Questions

(1) What reasons does Shylock give for hating Antonio? Do you find these sufficient to account for the intensity of the Jew's hatred?

(2) During the "casket choice," how do the speeches of the various would-be suitors betray their flawed senses of value?

(3) How is the comic subplot involving Launcelot Gobbo related to the lovers' plot?

(4) What kinds of risks do various characters take in this play?

(5) What two contrasting worlds exist in this play? What objects, activities, and citizens characterize each of these worlds?

(6) To what principles does Shylock appeal when demanding payment of Antonio's "pound of flesh"? How does Shylock's Jewish heritage influence his conception of the law?

(7) How are we to feel about Shylock, especially after his famous "Hath not a Jew eyes" speech?

(8) What does music symbolize in this play?

(9) What is the relationship between love and friendship in this play, both between two males and between males and females?

(10) How is the happy ending of the play finally brought about? Which characters do not fully share in the sense of "community" established at the end of the play?

(11) Although this play is classified as a comedy, how near to tragedy does it come? At what point could the play easily turn into a tragedy?

(12) What is the role of the women in this play? Do they, as Frye claims in his article "The Argument of Comedy," help to bring about a kind of rebirth in the course of the play? To what extent do they, as do the women in the later romances, have a redemptive role in the play?

(13) What is the relationship between mercy and justice in this play? Does Providence operate (or does it cooperate with individuals) to bring about either mercy or justice?

(14) What Christian paradox is reflected in Gratiano's comment to Antonio that "You have too much respect upon the world. They lose it that do buy it with much care"? How does this Christian paradox inform the various plot lines in the play? (Compare the inscription on the leaden casket in this context, for example.)

(15) Does Shylock provide any legitimate critiques of the motives and conduct of the Christians in this play?

(16) Who is the "merchant" of Venice? Why does the play's title refer to a character who does not appear on stage as often as many other characters?

Here are even more study questions from Prof. J. M. Massi!

Resources

If you would like to read an article on the play, consider one of these:

Leo Kirschbaum, "Shylock in the City of God," in his Character and Characterization in Shakespeare (Detroit: Wayne State Univ. Press, 1962), pp. 7-31 [RES: PR 2989 .K5],

J. W. Lever, "Shylock, Portia and the Values of Shakespearian Comedy," Shakespeare Survey, 3 (1952), 383-87 [there is also a rejoinder to this article in the same volume], and

Barbara Lewalski,"Biblical Allusion and Allegory in The Merchant of Venice," Shakespeare Survey, 13 (1962), 327-43.

Other relevant articles in our library include

C. L. Barber, "Merchants and the Jew of Venice: Wealth's Communion," in Barber's Shakespeare's Festive Comedy [RES: PR 2981 .B3].

H. H. Furness, "Jews in England," in The Merchant of Venice: A New Variorum Edition (New York: Dover, 1964), pp. 395-400 [RES: PR 2825 .A2 Fs].

H. H. Furness, "Law in the Trial Scene," in The Merchant of Venice: A New Variorum Edition (New York: Dover, 1964), pp. 403-21 [RES: PR 2825 .A2 Fs].

Keith Geary, "The Nature of Portia's Victory: Turning to Men in The Merchant of Venice," in Shakespeare Survey, 37 (1984), 55-68 [Ref: PR 2888 .C3].

R. F. Mill, "The Merchant of Venice and the Pattern of Roman Comedy," in Shakespeare Survey, 28 (1975), 75-88 [Ref: PR 2888 .C3].

Craig Harris, "To Prove a Villain - The Elizabethan Villain as Revenger"

Grant Stirling, "Shakespeare and Anti-Semitism: The Question of Shylock,"a casebook including these articles:

• The Nature of Anti-Semitism
  History of Jews in England

  Stage History of Shylock

  Textual Analysis of The Merchant of Venice

  Suggestions for Further Reading

Films

Currency Values In Elizabethan England

Links

Jack M. Kamen, "Shylock's Legend and Its Legacy by John Gross" Review of 'Shylock' from 'Jewish Post and Opinion' weekly (1/10/96).

Performance Review, Theatre Journal 48.1 (1996) 95

Stage Depictions of Shylock

From Laurie Osborne's "Hyperilluminated Criticism," "Intrusive Divisions in Merchant of Venice" (frontispiece illustration to the play that illuminates some underlying conflicts)

Papers