Merchant of Venice

Edited, introduced and annotated by Cedric Watts, Professor of English Literature, University of Sussex.The Wordsworth Classics' Shakespeare Series presents a newly-edited sequence of William Shakespeare's works. The textual editing takes account of recent scholarship while giving the material a careful reappraisal.The Merchant of Venice is one of Shakespeare's most popular comedies, but it remains deeply controversial.The text may seem anti-Semitic; yet repeatedly, in performance, it has revealed a contrasting nature.Shylock, though vanquished in the law-court, often triumphs in the theatre. In his intensity he can dominatethe play, challenging abrasively its romantic and lyrical affirmations. What results is a bitter-sweet drama.Though The Merchant of Venice offers some of the traditional pleasures of romantic comedy, it also exposesthe operations of prejudice. Thus Shakespeare remains our contemporary.