Shylock: A Legend and Its Legacy [Paperback]

John Gross (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 4, 1994

Never has one character of the stage provoked such controversy or achieved such infamy as Shakespeare's enigmatic Shylock. For four centuries the money lender of "The Merchant of Venice" has been reinvented as both villain and victim, as an object of tragedy and comedy, and has been used as an economic symbol and often as a lightning rod for anti-Semitism. But what was Shakespeare's attitude toward the character described on the play's title page in 1600 as "a man of extreme crueltie", and what should be our own? With brilliant historical perspective and insight, theater critic John Gross explores the complex and influential history that has given Shylock a life beyond the play and established him as a figure of world mythology. Illuminating Shylock's evolution on the stage, his importance to writers and psychologists, and his enduring influence on society and culture, John Gross sheds as much light on our own shifting attitudes and beliefs as on the rich and disquieting figure Shakespeare created.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Gross sheds new light on Shakespeare and anti-Semitism in this valuable and entertaining study of attitudes toward the Bard's Jewish usurer.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Amazingly, Shylock is in only five scenes in the Merchant of Venice. Yet, as pointed out by Gross, the theater critic for the London Sunday Telegraph , his impact and significance transcend his physical presence, so much so that his name and "pound of flesh" idea are almost universally known. In the first part of this character/cultural study, Gross examines the antecedents of Shylock and the play, and his development within the play. The second part considers "interpretations" both theatrical and literary in England and America until World War II; the third part considers Shylock more broadly as a touchstone (e.g., how his "type" is used by the Victorians--Trollope's Lopez, Dickens's Riah, Ruskin's use of him in Munera Pulveris ). There's not much new here--Shylock and Merchant of Venice have both consumed tons of interpretive ink--but the book is readable and puts a lot of sundry information in one place. For collections heavy in Shakespeariana and/or Judaica.
- Robert E. Brown, Onondaga Cty. P.L., Syracuse, N.Y.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Touchstone (January 4, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0671883860
• ISBN-13: 978-0671883867
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,130,592 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Shylock in Context, February 21, 2005

By 

Michael Sharpston (Washington, DC United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Shylock: A Legend and Its Legacy (Hardcover)

John Gross' work is very readable, yet also very scholarly. We learn about the real situation of Jews in Venice, the real role of "usury" (despite official attitudes to it) in Elizabethan England. The ties to traditional dark Medieval myths about Jews are explained. Also we are told about famous performances of Shylock, including by Jewish actors. Anyone interested in the stage, Shakespeare, great characters, or Jews and the myths about them ... will want to own this book.