6 – 20 march 2014

teachers’ Notes Writing the Merchant of Venice

Antonio: Shakespeare and Queen Elizabeth I I hold the world but as the world, Gratiano, A stage where every man must play a part, Queen Elizabeth I (1533-1603, r. 1558-1603), the so-called And mine a sad one. ‘Virgin Queen’, had been on the throne almost 40 years. After The Merchant of Venice (1.1.77-78) the turmoil of the reign of her father Henry VIII, this ‘golden age’ was proving to be a time of considerable advancement Shakespeare: Actor, Playwright, Poet for England in both exploration and colonisation (the Americas), military power (the defeat of the Spanish Armada), The Merchant of Venice is thought to be written around 1596-7. science, literature and music. William Shakespeare was by then a leading member and chief playwright of acting troupe the Lord Chamberlain’s Men. The Shakespeare’s company enjoyed the patronage of the Queen. Lord Chamberlain’s Men and another company, the Lord He performed in two comedies before the Queen at the Royal Admiral’s Men, performed regularly at court during festive Palace, Greenwich, in December 1594; Love’s Labour’s Lost occasions. The Lord Chamberlain’s Men also performed at was performed for her on December 26, 1597. The Theatre in Shoreditch, built by James Burbage in 1576). It was with this company that Shakespeare was a shareholder It is no surprise that Shakespeare chose to have strong, and would later become a ‘house’ holder in the Globe central female characters in The Merchant of Venice, As You Theatre, built in Southwark in 1599 from the timbers of the Like It and Much Ado About Nothing. While this may have demolished Theatre. said something about the talent of boys in Shakespeare’s company, it also demonstrates the potential of Elizabeth I as Although the exact date of composition of many of a powerful role model in the mid to late sixteenth century. Shakespeare’s works is difficult to determine, by this time Some scholars speculate that perhaps Portia, in particular, he had written such famous plays as Titus Andronicus and was written with the strong attributes of the Queen in mind. The Taming of the Shrew (1593-4), Romeo and Juliet and A Midsummer Night’s Dream (1594-6), as well as the poem Venus and Adonis (1593).

For a detailed timeline of Shakespeare’s life and works, see A Shakespeare Timeline Summary Chart. For an interactive version, see Routledge’s Interactive Timeline. Or why not visit our Globe shop and purchase a timeline poster for your classroom?

Shakespeare: Man of Property

We know Shakespeare was quite well off because in October 1596 he was living in Bishopsgate, a genteel area near the Theatre, Curtain and Rose Theatres. A further sign of Shakespeare’s growing prosperity is that in 1597, Shakespeare bought New Place, deemed one of the grandest houses in Stratford-upon-Avon. A record of corn and malt holdings in Stratford-upon-Avon, held by the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, further illustrates Shakespeare’s wealth as his holdings are ‘exceeded only by 13 other of the 75 households’ in the region.

01 Context The Merchant of Venice – Teacher’s Notes The Jews in Early Modern Europe

Shylock: You call me misbeliever, cut-throat dog, It is a great testament to the resilience of the Jews that, And spit upon my Jewish gabardine, despite thousands of years of persecution, their culture and And all for use of that which is mine own. language survive today. Well then, it now appears you need my help. The Merchant of Venice (1.3.105-108) Your school may be eligible for Jewish Museum workshops at a discounted rate (see London Links for more details). Throughout history, the Jews have occupied a tenuous Workshops include: Discovering Judaism and Connecting position in society – theirs is a story of co-existence but Lives. also persecution. An uneasy tension has existed between Christians and Jews since Biblical times. The Jews’ rejection Historian Simon Schama wrote and presented a five-part of Jesus Christ as the Messiah and, therefore, the question series on Jewish history called The Story of the Jews (BBC2). of who was responsible for his death (Goldstein, 2012), is a See bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0392pzx for details and clips. deep-rooted source of conflict. He has also written a book of the same name to accompany the series. The Holocaust is the most well-known, recent example of persecution of the Jews; however the Jews have been For teaching ideas and resources on Anti-Semitism, see persecuted throughout history. Popular Renaissance Facing History and Ourselves. theories about the behaviour of Jews included crimes such as poisoning wells, killing Christian children, spreading the plague and monopolising finance. Like many forms of prejudice, these accusations were more often based on fear than fact.

