tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3763524608484932801.post9109719097470525129..comments2024-02-06T23:18:42.946-08:00Comments on Shakespeare Calling: Merchant of Venice Us and ThenRuby Jandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12107354716859269385noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3763524608484932801.post-70515786949236404802012-11-26T11:24:58.269-08:002012-11-26T11:24:58.269-08:00I might just correct myself. The Vidal's novel...I might just correct myself. The Vidal's novel mentioned should really be "Julian", of course.Alexanderhttp://www.librarything.com/profile/Waldsteinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3763524608484932801.post-55254047815974892362012-11-26T02:34:00.996-08:002012-11-26T02:34:00.996-08:00Interesting connection to Sleuth! And thanks for y...Interesting connection to Sleuth! And thanks for your thoughtful discussion of M of V and “Us and Them”.Ruby Jandhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12107354716859269385noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3763524608484932801.post-62649844874219081022012-11-25T15:58:45.651-08:002012-11-25T15:58:45.651-08:00What Shakespeare has shown us is a view into a soc...<i>What Shakespeare has shown us is a view into a society in which the Christians are hypocritical and as merciless as the Jewish man they accuse of being merciless. Could it be that which has caused so much discomfort and unease in readers and audiences in modern times? And does, still</i><br /><br />Perceptive! Very perceptive indeed! Refreshingly different anti-Christian attitude, often neglected because people are just blinded by the supposed anti-Semitism of the play. Like Gore Vidal's in "Creation", except that the opposite point of view there is paganism.<br /><br />I consider "The Merchant" every bit as anti-Semitic as "Othello" is racist or "Macbeth" is misogynistic. In other words, not at all. <br /><br />The tricky, if a bit pointless, question is what Shakespeare wanted to achieve with this play. Did he simply want to give his audience a fine drama/comedy without bothering at all about anything else? Did he share the pro-Christian and anti-Jewish attitude of his audience? Did he want to teach his audience a lesson in humanity and humility (that went completely above their heads)? Did he want the first but did the third in spite of himself? I really don't know.<br /><br />My main problem with the play is that Shylock is much too compelling a character. Again, whether Shakespeare intended this, or the Jew got the better of him in the process of writing, I can only guess at. But after the scenes with Shylock and Antonio I find it very difficult to bother myself with the flirtations of Bassanio and Portia, not to mention Lorenzo and Jessica. Much effort has been expended on integrating the subplots, yet to me they seem to belong to separate plays. <br /><br />But I may well be missing something... Difficult play. Ambiguous. <br /><br />On the question of money, in his introduction to the play in the current Penguin Shakespeare Peter Holland provides some telling statistics. Shakespeare uses "ducat" and its plural 59 times in ten plays; 33 of these are in the "The Merchant" alone. Pretty impressive! Disturbingly strong reminder how much of our lives is ruled by money. <br /><br />By the way, something similar, albeit much subtler, is one of the chief themes in Anthony Shaffer's "Sleuth". The difference in wealth between Andrew and Milo is constantly emphasised, usually to a great dramatic effect:<br /><br /><i>MILO: So she's used to luxury. Whose fault is that?<br />ANDREW: It's not a fault if you can afford it. But can you?</i><br /><br />(This was transferred more or less verbatim into the 1972 movie. Note the slight pause before and the deceptively casual tone of Larry's "But can you?")<br /><br />It is not a little sad that the creator of the great detective St. John Lord Merrydew finally manages to convince the younger man to take part in his burglary games largely on pecuniary basis: smartly playing on his humble origins and selling him the nonsense (or is it nonsense really?) that he can't afford to keep the woman he's in love with if he doesn't provide her with the lavish lifestyle she is accustomed to. But that's too much off-topic!Alexanderhttp://www.librarything.com/profile/Waldsteinnoreply@blogger.com