Merchant of Venice (Folger Shakespeare Library) [Mass Market Paperback]

William Shakespeare (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0671722778 | ISBN-13: 978-0671722777 | Publication Date: August 1, 1992

The Merchant of Venice has been performed more often than any other comedy by Shakespeare. This edition pays special attention to the expectations of its first audience, and to our modern experience of seeing and hearing the play. Mahood explores

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Handy, reliable, altogether excellent...with introductions that truly cover everything and notes that explain all that needs to be explained."--Bibliotheque d'Humanisme et Renaissance

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Book Description

The Merchant of Venice has been performed more often than any other comedy by Shakespeare. This edition pays special attention to the expectations of its first audience, and to our modern experience of seeing and hearing the play. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Washington Square Press (August 1, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0671722778
• ISBN-13: 978-0671722777
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (45 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #193,683 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Time has made Merchant into a tragedy, December 5, 2005

By 

Snick77 - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Merchant of Venice (Signet Classics) (Mass Market Paperback)

Shylock is the only sympathetic character in the play. Modernity has altered the villain in "The Merchant of Venice" from Shylock to the entire cast of characters EXCEPT for Shylock. Any sense of comedy in the play died for those with a sense of religious tolerance, and Shylock comes off as merely oppressed. I found Act 5 almost nauseating after the forced conversion. That, coupled with the happy racism makes a perversion of decency and happy endings. This play is a tragedy. The recent movie version done starring Al Pacino turned it into a tragedy, and amazingly, a play written as a comedy seems to work very well as a tragedy.

Antonio gladly spits upon Shylock and calls him a dog, but stunningly, when Antonio finds himself in a financial pinch he goes to Shylock for money. More brash is Antonio's promise to act the same in the future: "I am as like to call thee so again, / To spet on thee again, to spurn thee, too." (1.3.127-28) From this point on, sympathy for Antonio is paralyzed in a modern reader's mind, from reminders of past images, from slavery and anti-Semitism, where the dehumanizing of a group of people is accepted by a society. The entire text afterward reads like an indictment of humanity, as if Shakespeare is making the Elizabethans laugh at their own behavior.

In perhaps the best argument in Shylock's defense in the trial, he point out the fact that those who speak of mercy own slaves. "What judgment shall I dread, doing no wrong? / You have among you many a purchased slave." (4.1.89-90) Shylock, as fanatical as he is over the pound of flesh, is asking for only a pound of a man, when the slaveholders own the entire person. The play is littered with prejudiced remarks that clearly show how animalistic Shylock was to them.

Every conversation involving Shylock has ridicule from the Christians, without remorse or a feeling of comedy. The Christian children are taught to mock Shylock, they run after him in the street. The merchants spit on him, the Duke reviles him, his daughter renounces her religion and robs him.

Still an amazing story, with a few of the best on mercy and prejudice ever written.

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This Version of Venice, November 24, 2004

By 

T. Lundregan "toml30" (Alexandria, VA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Merchant of Venice (Signet Classics) (Mass Market Paperback)

For many people who enjoy classical literature, whether Greek tragedy or Shakespearean comedy, it comes down to which version of the work is the best. I have read the Merchant of Venice many times, and was looking to read it again. However, there are well over 50 versions to purchase on Amazon alone.

My review, then, focuses not so much on the play itself, but on this Signet edition. Whichever side of the "Shylock shows Shakespeare as a racist" issue you are on, the reality to me is that this is wonderful literature. That being said, I highly recommend this particular version for several reasons. The introduction to Shakespeare, his time, his language, the theater, and other areas is well written. While perhaps not new information to Shakespeare buffs, I think people reading Shakespeare for the first or second time would find it extremely enlightening. There is also an 18 page introduction to MoV that is like a Cliff's Notes version with some insight as readers prepare to absorb the beautiful language ahead.

With respect to the play, this edition does not bog the reader down in defining every other word, but rather only those words that are completely foreign to the modern speaker, or that had a completely different meaning 400 years ago. After the play are some excellent essays that may help enighten those readers who are wondering about Shylock and his portrayal. I also enjoyed the history of dramatic performances and who played whom in past productions.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very Potent for a "Comedy", October 1, 2002

By 

Chris Salzer (Gainesville, GA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Merchant of Venice (Folger Shakespeare Library) (Mass Market Paperback)

The New Folger Library delivers again. I will not buy any Shakespeare from any other publisher - Signet Classics or anyone else. Folger has the best version hands down with its useful words and phrases on the left-hand page to help you out if necessary and give you a deeper understanding of the many references to outdated historical religious figures Shakespeare includes in The Merchant of Venice.

A "Comedy"? I know technically its a comedy, but nonetheless with the less than comical themes of greed, morality, and anti-semitism, its hardly a laugh riot. Au contraire, it is Shakespeare's tour de force amongst his many enchanting comedies - much more potent and provocative than Midsummer Night's Dream. It's a shame it is banned in many high schools and colleges throughout the U.S. due to its supposed anti-semitism. A must read for any Shakespeare enthusiast.

"A pound of flesh is the bond."