One way in which Christian countries dealt with their unease over the Jewish presence was to expel Jews from places where they had settled. In 1537, the famous Protestant reformer Martin Luther, upon realising the Jews’ unwillingness to convert to Christianity, petitioned the Prince of Saxony to expel Jews from the region. This is one of a number of times throughout history where Jews have been forced by authorities to migrate: 250 CE Carthage, 325 CE Jerusalem, 415 CE Alexandria, 612 CE Visigoth Spain, 855 CE Italy, 1181 CE France

Other forms of persecution the Jews in Europe suffered included: forced conversions, book burning, property confiscation, vandalisation of synagogues, being burned alive, bans on travel and mass killings.

For a more detailed timeline of Jewish persecution, see the History of Anti-Semitism.

02 Context The Merchant of Venice – Teacher’s Notes The Jews in England (11th Century – 16th Century)

Gratiano: Identifying Marks Thy currish spirit A 1215 Lateran Council ruling under Henry III, reiterated in Governed a wolf, who hanged for human slaughter, 1218, ruled that Jews must wear the tabula, a white piece Even from the gallows did his fell soul fleet, of cloth in the shape of the Ten Commandments, as an And whilst thou layest in thy unhallowed dam, identifying mark. Wealthy Jews were, however, able to ‘buy Infused itself in thee; for thy desires the right not to wear it on behalf of themselves and their Are wolvish, bloody, starved, and ravenous. communities’ (Abulafia, 2013, p. 209). The Merchant of Venice (4.1.133-138) In 1275, Edward I issued a Statutum de Judeismo stipulating Jews have been present in England as early as 1066, when that Jews older than seven were to wear a piece of yellow the establishment of the first Jewish settlement as recorded. taffeta, ‘six fingers long and three broad’, over their heart Jews followed William the Conqueror to Britain from Rouen. (Fishburn, 2007, p. 28).

As in Europe, the Jews faced persecution in England. Coin Clipping They could not own land outside the towns or join guilds. Hundreds of Jews were burnt and executed for crimes Consequently, many turned to money lending, an occupation such as coin clipping. Ralph Holinshed, whose Chronicles of forbidden to Christians. This at least allowed them to have England, Scotland and Ireland was often used by Shakespeare some financial independence in society, though it was a role as a historical source, recorded that in 1278, 297 Jews and for which they were despised. 3 Englishmen were executed because they had ‘clipped, washed and counterfeited the King’s coin’ (Shapiro, 1996, Royal Regulations p. 100). One interesting theory is that people were suspicious of Jews clipping coins because they were also With the rapid increase of anti-Jewish sentiment came stricter fearful of Jewish circumcision – the word used in English government regulations. Henry III’s 1253 Statute Concerning documents for coin clipping, curtus, was also used in relation the Jews set a number of limitations, including: to circumcised Jewish men. This further illustrates the irrationality of the prejudice shown towards the Jews. • Keeping their voices down during synagogue services so as not to upset Christians Expulsion • Christians were not to serve Jews, eat with them or Things came to a head in 1290 when Edward I ordered the live with them • Jews were not to insult or denounce Christianity expulsion of Jews from England. It is estimated that the • No sexual relations were permitted between Jewish population of England at the time was 2000-2500; Christians and Jews the total population of England was 5-6 million (Shapiro, • Jews were not to prevent other Jews from converting 1996, p. 46). to Christianity • Jews needed a royal licence to settle in a new place • If Jews disobeyed these statutes they would forfeit all their possessions

Usury English monarchs imposed regulations on Jews lending money throughout the thirteenth century. Until 1545, usury was defined as charging interest on money lent, and was considered a crime and unchristian. The relaxing of laws against Christian money lending and the imposition of taxes on Jews also contributed to the Jews’ loss of financial power. The authorities realised that prohibiting usury did not discourage it, and so in 1571, Elizabeth I legalized money lending in England, meaning Christians could practice it too. The statute allowed the charging of 10 percent interest on loans to guard against corrupt practices.

