Name of the Jew

Shakespeare has three Jews to name in The Merchant of Venice.

  • Of the three, Shylock’s daughter Jessica has the nearest to a Jewish personal name. In the Bible, Abraham’s brother has a wife named Iscah, which is a root for the modern name of Jessica.
  • While Tubal may sound as if it is Jewish, it is not a personal name. There is a reference in Genesis to Tubal, but it is the name of a nation or region, not of a person.
  • The primary Jew of the work, Shylock does not have a Jewish name, either. There is no record of a Jew named Shylock. It’s a complete fabrication, though it has stood the test of time, becoming a recognized term in the common vernacular, standing for any greedy creditor.Now, while the name is a complete fabrication, it does have a link to a Hebrew word, shalakh. The term is used in the Bible twice (in Leviticus and Deuteronomy) both in reference to a sea-bird that is now recognized as the cormorant, which eats so intensely that it has come be a symbol for greed and voraciousness.

Interesting, no?

Podcast 52: The Mechant of Venice… the Plot

This week’s podcast begins our month-long discussion of The Merchant of Venice with a plot synopsis and our usual discussion of this week’s blog entries.
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BSP YouTube Channel Update

As we delve deeper into The Merchant of Venice, just a quick note to let you all know that we’ve updated our BSP YouTube page , to include a Merchant-centric playlist , which includes an otherwise-unavailable production of the play with Laurence Olivier as Shylock Laurence Olivier as Shylock…

Enjoy!

Act Five: Ball Busting

The short Act Five of The Merchant of Venice (the shortest act in the play) contains but a single scene, back at the Belmont. The scene begins with Lorenzo and Jessica trading references to classical lovers (Troilus/Cressida, Pyramus/Thisby, Aeneas/Dido Medea/Jason), jokingly comparing their own relationship to others’. This conversation is interrupted by the news of the return of the newlyweds (the men–including Antonio–from Venice, the women from by the “holy crosses where she kneels and prays” [V.i.31]).

The women arrive first, followed immediately by the men. Within seconds of their reunion, Gratiano is defending himself to Nerissa’s anger over his not having the ring she gave him.

And so it begins.
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Act Four: The Trial

The vast majority of The Merchant of Venice‘s two-scene fourth act comes in the act’s first scene (455 vs 19 lines), and this is the trial scene, in which Antonio faces his fate under Shylock’s contract.

The Duke of Venice presides over the trial, and tells Shylock that “the world thinks” (IV.i.17) Shylock will push his point to the end of the trial then “show (his) mercy” (IV.i.20). The Duke goes on to talk of “human gentleness and love” (IV.i.25), concluding, “We all expect a gentle answer, Jew” (IV.i.34).
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Act Three: Wheel of Fortune

Act Three, Scene One of The Merchant of Venice finds us back in Venice with our “reporters” Solanio and Salarino with rumors that Antonio has lost a ship. When Shylock arrives, they insult him; in response to this, Shylock repeatedly warns them that Antonio will need to “look to his bond” (III.i.45,46,47-48). There is no doubt that Shylock means to collect his pound of flesh. And why? Because it will feed his “revenge” (III.i.50). Shylock uses the “turnabout fair play” argument in his defense, saying

If a Jew wrong a Christian, what is his humility? Revenge. If a Christian wrong a Jew, what should his sufferance be by Christian example? Why, revenge. The villainy you teach me, I will execute, and it shall go hard but I will better the instruction.

— III.i.63-67

A messenger from Antonio calls Salarino and Solanio away, as Tubal, one of Shylock’s friends, arrives with news of Antonio’s “ill luck” (III.i.90).

this is the midpoint, dead center, of the play… don’t think we won’t talk about THAT later in the month…

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Act Two: Little Women

Act Two of The Merchant of Venice is the longest in the play (slightly longer than Act Three). If the focus of the first act was our Merchant, Antonio, the same cannot be said of the second act: Antonio appears in just one of the nine scenes of the act, and then speaks only two lines. So who then does this act turn the focus upon? Two women:

  • Portia, the object of Bassanio’s love, whom we met in Act One, Scene Two
  • Jessica, the daughter of Shylock.

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Act One: The Merchant

Despite the general public’s assumption that the title character of The Merchant of Venice is Shylock, the first speaker of the play, in a line that can only be described as a quiet opening opening, is our Merchant, Antonio:

In sooth, I know not why I am so sad.

— I.i.1

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Podcast Substitute: Sources

OK, it’s only the third of the month, and a little early to cut loose our first podcast for The Merchant of Venice; so in lieu of that, let me give you a little background on the background of Merchant.
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