The Merchant of Venice - William Shakespeare - 1596
Introduction
The Merchant of Venice, by Elizabethan playwright William Shakespeare, ranks among the most popular and frequently performed of the Bard's thirty-seven plays. Because of its presentation of a single character—Shylock, a Jewish moneylender—it is also his most controversial. In Shylock, Shakespeare created one of the most memorable, timeless characters in theatrical history, a dramatic figure so important that he has become a milestone role in the careers of mature actors. By pitting Shylock against a play full of Christians, Shakespeare also created a remarkable dramatic vehicle for exploring issues of race, religion, and prejudice.
The play likely dates from 1596 or 1597 and is one of what critics call Shakespeare's "great" or "middle" comedies, which he wrote during a fruitful period from roughly 1596 to 1601, a group of plays including works such as A Midsummer Night's Dream, As You Like It, and Twelfth Night. As was common in Shakespeare's day, the play was not an original plot but was based on two older tales. Specifically, an Italian work called Il Pecorone provided Shakespeare with his plot involving Antonio, Bassanio, Portia, and Shylock, while a number of stories, including the famous Decameron by Italian writer Boccaccio, provided the story related to selecting caskets to win a lady's hand in marriage.
