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Replies | Post Reply | Shakespeare Queries From Genuinely Interested Students 3.15.97: Top | Help
Hello! I am glad to be back among you,The law of Venice was, as Portia reminds us, that if an alien threatens a citizen, and Jews of course were
aliens, that he could be prosecuted and put to death. Yet Shylock does threaten Antonio knowing full well
that at any moment that aspect of the law could be brought to bear. Of course he would know such a matter
of daily existence just as surely as apartheid laws were known by the black people of South Africa. Yet he
takes his chance before the court. Why would he do this? To show that the Venetian judgments are more
mercenary than prejudicial? That may be a message but hardly worth risking one's life over. (Mercy does not
enter into it without Portia and she acts upon the court only indirectly by asking SHYLOCK for mercy.)
Was Shylock prepared to take this chance solely to kill Antonio? Why, he would have had much better
security in this by hiring an assassin. The reason that Shylock takes this public measure is obvious : He
WANTS to appear before the court by any means and if it entails saying something outrageous against a
citizen, so be it. And why does he want to be before the court; what makes him "content", "sick" as he is?
To make sure that the inheritance of Jessica is secure! How else was a Jew to accomplish that?We look at "The Merchant of Venice" without taking into account the known historical conditions of the
Jews that existed at the time of Shakespeare or the time of the action . Also we fail to recognize the
MANNERISM that is a part of the Bard's preparation for a drama and paricularly this one - and perhaps
most unforgivable, from the actors among us, is the possibility of reading lines and moving so as to
emphasize multiple meanings as the players interact with their protagonists. Thus we continue , stubbornly,
to misread and badly act this play.
Florence AmitPosted by Florence Amit on March 20, 1997 at 04:25:02
In Reply to "Order in the Court ! : A Reflection on Law and Ethics" posted by Alfred M. Meneses on March 18, 1997 at 23:04:43
Replies | Post Reply | Shakespeare Queries From Genuinely Interested Students 3.15.97: Top | Help