly self-sacrificing. Jessica and Lorenzo waste Shylock’s money. Portia and Bassanio are generous, but with her father’s money. Lorenzo and Jessica talk of star-crossed lovers, none of whom risked for others. Only Shylock and Antonio, those excluded from Belmont, really risked. **
Topics covered: money (generosity/stinginess), Belmont/Venice, lovers
Barber, C.L. “The Merchants and the Jew of Venice: Wealth’s Communion and an Intruder.” Twentieth Merchant. 11-32. also found in Shakespeare: Modern Essays in Criticism. Ed. by Leonard F. Dean. New York: Oxford University Press, 1967. 204-227.
Barber calls Merchant of Venice another festival play with wealth being what is celebrated. England in the 1540’s was becoming more wealthy and thus associating itself with Venice. Shylock represents the anxiety about money that puts people at odds. London also had those who were suspicious of the profit motive. So Shylock is the antagonist not because he is a Jew (not for his religion), but because of his relationship to money. In festival terms, Shylock plays the scapegoat. The main question in whether the baffling of Shylock is melodramatic or meaningful. [As an interesting aside, he discusses the eating motif where Shylock wants to feast upon Antonio (2.5.14-5) but won’t eat with him.] The play dramatizes what use can be made of money vs. simply having or hoarding it. There is no incompatibility between love and money, nor between beauty and money. Belmont contrasts the reckoning world of Venice with transcendence. Barber believes the song that Portia has played before Bassanio chooses a casket contains no signal. Antonio’s loan to Bassanio is venture capital because not secured. He says Bassanio turns away from gold and silver because money is not used to get money (that is usurer’s way). Antonio risks his body; Bassanio risks himself (his right to procreate). Barber compares Shakespeare’s presentation of a Jew on the stage with Marlowe’s Barabbas, who poisons his own daughter. Shylock’s pathos in “Hath not a Jew eyes?” converts to menace by the end of the speech. Barber compares the speech to Richard’s “I live with bread like you” (3.2). Shylock’s view that revenge inevitably follows being wronged in a stimulus/response way does not allow for free will, for forgiveness. Barber compares Shylock to Iago but Shylock is outside the community/Iago inside trying to discredit it. [mine: Shylock is also like Richard II in his rollercoaster emotions in his conversation with Tubal]. Portia’s legalism breaks through Shylock’s and thus is he defeated. Barber explains the contrast between Old Testament legalism and New Testament grace. Shakespeare scrupulously adheres to principles of law—does not undercut the social order. Rings plot proves “human relationships are stronger than their outward signs” (28). ***
Topics covered: Belmont/Venice, characters, Old/New Testament, money
Barnet, Sylvan. “Introduction.” Twentieth Merchant. 1-10.
Those who see Merchant of Venice as a comedy are looking at its overall structure. Those who read more closely see the tragedy of being Jewish in Venice. Barnet recommends taking both views. There was no “Jewish problem” in Shakespeare’s day as the Jews had all been banished. So, Shakespeare was not trying to deal with non-assimilation of Jews. Merchant of Venice can also be seen as a fairy tale (3 caskets, loss of ships and miraculous recovery). It is hard to sum up the plot into coherent/unified themes. Barnet claims Merchant of Venice is about giving and risking. Why make Shylock a Jew? Perhaps it was due to the Elizabethan preconception that Jews were not generous. Barnet claims Shylock does not risk as a merchant does when he sends ships to sea but is assured by his bond. In Shakespeare’s day the view that the Jews were condemned in the Bible still prevailed. He compares Merchant of Venice to other Shakespeare plays written at the same time that included a “spoil sport,” who gets his comeuppance” like Malvolio. **
Topics covered: comedy/tragedy, Shylock
Brown, John Russell. “Love’s Wealth and the Judgment of The Merchant of Venice.” Twentieth Merchant. 81-90.
Brown claims Merchant of Venice was the “most completely informed by Shakespeare’s ideal of love’s wealth” (81), where giving is more important than getting or gaining Antonio begins the giving and hazarding all for love of Bassanio when he agrees to the pound of flesh bond. Shylock tries to “get what he deserves” in insisting on his bond (and also gets a fool’s head). Brown explains Bassanio’s line “to give and to receive” as definition of exchange in commerce (thus Bassanio brings mercantilism of Venice to Belmont). Even Lorenzo/Jessica pairing fits theme; they squander but are generous with love as with money. *
Topics covered: risk, Venice/Belmont
Coghill, Nevill. “The Theme of The Merchant of Venice.” Twentieth Merchant. 108-112.
