Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.57 AVERAGE
3.57 AVERAGE
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
interesting for class discussion and portia is iconic but obviously the plot was horrible and anti-semitic
Content Warnings
Graphic: Antisemitism
challenging
informative
reflective
medium-paced
I encountered a resistance to reading this. The idea that matters could pivot because of a man being Jewish, that somehow it was his just deserts that he be stripped of family and fortune was repulsive to me. I am naïve. I live in Indiana but to behold such wonderful language and to see it crafted around caricatures and offer slurs, that was challenging to read.
I much prefer Marlowe's Jew of Malta, that has a high body count and a rhetorical flourish whereas aside from Portia the cast of Merchant appears sober. I was in fact enamored with Portia, honoring her bondage to her dead father, aware of her own caprice towards her servants and looking at matrimony as yet another tether--though one lithe and in good favor. Apparently the source material had Portia drugging her suitors after sex and stealing their loot.
There were a few shortcomings. Antonio is a rather wooden prop to advance the plot. Yet again we find major characters dupe everyone with false mustaches.
I much prefer Marlowe's Jew of Malta, that has a high body count and a rhetorical flourish whereas aside from Portia the cast of Merchant appears sober. I was in fact enamored with Portia, honoring her bondage to her dead father, aware of her own caprice towards her servants and looking at matrimony as yet another tether--though one lithe and in good favor. Apparently the source material had Portia drugging her suitors after sex and stealing their loot.
There were a few shortcomings. Antonio is a rather wooden prop to advance the plot. Yet again we find major characters dupe everyone with false mustaches.
Fun to re-read this classic from my past. I am always amazed at the insight into human nature that comes through in these plays and the poetry of his words that continue to resonate. A classic that is good for book discussion. It helps to hear it so I watched the DVD as well as read the story line in the Charles Lamb book Tales of Shakespeare.
It has been read and over-read for school till it has lost all its dramatic value for me. But the true fact of the matter is that Shylock is an everlasting character who will never erase himself from common memory.
challenging
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
relaxing
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Loveable characters:
Yes
i spent this play actively rooting against every “protagonist,” and their happy ending left a really bad taste in my mouth