University of Virginia professor Paul Cantor, curator of the Shakespeare and Politics website (thegreatthinker..., in the second of three lectures on The Merchant of Venice.
Also shakespeare seems to know about the stereotype of the jew as a good husband. He doesn't give the ring and he is not impressed with the "Christian husbands" who are quick to give up not only their rings, but the whole wife.
I'm listening to every lecture in these series, and I love them. Especially the moments of humour here and there, like in this video at 1:06:00 ... Hilarious!
I enjoyed lecture and found your insights incredibly interesting. But how can you miss that shylock's refusal to eat and pray with the Christians is what makes him hated. He will not pray to a trinity, nor eat unkosher food. Then he wants them to accept him as similar to them. You have managed to convince me somewhat that the play is not AS anti Semitic as I previously thought but it is not THAT phylosemitic.
While 'tis true comedy ends in marriage, and that marriage often means outsmarting fathers, a better read of MoV is the original argument that the merchants in Venice mean to take advantage of Portia's wealth (probably they've learned in which box is her picture). Tthe sub-plot is to take advantage of Jessica's wealth, which enrages Shylock to the point of stabbing his business "partner" in the back.
Not only does shylock show principle by not accepting the 6000 in the courtroom but also when he insists on giving Antonio the loan for free in the first place. But Antonio is a man of principle too. He REFUSES the frienship of the jew and prefers to offer his flesh.