Coghill argues that the title page of Merchant of Venice seems to justify an anti-Semitic approach to the theme, but the lines of the play do not. Since to assume Shakespeare did not know his business is ludicrous, we should seek elsewhere for the theme and he identifies Mercy vs. Justice as the theme. Using medieval texts of Piers Plowman and Castle of Perseverance, he shows Shakespeare was dealing with the same question of Old Testament vs. New Testament law. This makes both Jew and Gentile right and Old Testament (law) vs. New (mercy) is only in conflict because of our more limited understanding as mere mortals. Coghill calls the reversal in Act IV an excellent example of the dramatic peripeteia (reversal of fortune), where Mercy had been supplicant to Justice, but now Justice must beg Mercy. He calls Shylock’s forced conversion another example of Mercy—Antonio giving Shylock the possibility of eternal life as he believes it to be. The last act then makes more sense with Lorenzo and Jessica (Christian and Jew) in each other’s arms talking of music, Shakespeare’s symbol of harmony. **
Topics covered: mercy/justice, sources, Shylock, Christian vs. Jew
Danson, Lawrence. The Harmonies of The Merchant of Venice. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1978.
Granville-Barker, Harley. “The Merchant of Venice.” Twentieth Merchant. 55-80. also in Modern Essays. 37-71.
Granville-Barker sees Merchant of Venice as a fairy tale. We are to see Shylock’s bond like the threat of the Giant in “Jack and the Beanstalk.” But Shakespeare’s genius is that he finds the reality in even fantastic characters; thus he combines realism and imagination. Two different time frames exist in Venice and Belmont: three months must pass, but it doesn’t take Bassanio that long to get to Belmont, and he wants to choose right away. Shakespeare goes by dramatic (psychological) time. Would Rosalind or Juliet have gone by the caskets? Granville-Barker analyzes why Shakespeare gave Morocco two scenes and Bassanio only one at Belmont. Granville-Barker also dismisses the idea that Portia would hint at the right answer with the rhymes to “lead.” He claims that when Bassanio learns of Antonio’s plight in Venice, the scene changes “from dramatic convention to dramatic life” (60). Shakespeare doesn’t need to use verbal pictures to describe Venice at the beginning of the play; he relies on the conventional view in the Elizabethan mind. He does describe the moonlit Belmont at the end. Solario and Salarino are compared to Rosencrantz and Gildenstern as the worst bores in Shakespeare. He thinks Portia keeps Antonio free of the quarrel over the rings [I disagree]. He compares Shylock to Othello and says Shylock might have been humanized even more by the more mature Shakespeare (had the play been written later in his career). He says Portia trapped Shylock; Shylock is caught in the letter of the law “with no more right to a cord with which to hang himself than had Antonio to a bandage for his wound. . . . Something of the villainy the Jew taught them, the Christians will now execute” (79). **
Topics covered: characters, language, Belmont/Venice
Gross, John. Shylock: Four Hundred Years in the Life of a Legend. London: Chatto & Windus, 1992.
* Hankey, Julie. “Victorian Portias: Shakespeare’s Borderline Heroine.” Shakespeare Quarterly 45.4 (Winter 1994): 426-448.
Hankey differentiates Portia from other Shakespearean heroines in that she reacts more intellectually than emotionally to situations. She analyzes how Victorian men and women interpreted the character of Portia. *
Topics covered: Portia
Kaplan, M. Lindsay, ed. William Shakespeare. The Merchant of Venice: Text and Context. New York: Bedford, 2002.
In addition to the text and an introduction to the play, the editor provides treatises from the Renaissance on issues raised by the play. For example, in discussing the debate on the usury bill, Kaplan explains the shift in attitude on charging interest on loans. Most thought it was morally wrong but legally those charging less than 10% per year were not arrested by the state. One interesting argument was that by lending money, merchants were not using it to buy goods so the Queen lost out on her tax on duties levied on goods. Another argument was that it raised the price of goods. A usurer was not considered a good witness (was not considered truthful). However, someone else argued that usury was fine used with strangers only. Many seemed inclined to not allow usury because it was not expressly approved of in the Bible—in other words, we should err on the side of caution. She provides the usury bill itself and explained its history, having been passed under Henry VIII, repealed under Edward VI, and reestablished under Elizabeth I. At that point any loan charging more than 10% was considered void and anyone trying to charge more could be judged and punished. There are also sections discussing the attitude toward Jews, toward women, and toward marriage. *
Topics covered: usury, Jews, women, marriage
Kermode, Frank. “Some Themes in The Merchant of Venice.” Twentieth Merchant. 97-99.
