The Merchant of Venice
Pound-of-flesh drama
A comedy by William Shakespeare, written around 1596–1598.
The play centers on a Venetian merchant who borrows money from a Jewish moneylender, Shylock, putting up a pound of his own flesh as collateral.
Shylock's demand for payment and subsequent treatment in court have made the play a touchstone for discussions of antisemitism in literature.
We're reading The Merchant of Venice in English class.
Of late 1500s England
- GlobeFamous Elizabethan theatre
- folioSingle-fold page format
- quartoFour-leaf printing format
- Stratford-upon-AvonWarwickshire market town
iambic pentameter · soliloquy · comedy · tragedy · groundlings · Shylock · Portia · Antonio
Binding tie or connection
- moneylendingLoaning funds for interest
- interestAttention, stake, or fee
- ducatsHistoric gold coins
- debtMoney owed another
pound of flesh · forfeit · collateral · loan · Antonio · Shylock · surety · default
Bigotry toward Jewish people
- JewFollower of Judaism
- ChristianAdherent of the gospel
- outsiderOne excluded from group
- JessicaFeminine given name
Shylock · conversion · discrimination · moneylender · usurer · stereotype · tolerance · intolerance
Compassion toward offenders
- equityImpartial treatment or ownership value
- fairnessJust and equal treatment
- judgmentReasoned decision-making capacity
- verdictOfficial court decision
courtroom · Portia · Balthazar · Daniel · letter of the law · spirit of the law · plea · penalty
Venetian commercial district
- canalsConstructed water passages
- gondolaSuspended transport cabin
- lagoonSheltered coastal shallows
- CarnivalPre-fasting festival season
Grand Canal · Belmont · ducats · Renaissance Italy · maritime trade · cosmopolitan
Exchange of commodities
- marketplaceVenue for commerce
- RialtoVenetian commercial district
- shipsSeagoing vessels
- cargoTransported goods
venture · speculation · profit · loss · bankruptcy · shipwreck · fortune · risk
Elizabethan
Of late 1500s England
Stratford-upon-Avon · iambic pentameter · soliloquy · comedy · tragedy · groundlings · Shylock · Portia · Antonio · Jessica
bond
Binding tie or connection
- moneylendingLoaning funds for interest
- interestAttention, stake, or fee
- ducatsHistoric gold coins
debt · pound of flesh · forfeit · collateral · loan · Antonio · Shylock · surety · default · penalty
antisemitism
Bigotry toward Jewish people
Shylock · Jessica · conversion · discrimination · moneylender · usurer · stereotype · tolerance · intolerance · revenge
mercy
Compassion toward offenders
- equityImpartial treatment or ownership value
- fairnessJust and equal treatment
- judgmentReasoned decision-making capacity
verdict · courtroom · Portia · Balthazar · Daniel · letter of the law · spirit of the law · plea · penalty · adjudication
Rialto
Venetian commercial district
Carnival · Grand Canal · Belmont · ducats · Renaissance Italy · maritime trade · cosmopolitan
trade
Exchange of commodities
- marketplaceVenue for commerce
- RialtoVenetian commercial district
- shipsSeagoing vessels
cargo · venture · speculation · profit · loss · bankruptcy · shipwreck · fortune · risk · investment
- ShakespeareRomeo, Juliet, Hamlet, Macbeth, Othello
- British TheatreWest End, Macbeth, Globe, King Lear, pantomime
- Classic PlaysHamlet, Macbeth, Othello, King Lear, Romeo and Juliet
- Elizabethan comedyTwelfth Night, The Comedy of Errors, A Midsummer Night's Dream, As You Like It, Much Ado About Nothing
- Italian InfluenceRomeo and Juliet, Othello, Verona, Italian Renaissance, Italian culture
- legal fictionlegal drama, courtroom drama, crime fiction, detective stories, To Kill a Mockingbird
The Merchant of VeniceMeasure for Measure
Elizabethan problem comedy
The Merchant of VeniceFiddler on the Roof
Broadway show about tradition
merchant, merchants, mercantile, merchandise, mercury, commerce, commercial, commercialize, commercialization