03 Context The Merchant of Venice – Teacher’s Notes ‘Secret Jews’ Shakespeare and Jews

Between expulsion and re-admittance in 1656, Jews who There is some debate over the extent to which Shakespeare remained in England were forced to keep a low profile. was familiar with Judaism and Jews, owing to the fact that Records show that after the 1290 expulsion, there were Jews Jews in Elizabethan society were forced to keep their faith who arrived in England from European countries (including secret. Jews were regarded as cultural figures (and rejecters France and Spain) who were baptised and sheltered at of Christianity) of popular imagination, rather than real the Domus Conversorum, the House of Converted Jews people. Society’s negative ideas about Jews were informed by (Jewish Encyclopedia, 2011). Henry VIII declared he would the fears of the past and such representations as Christopher ‘punish soundly any Jew or heretic to be found in his realms’ Marlowe’s unlikeable Barabbas in The Jew of Malta. (Shapiro, 1996, p. 68), although intriguingly, he employed Jewish musicians at Court, including the Bassano family from In other Shakespeare plays, the term ‘Jew’ is used in a Venice. They seemingly managed to survive because they derogatory manner. In Much Ado About Nothing, Benedick married Christians. says about Beatrice: ‘if I do not love her, I am a Jew’ (2.3.253- 4), implying that Jews are heartless. In Henry IV, Part I During the reign of Elizabeth I, there were estimated to be up Falstaff declares ‘or I am a Jew else, an Ebrew Jew’ (2.4.177), to 100 Marranos (secret Jews living as converted Christians) as if this was an insult. in London. Jews in London had to hold services in secret. The most high-profile case of Jewish persecution during Elizabeth I’s reign was that of Roderigo Lopez. Lopez was For further information about the Jews in Britain, visit the a Portuguese doctor who arrived in England in 1559. By Jewish Museum London’s British Jewish History Timeline 1567 he was already the esteemed house physician at St and Jewish Britain: A History in 50 Objects. Bartholomew’s Hospital in London; one of his high-profile Your school may be eligible for Jewish Museum workshops patients was Sir Francis Walsingham, Elizabeth I’s secretary at a discounted rate (see London Links for more details). of state. In 1586, he became the queen’s chief physician. Workshops include: Physicians not only attended to illnesses, they also provided Discovering Judaism cosmetics and beauty care to high-born women, such as Connecting Lives the Queen. Historian Simon Schama wrote and presented a five-part Lopez was tried in 1594 for plotting to poison the queen. series on Jewish history called The Story of the Jews (BBC2). He was known to have been an informer for Sir Francis See bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0392pzx for details and clips. Walsingham, but also possibly a double agent because he had He has also written a book of the same name to accompany contact with the Spanish authorities. At the gallows, Lopez the series. said he loved the Queen and Jesus Christ, but the crowd reportedly responded with ‘He’s a Jew!’. He was hanged, drawn and quartered.

04 Context The Merchant of Venice – Teacher’s Notes Setting: Sixteenth-Century Venice

Antonio: distinction was added in 1569 when the Great Council ruled The duke cannot deny the course of law. that cittadini originari (original citizenship) could be claimed For the commodity that strangers have by those who fathers and grandfathers had been legitimately With us in Venice, if it be denied, born in Venice. These definitions must have made new Will much impeach the justice of the state, arrivals feel like outsiders. Since that the trade and profit of the city Consisteth of all nations. The Social Status of Jews The Merchant of Venice (3.3.26-31) The Jewish population of Venice was made up of immigrants Commerce and Multiculturalism from European countries such as Poland, Bohemia, Spain and Portugal, but also from as far afield as Constantinople During the sixteenth century, Venice was the capital of a and Cairo. Jews could not gain citizenship, and hence were republic and one of the ten most populated cities in Europe, classed as ‘aliens’ (Gross, 1992, p. 26). with as many as 150,000 residents. Venice enjoyed important status in the sixteenth century as a crucial centre for trade Despite being a somewhat intolerant society, Venetian due to its location and proximity to the East. Venice had been authorities did not want to expel Jews because they a site of trade with the Islamic world as early as the ninth recognised their importance to the economy. However, the century, including Egypt, Syria, and Iran, as well as partners authorities did limit their way of life. Jews were deprived of as far away as China, thanks to the Silk Road. the right to own land or houses. As in Elizabethan England, there were strict rules forbidding Christians and Jews from Venice had a reputation for producing many goods, especially sleeping together, eating together and engaging in sexual their high quality woollen textiles and Murano glass, and relations. Thus in The Merchant of Venice, Jessica must make these were exchanged for exotic items such as spices, wine the difficult decision to renounce Judaism in order to marry and salt. Trade was so central to the Venetian economy that Lorenzo. they held ceremonies to pray that their merchant ships would be safe from piracy or tempests – the two most destructive The Jews and the Ghetto forces at sea. Laws confined Jews to living in certain areas. A 1516 decree This east-west exchange also meant that sixteenth-century restricted Jews to living in an area which became known as Venice was a booming, multicultural city. Trade with the the Ghetto, where they paid a third more rent than Christians. East brought exotic visitors, including Egyptians, Ottomans The ghetto was surrounded by high walls and gates guarded and Persian Safavids. It is not surprising that Shakespeare by Christians that were kept closed from sunset to dawn. included princes from Morocco and Aragon in The Merchant During the day, Jews were permitted to venture into the of Venice (not to mention a merchant as the title character). city as moneylenders, sellers of second-hand clothes and providers of medical services for wealthy Venetians. This was Venetian Society on the basis that they wore a distinguishing yellow mark on their chests, and a beret or yellow hat. When Shylock says The presence of foreigners did not necessarily mean that ‘For sufferance is the badge of all our tribe’ (1.3.104) – could sixteenth-century Venice was a tolerant society. Venetian this be a reference to the distinguishing mark Jews had to society was structured and hierarchical. At its apex was the wear? doge, a prince who was elected for life, a representative head who oversaw the Great Council, Senate, Collegio and Council To give a sense of the crowded conditions in which they of Ten. Society was divided into approximately three classes: must have lived, the population density was 662 people per the nobility or gentilhomeni, the ruling class, was an hereditary hectare, compared to 351 people per hectare in the city of group of 200 clans and families; the middle class, the cittadini, Venice. consisting of the general populace of citizens; and the popolani or plebei, the artisans, guildsmen and shopkeepers. Thus there was a clear separation in Venice between A distinction was made between citizens who were Venetian- Christians and Jews, a distinction echoed in The Merchant of born natives (per natione), and those who were granted Venice, though, as Shaul Bassi comments wryly, there is no citizenship, resident aliens – those who lived in Venice explicit mention of the Ghetto in the play. on a long-term basis (per privilegio or per grazia). A further