Kermode connect the often used “gentle” with “gentile” in Merchant of Venice. Portia’s gentleness reflects a mind of love; Shylock’s mind is the opposite. Shylock’s example of Jacob shows he sees no difference between usury and breeding sheep (breeding metal was a common charge against usurers). With the caskets the breeding metals (gold and silver) should be rejected. Kermode analyzes the song about appearance vs. reality. Bassanio wins his fleece at the same moment we learn Antonio has lost his (fleets). We must satisfy justice before mercy can be rendered. Kermode claims Act V’s music reflect “universal harmony impaired by sin and restored by the Redemption” (100). So the main theme of Merchant of Venice is judgment, redemption and mercy. **
Topics covered: Shylock, caskets, mercy/justice
Knight, G. Wilson. “The Ideal Production.” Twentieth Merchant. 91-96.
Knight extols the need to take Merchant of Venice seriously even if it doesn’t present surface realism. He contrasts Venice and Belmont. He doesn’t see the comedy either in characters like Gratiano or situations in Venice and claims “Shylock towers over the rest” (91) even if he is unlikable. People become noble in Belmont. Belmont is the place of music. Though there is some music in Venice, the masque doesn’t come off and Shylock complains about the sound of the music. Knight claims Portia dominates Belmont as Shylock does Venice. He makes suggestions for staging. Portia’s role is to show money is only one aspect of life. Laws are made for money. Money can be divided but not life. Knight claims the trial scene is the climax. *
Topics covered: Venice/Belmont, Portia
Lewalski, Barbara K. “Biblical Allusion and allegory in The Merchant of Venice.” Twentieth Merchant. 33-54.
The critical questions are these—was Shakespeare anti-Semitic? is Shylock a persecuted hero or comic butt? Lewalski cites Nevill Coghill’s view that Merchant of Venice has medieval comic form, beginning in trouble, ending in joy and also that Merchant of Venice can be seen as a debate between Mercy and Justice (2 of the 4 daughters of God). Most critics who look at Christian symbolism concentrate on Act IV, not the entire play. Lewalski claims Shakespeare’s pattern of allusion pervasive to medieval Biblical allegory. He explicates Merchant of Venice using Dante’s 4 levels of allegorical meaning. Merchant of Venice illustrates Christian love which is represented by giving and forgiving. He connects lines from the play to lines in the Bible. He illustrates the predictions Shakespeare built into the play about Shylock’s forced conversion. Even the caskets can be seen as allegorizing Christian love and the choice of spiritual life and goodness contrasts Portia’s “I stand for sacrifice” (which could have 2 meanings—as victim or as one doing the sacrificing) with Shylock’s “I stand for law.” Lewalski associates Act IV with the Parliament of Heaven in which all men are judged. Balthazar (the name Portia takes in her disguise) was the name given to the prophet Daniel in the Book of Daniel; Daniel in the Bible was the most Christian-like of prophets, extolling the virtue of mercy. Shylock’s conversion reinforces the Christian conviction that Law leads to death and destruction; the only way to salvation in through a belief in Christ (or conversion for Shylock). When a Jew converted to Christianity in Europe or England, he often had to forfeit half his goods to the state (as ill-gotten gains of usury). **
Topics covered: Old/New Testament, Biblical references, characters
Moody, A.D. “An Ironic Comedy.” Twentieth Merchant. 100-107.
Moody argues against Kermode’s view that love and mercy supercede justice but sees Merchant of Venice as a “parody of heavenly harmony and love” (101). The subject is the same but Moody claims Shakespeare treats the issues in an ironic way, that Christians act in most unchristian like ways; they assume unworldliness to gain a worldly power over Shylock. The play is too subtle and complex to be seen in simple terms of good and evil. Christians are very worldly, talking and thinking about money. Moody traces common etymology between mercenary and money to merces (meaning reward or fee), both spoken by Portia. The main theme of appearance vs. reality should be applied to Portia as well. Moody claims “the controlling viewpoint is not that of the eye of Heaven, but that of enlightened human feeling” (104). He explains why he agrees with John Russell Brown that Merchant of Venice has always been Shylock’s play: “Where the Christians speak with quibbling wit or rhetoric, filtering emotion through artifice, Shylock’s speech is directly responsive to his burden of personal and racial experience, with the result that his humanity is so much more fully present to us” (105). So lesser (more superficial) beings triumph over the one “whose end is inseparable from his larger humanity” (105). There are two different kinds of justice resolved by the irony. **
Topics covered: Shylock, mercy/justice, language, Portia
Moody, A.D. “An Ironic Comedy.” Twentieth Merchant. 100-107.
