Literary Commentary

Barnet, Sylvan, ed. Twentieth-Century Interpretations of "The Merchant of Venice"': A Collection of Critical Essays. Englewood Cliffs, N. J.: Prentice-Hall, 1970, 122 p.

A collection of essays by prominent critics on various topics concerning The Merchant of Venice.

Bentson, Alice N. "Portia, the Law, and the Tripartite Structure of 'The Merchant of Venice'." Shakespeare Quarterly 30, No.3 (Summer 1979): 367-85.

Argues that Portia is the central character of the play, considering her the drama's protector of law in both the civil sphere of Venice and the natural sphere of Belmont, rather than the embodiment of mercy.

Grebanier, Bernard. The Truth about Shylock New York: Random House, 1962, 369 p.

Reconstructs Elizabethan attitudes toward Jews and the practice of usury, determining how much this climate of opinion affected Shakespeare's writing of The Merchant of Venice. Grebanier also offers a critical analysis of the play, which he interprets as...