05 Context The Merchant of Venice – Teacher’s Notes The Jews and Money lending

In 1573 the Venetian court ruled that Jews could continue money lending without having to make annual payments, recognising the important function the Jews played in society as providing funds for the poor and that money lending was a necessary ‘evil’ to facilitate trade.

The ducat, short for ducatus venetorum, was a gold coin and the currency of Venice. In today’s money, a ducat would be worth approximately £100. This would make Shylock’s loan of 3,000 ducats equivalent to £300,000 today – a huge sum. As well, Shylock’s house would probably have been full of treasures as a result of pledges which were not claimed.

Women and Marriage

Portia: Because daughters were viewed as property, fathers O me, the word ‘choose’! I may neither choose whom I cared deeply about their future marriages. Marriage would, nor refuse whom I dislike; so is the will of a living could be consented to at 7 years of age, but could not be daughter curbed by the will of a dead father. consummated until a girl was 12 years old and a boy 14 (1.2.19-22) years, however marrying at such a young age was a rare occurrence. The average age at which members of the Jessica: aristocracy and gentry married was 27 years for men and 25 Farewell, and if my fortune be not crossed, for women. I have a father, you a daughter lost. (2.5.55-56) The Merchant of Venice Women from aristocratic households were often unable to choose their own partners. Many writers in the period Elizabethan England questioned this, and indeed, there are many cases in which daughters had run away from home and eloped with their Despite there being a female monarch, Elizabethan England lovers. This is a theme that interested Shakespeare. Love was a patriarchal society. Women were considered to be is an important value in his plays, and he was preoccupied second-class citizens and there are scores of books, known with the natural human desire to choose one’s own marriage as ‘conduct manuals’ that instruct women how to behave in partner. the home, in public and towards their loved ones. Importance was placed upon a woman’s body as property belonging to Both Portia and Jessica in The Merchant of Venice must deal a man – either her father or husband. Therefore, she was with this issue. The terms of her father’s will prevent Portia supposed to guard her behaviour to avoid shaming and from choosing her spouse; Jessica knows her choice of dishonouring her family name. spouse is going to devastate her father.

