Study Guide for Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice

Online Texts

Text of The Merchant of Venice (from the University of Virginia's Electronic Text Center):  web version | e-book | Palm
   

Other Online Resources

Internet Medieval Sourcebook:  Medieval Jewish Life

Shakespeare and Anti-Semitism

RealVideo version of The Merchant of Venice:  Part 1 *** Part 2 

ExxonMobil Masterpiece Theatre guide to The Merchant of Venice (PBS)

Course Resources Available on Blackboard 

Optional Discussion Board on course reading assignments (under Communication).  Use this area to discuss the plays with your classmates and the course instructor.  Submit questions here about issues we weren't able to discuss in class, or questions you have for the instructor that might be of interest to other students.

Discussion Questions for The Merchant of Venice

• The language of this play is dominated by references to money and value.  How do these references contribute to your understanding of changes in the marketplace in Elizabethan England, and how do the play's economic themes extend beyond the marketplace and raise questions about the value of life and love?
• What do you make of Shakespeare's apparent anti-Semitism in this play?  Does Shakespeare do anything to humanize Shylock?  How has our perception of this play been affected by our knowledge of the Holocaust?
• What are the comic elements of this play?  Do you find it extremely funny or amusing?  Do the jokes and love themes conquer the darker elements of the play?
• Is Shylock a kind of scapegoat for the Christians?  In what ways is Shylock different from the Christians, and in what ways is he similar?
• Where is the "green world" in this play, and what happens there?  How does the "green world" action affect affairs in Venice?  How do escapist and realistic views of the world come into conflict in this play?
• What kind of character is Portia?  How does she compare to other female characters you have encountered in Shakespeare?
• How does this play contribute to your understanding of the themes of justice and mercy?

Bibliography

(You must be on a computer connected to the university network to access most of these links.)

Film Versions