Moody argues against Kermode’s view that love and mercy supercede justice but sees Merchant of Venice as a “parody of heavenly harmony and love” (101). The subject is the same but Moody claims Shakespeare treats the issues in an ironic way, that Christians act in most unchristian like ways; they assume unworldliness to gain a worldly power over Shylock. The play is too subtle and complex to be seen in simple terms of good and evil. Christians are very worldly, talking and thinking about money. Moody traces common etymology between mercenary and money to merces (meaning reward or fee), both spoken by Portia. The main theme of appearance vs. reality should be applied to Portia as well. Moody claims “the controlling viewpoint is not that of the eye of Heaven, but that of enlightened human feeling” (104). He explains why he agrees with John Russell Brown that Merchant of Venice has always been Shylock’s play: “Where the Christians speak with quibbling wit or rhetoric, filtering emotion through artifice, Shylock’s speech is directly responsive to his burden of personal and racial experience, with the result that his humanity is so much more fully present to us” (105). So lesser (more superficial) beings triumph over the one “whose end is inseparable from his larger humanity” (105). There are two different kinds of justice resolved by the irony. **
Topics covered: Shylock, mercy/justice, language, Portia
Moody, A.D. “An Ironic Comedy.” Twentieth Merchant. 100-107.
Moody argues against Kermode’s view that love and mercy supercede justice but sees Merchant of Venice as a “parody of heavenly harmony and love” (101). The subject is the same but Moody claims Shakespeare treats the issues in an ironic way, that Christians act in most unchristian like ways; they assume unworldliness to gain a worldly power over Shylock. The play is too subtle and complex to be seen in simple terms of good and evil. Christians are very worldly, talking and thinking about money. Moody traces common etymology between mercenary and money to merces (meaning reward or fee), both spoken by Portia. The main theme of appearance vs. reality should be applied to Portia as well. Moody claims “the controlling viewpoint is not that of the eye of Heaven, but that of enlightened human feeling” (104). He explains why he agrees with John Russell Brown that Merchant of Venice has always been Shylock’s play: “Where the Christians speak with quibbling wit or rhetoric, filtering emotion through artifice, Shylock’s speech is directly responsive to his burden of personal and racial experience, with the result that his humanity is so much more fully present to us” (105). So lesser (more superficial) beings triumph over the one “whose end is inseparable from his larger humanity” (105). There are two different kinds of justice resolved by the irony. **
Topics covered: Shylock, mercy/justice, language, Portia
Moody, A.D. “An Ironic Comedy.” Twentieth Merchant. 100-107.
Moody argues against Kermode’s view that love and mercy supercede justice but sees Merchant of Venice as a “parody of heavenly harmony and love” (101). The subject is the same but Moody claims Shakespeare treats the issues in an ironic way, that Christians act in most unchristian like ways; they assume unworldliness to gain a worldly power over Shylock. The play is too subtle and complex to be seen in simple terms of good and evil. Christians are very worldly, talking and thinking about money. Moody traces common etymology between mercenary and money to merces (meaning reward or fee), both spoken by Portia. The main theme of appearance vs. reality should be applied to Portia as well. Moody claims “the controlling viewpoint is not that of the eye of Heaven, but that of enlightened human feeling” (104). He explains why he agrees with John Russell Brown that Merchant of Venice has always been Shylock’s play: “Where the Christians speak with quibbling wit or rhetoric, filtering emotion through artifice, Shylock’s speech is directly responsive to his burden of personal and racial experience, with the result that his humanity is so much more fully present to us” (105). So lesser (more superficial) beings triumph over the one “whose end is inseparable from his larger humanity” (105). There are two different kinds of justice resolved by the irony. **
Topics covered: Shylock, mercy/justice, language, Portia
Rabkin, Norman. Shakespeare and the Problem of Meaning. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1981.
Shapiro, James. Shakespeare and the Jews. New York: Columbia University Press, 1996.