Category: The Merchant of Venice

The Merchant of Venice is a play by William Shakespeare, written in the late 16th century. The story follows the merchant Antonio, who borrows money from a Jewish moneylender named Shylock to help his friend Bassanio win the heart of the wealthy Portia. When Antonio cannot repay the loan, Shylock demands a pound of his flesh as payment, leading to a dramatic court case. The play explores themes of prejudice, justice, and mercy and is known for its complex and controversial portrayal of the Jewish character Shylock. Ultimately, the play ends with a resolution that emphasizes forgiveness and mercy.

Browse the text of The Merchant of Venice entire play here.

Masters Of Their Wealth

~ duane ~ 1 Comment

So I proposed a question on Twitter the other day:

Which Shakespearean character is most associated with tremendous wealth? Nothing symbolic or metaphorical, I’m talking about good old-fashioned net worth. Shylock’s not really what I’m looking for.

https://twitter.com/ShakespeareGeek

I don’t particularly think of Shylock as wealthy, but I do think of him as being “all about the ducats.” In theory, somebody who’s very … careful? … with their money is a potential candidate for someone who is very wealthy. But I wasn’t looking for technicalities, I was looking for a character that just screamed, “Look how rich I am.”

The responses on Twitter were intriguing, and much more varied than I would have expected! There was one in particular I assumed would win (do you have the same one in mind?) so I was pleasantly surprised to see the other contenders…

Each Receiving One Vote

Orsino and Olivia from Twelfth Night each got a vote (in two separate responses from two separate people).

Lord Capulet from Romeo and Juliet and Baptista from Taming of the Shrew each got a vote, because if you’re going to woo a young Shakespearean lady, make sure she’s got a rich dad.

Speaking of Shylock, Antonio from Merchant of Venice got a vote, with the caveat that he basically lost it all.

Julius Caesar was emperor of Rome, and you have to figure that’s a pretty wealthy position to be in, even if it’s not explicitly discussed in the play.

Tamora (Titus Andronicus) made the list as well, though I don’t know enough about the play to speak to why.

How about Falstaff (Henry IV)? Anybody ever think of him as wealthy? He got a vote.

Receiving Two Votes

Portia, from Merchant of Venice, gets more votes than Antonio for being in the “super-rich tier” where suitors are bankrupting themselves wooing her.

“Any of the English kings” was mentioned, though Richard II specifically was called out twice.

Three Votes

Speaking of kings, King Lear got three votes. At the beginning, maybe, sure.

The Runner Up with Five Votes

Guesses? Anybody? Cleopatra (Antony and Cleopatra) garnered much praise, what with her “poop of beaten gold” and everything.

And the Winner is …

With a whopping ELEVEN votes, more than double any other contender, our winner for “Shakespearean character most associated with tremendous wealth” is …

Timon of Athens! Exactly who we thought it would be when we asked the question :). “Easy,” said one response. “Definitely the most obvious,” said another.

But there was a reason why I asked in the first place, too. People also commented “at least on paper” and “maybe in principle”, too. “At least in the beginning,” several responses noted. I was curious whether he’s generally regarded as wealthy, or as someone who lost it all. Now I guess we know the answer!

You’d think he can afford nicer clothes.

Not By Shakespeare : Little Candles and Weary Worlds

~ duane ~ 3 Comments

I’ve been auto posting a bunch of Shakespeare quotes to Twitter lately, and watching the analytics to see which ones people seem to like most.  A popular one was:

How far that little candle throws its beams! So shines a good deed in a naughty world. – Merchant of Venice (Act V, Scene I)

I thought I’d make a new t-shirt out of it. But the more I looked at it the more I thought, “Wait, did Shakespeare really use the word naughty?  Let me double check.” Because if there’s one thing I can’t stand it’s when I make a mistake on a Shakespeare quote.

I start typing “So shines a good deed” into Google and helpful Google pops up in autocomplete “in a weary world.”

Oh! Ok, that makes more sense I suppose.  Then I thought, shoot, did I tweet the wrong quote?  So I force Google to search “in a naughty world”.  Sure enough, hits for that one too!

What’s going on?

When in doubt, off to the First Folio we go!

Interesting! It’s the same in Q1 (I like to check there as well because sometimes it changed!)

So then where did weary come into it?  Though this may not have been the first example of the mistake, you’ll soon see why it’s so popular:

Mr. Wonka’s not the only one weary of this naughty world. Google tells me that “weary” is actually the more popular of the two!

Bardfilm’s got a theory that “naughty” was simply edited down for a the kids’ film.  From what I can tell, he’s not wrong. He’s a 2005 “Straight Dope” post about the topic:

It goes on to say that Setzer tweaked the line, probably to be less archaic and more reflective of Wonka’s character.

(The original link the researcher found is dead.)

I’m ok with this answer – it’s better than, “They changed it because they felt like it.”  The movie is over, and this is the big climactic moment for Wilder’s character.  Is his primary thought that the world is a naughty place?  Or is he just so very tired of it being that way?  Not to spoil the ending but he’s about to make some decisions that answer that question.

Explore more Not By Shakespeare posts!

Shakespeare Uncovered Returns This Friday

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Who’s excited for the return of Shakespeare Uncovered?

WNET’s Shakespeare Uncovered returns to PBS for its third and final season on Friday, October 12!

The series, which covers the fascinating history behind Shakespeare’s greatest plays, will feature six installments hosted by celebrated names such as Helen Hunt, F. Murray Abraham, Romola Garai, Brian Cox, Simon Russell Beale, and Sir Antony Sher.

Each episode will tell the stories behind the stories of Shakespeare’s famous works and will investigate “Much Ado About Nothing,” “The Merchant of Venice,” “Measure for Measure,” “Julius Caesar,” “The Winter’s Tale,” and “Richard III.” 

The show will air Fridays, October 12-26 on PBS (check local listings) and stream the following day at pbs.org/shakespeareuncovered and on PBS apps.