The Merchant of Venice

ISBN-13: 9780393925296 / Angielski / Miękka / 2005 / 368 str.

William Shakespeare

Opis

"Sources and Contexts" largely focuses on the character of Shylock and the issue of anti-Semitism in the play. Materials included are diverse, and at times contradictory, allowing readers to draw their own conclusions. Examples include seventeenth-century anti-Semitic literature, an essay from the same period defending Jews and arguing for their repatriation in England, an examination of the Christian theology of the play, and readings ofThe Merchant of Venice as exclusionary for Jews, women, and people of color. "Criticism" collects twenty-one diverse interpretations. In addition to Shylock and the question of anti-Semitism, these essays address The Merchant of Venice in the context of postcolonial, feminist, and queer theory and explore relevant issues of economic status and organization "Rewritings and Appropriations" includes excerpts from dramatic, musical, and other literary adaptations ofThe Merchant of Venice, as well as a selection of poems, most of them from the twentieth century, on the character of Shylock. A Selected Bibliography is also included.

O autorze

William Shakespeare (1564-1616) gilt als einer der größten Dichter und Dramatiker der Weltgeschichte. Er verfasste zahlreiche Dramen, Tragödien, Komödien und Gedichte, mit denen er schon zu Lebzeiten Anerkennung und Wohlstand errang. Aber erst in den folgenden Jahrhunderten wurde er zum Prototypen des literarischen Genies, ohne den die Entwicklung der neueren Literatur von Goethe über Brecht bis in die Gegenwart hinein undenkbar ist.