Reading Order
The Merchant of Venice Reading Order
The Merchant of Venice (c. 1596–1597) by William Shakespeare is the most controversial of Shakespeare's comedies — a play that simultaneously operates as a romantic comedy (Portia and Bassanio's courtship, the three caskets, the romantic resolution) and as a study of Shylock, the Jewish moneylender who has become one of the most discussed characters in world literature. Antonio, the merchant of the title, borrows money from Shylock using as collateral a pound of flesh; when Antonio's ships are lost at sea and he cannot repay the debt, Shylock demands his pound of flesh. Portia, disguised as a lawyer, defeats Shylock in court on a technicality: he may cut no more or less than exactly one pound and no blood may be spilled. Shylock is stripped of his money and forced to convert to Christianity. The play's treatment of Shylock has been the subject of debate since at least the 18th century: is Shylock a villain, a victim, or both? His speech ('Hath not a Jew eyes?') articulates a claim to common humanity that the play's comic resolution immediately undercuts. The Merchant of Venice was performed in German-occupied territories during the Nazi period as anti-Semitic propaganda; it has also been performed as an indictment of anti-Semitism. No single reading settles the play's ambiguity.
Where to start
The Merchant of Venice (c. 1596–1597) — the Arden Third Series (ed. John Drakakis) or the Oxford edition are standard. Best reading order: read the play in one sitting; watch both the 1980 BBC production with Warren Mitchell as Shylock and the 2004 film with Al Pacino for the contrast between a sympathetic and a more ambivalent Shylock.
Complete The Merchant of Venice Book List
- 1Buy
The Merchant of Venice
William Shakespeare (Arden Third Series, ed. John Drakakis)·2010·The definitive modern scholarly edition — Drakakis's Arden text has the most comprehensive treatment of the play's anti-Semitism debates and its performance history - 2Buy
The Merchant of Venice (film)
Michael Radford (dir.)·2004·The film adaptation with Al Pacino as Shylock — Radford's production opens with a prologue establishing the legal status of Jews in Venice; Pacino's Shylock is the most sympathetic major performance of the role in film - 3Buy
The Shylock Question
Julius Bab·1927·The early 20th century German-Jewish critic's account of the history of Shylock performances — essential for understanding the play's performance history and how Shylock has been portrayed across three centuries - 4Buy
Shylock Is My Name
Howard Jacobson·2016·The Hogarth Shakespeare retelling in which a contemporary Shylock appears in contemporary Cheshire — Jacobson's reworking is the most sustained meditation on the character and his meaning by a major Jewish novelist - 5Buy
The Jew of Malta
Christopher Marlowe·1592·The Marlowe play that preceded and shaped Shakespeare's Shylock — Barabas the Jew of Malta is the theatrical predecessor of Shylock; reading both together reveals how Shakespeare both drew on and departed from Marlowe's more cartoonishly villainous Jewish character - 6Buy
The Diary of a Young Girl
Anne Frank·1947·The historical document that gives the context for why The Merchant of Venice is so difficult to perform after the Holocaust — Anne Frank's diary is the most immediate reminder of what happened to Jewish people in Europe and why the play's anti-Semitic elements cannot be treated as simply conventional
The Merchant of Venice — Frequently Asked Questions
What is The Merchant of Venice about?
The Merchant of Venice (c. 1596–1597) by William Shakespeare runs two plots simultaneously. In the romantic plot, Bassanio woos the wealthy Portia through the 'three caskets' test (choosing between gold, silver, and lead) and wins her. To fund his courtship, Bassanio borrows money from his friend Antonio, who borrows from the moneylender Shylock against a bond of a pound of flesh. When Antonio's ships are lost and he cannot repay, Shylock demands the bond. Portia, disguised as a lawyer, defeats Shylock in court: he may cut exactly one pound of flesh but no blood and no more or less than a pound; Shylock is stripped of his money and forced to convert to Christianity. The play is the most controversial of Shakespeare's comedies for its treatment of Shylock, whose 'Hath not a Jew eyes?' speech claims common humanity while the comic plot denies it.
What is Shylock's 'Hath not a Jew eyes' speech about?
Shylock's speech in Act Three, Scene One ('Hath not a Jew eyes? Hath not a Jew hands, organs, dimensions, senses, affections, passions?') is his claim to common humanity after learning that his daughter Jessica has eloped with a Christian and taken his money. He argues that Jews feel pain, desire revenge, and share all human characteristics — therefore if Christians can wrong Jews, Jews can be expected to wrong Christians in return. The speech is one of the most quoted in Shakespeare and one of the most debated: it is simultaneously the most powerful claim to Jewish humanity in Elizabethan literature and a preparation for announcing that Shylock will demand his pound of flesh. The speech's context — justifying revenge — complicates its use as a simple statement of equality.
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