Shakespeare's Tragedies: Prof. Giordano ENG 302: Merchant of Venice

Before you begin your research, try your hand at this!

Who Said It?

1. "The quality of mercy is not strain'd,\It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven
   Upon the place beneath" Act 4, Scene 1
   
2. Alack, what heinous sin is it in me/To be asham'd to be my father's child!
   Act 2, Scene 3
   
   
3. 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? Act 3, Scene 1
   
   
4. "they are as sick that surfeit with too much as they that starve with nothing." Act 1 Scene 2
   
   
5. "The devil can cite Scripture for his purpose."Act 1, Scene 3.
   

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Literary critic Ann Barton points out in The Riverside Shakespeare, "Shylock has sometimes been presented as the devil incarnate, sometimes as a comic villain gabbling absurdly about ducats and daughters. He has also been sentimentalized as a wronged and suffering father nobler by far than the people who triumph over him."

Barton, Anne. "The Merchant of Venice." The Riverside Shakespeare. Vol. 1. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1974. 251. 2 vols. Print.

Shylock and History

"Although Shakespeare wrote possibly the most famous Jew in English literature, there were virtually no Jews in England during his lifetime. It isn't known whether Shakespeare would have come into contact with anyone who was Jewish. It would also be impossible to surmise how detailed his knowledge of the historical facts about Jews in England was, but fact and myth were certainly handed down through the ages, and it is safe to assume that he would have been aware of his country's historical folklore."

To read the complete essay, go to the link below.

Rogers, Jami. "Shylock and History." PBS Masterpiece Theatre: The Merchant of Venice. PBS, n.d. Web. 27 June 2011. <http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/merchant/ei_shylock.html>.

1. Portia
2. Jessica
3. Shylock
4. Nerissa
5. Antonio

What do you think?