You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
jeanetterenee 's review for:
The Merchant of Venice
by William Shakespeare
About time for a comedy in my stay-at-home Shakespeare Festival.
This is rather more serious than Shakespeare's other comedies, but you know it's not a tragedy because nobody dies.
I've seen this play on stage two or three times and never caught how uncharitable Shakespeare really was toward Shylock. But the Modern Perspective piece at the end of this version does explain that Shakespeare probably never actually even saw a Jew in person in his lifetime. He was going along with the general sentiment of the times. Still, it seems extreme to make Shylock agree to become a Christian as part of his payment/punishment. No doubt this played well to the crowds 400 years ago.
Back in Shakespeare's day, all of the characters were played by males, including the female roles. So it makes me laugh to think about the man playing Portia in The Merchant of Venice. When Portia disguises herself as "Balthazar," the actor back then would have been a man pretending to be a woman pretending to be a man! :D :D
This is rather more serious than Shakespeare's other comedies, but you know it's not a tragedy because nobody dies.
I've seen this play on stage two or three times and never caught how uncharitable Shakespeare really was toward Shylock. But the Modern Perspective piece at the end of this version does explain that Shakespeare probably never actually even saw a Jew in person in his lifetime. He was going along with the general sentiment of the times. Still, it seems extreme to make Shylock agree to become a Christian as part of his payment/punishment. No doubt this played well to the crowds 400 years ago.
Back in Shakespeare's day, all of the characters were played by males, including the female roles. So it makes me laugh to think about the man playing Portia in The Merchant of Venice. When Portia disguises herself as "Balthazar," the actor back then would have been a man pretending to be a woman pretending to be a man! :D :D