The three principles of womanhood in Shakespeare’s time While women had few legal rights, in Protestant England a were: chastity, silence and obedience. To remain a virgin until lot of emphasis was placed upon companionship and love marriage, and then to be a loyal and faithful wife were the within marriage. But Shakespeare never makes it easy for most important goals for a young woman. To listen and not us to decide whether the marriages at the end of his plays speak, was her public duty, but if a woman was spoken to and will achieve such a balance. Portia is enterprising and smart, asked to respond, she should only speak ‘the best of her head’ while Bassanio seems to be too materialistic and somewhat as sixteenth-century writers commented. Finally, if a woman deceptive. Will Portia’s strength and courage help to balance was not obedient and did not listen to her husband or her their relationship? How will Jessica reconcile the treatment father, she was potentially a liability. She could be unruly and of her father? How would Shakespeare’s audience have marry someone her father did not approve of. understood her disobedience?

06 Context The Merchant of Venice – Teacher’s Notes Sixteenth-Century Venice In Portia’s case, being the only child and a daughter of a wealthy man explains why she is not allowed to choose Like Elizabethan England, Venice was a patriarchal her own partner. Her father’s casket tests are a means society in which all positions of power were held by men, of protecting Portia and her (his) fortune as well as the including within the family, and the public sphere was man’s family name. She does, however manage to provide clues dominion. Visitors to sixteenth-century Venice observed that to Bassanio while he is choosing a casket through an noblewomen were rarely seen in public as they would only accompanying song. In doing so, she demonstrates her be allowed out with an escort. Again, this was to guard and intelligence. protect their chastity and, therefore, their family name. In the domestic sphere, husbands had authority over wives and Jessica, on the other hand, escapes the laws and customs fathers had authority over their children. of Venetian society by forming a love match with Lorenzo, a Christian. As sexual relations between Christians and In a city where trade and money were major industries, Jews were forbidden, in doing so Jessica must renounce women were also a sort of commodity. It was commonplace her religion and her father; in lieu of a dowry, she steals in England and in Italy to make comparisons between women money and jewels from her own father. Shakespeare leaves and vessels. In The Merchant of Venice, the link between us wondering what his original audiences would have made marriage and trade becomes a running joke: of such betrayal. Would it have been acceptable to them because Shylock was a Jew? Salerio: ...Should I go to church And see the holy edifice of stone. And not bethink me straight of dangerous rocks, Which touching not my gentle vessel’s side Would scatter all her spices on the stream... (1.1.29-33)

High dowry prices meant some families had to choose between marrying their daughters off, sending them to convents or to live with wealthier families. In 1505, the Venetian Senate had to cap dowries at 3,000 ducats; however, noble dowries were often known to exceed this.

For some families, having assessed their daughter’s ‘marriageabilty’, sending her to a convent may have been more economically viable. Thus Venetian women had essentially two paths in life – marriage or the convent, though both required subservience to a patriarchal structure.

07 Context The Merchant of Venice – Teacher’s Notes Shakespeare’s Sources

Like many of Shakespeare’s plays, Shakespeare drew ‘Gesta Romanorum’ inspiration for The Merchant of Venice from sources and real c. 13/14th centuries; English translation c.1577) events, in some cases ‘borrowing’ from aspects such as plot and characterisation. Gesta Romanorum is a collection of stories originally written in Latin around the 13th or 14th centuries. The author is ‘Il Pecorone’ by Giovanni Fiorentino (1558) unknown, although English translations began appearing from the mid-15th century. It is believed to have been used by Giovanni Fiorentino was a fourteenth-century Italian author preachers as a source for stories to illustrate sermons (exact dates unknown). He wrote a collection of short stories (White, 2013). called Il Pecorone (‘The Stupid Man’ or ‘The Cowardly Sheep’), which was published in 1558. Story number 4, ‘The Three Caskets’, was clearly used by Shakespeare as a source for the device employed Shakespeare seems to have borrowed quite heavily from posthumously by Portia’s father to determine her husband, the plot of this story. A man named Giannetto is on a quest however in the Gesta Romanorum’s version, it is the woman to win a lady living in Belmonte. He is sponsored by his who must choose in order to win the man. godfather, Ansaldo, a wealthy Venetian merchant. Ansaldo borrows ten thousand ducats from a Jew (who remains In the story, the King of Ampluy sends his daughter to marry nameless), ‘on condition that if they were not repaid the next the only son of the Emperor of Rome. She is shipwrecked, June on St John’s day, the Jew might take a pound of flesh swallowed by a whale and rescued by an earl, who delivers from whatever part of his body he pleased’. her to the emperor. The emperor wants her to prove her love for his son by choosing from 3 vessels, each of which is The bond expires and Ansaldo is arrested. The Jew refuses engraved with a message: compensation, saying: ‘understand this: if you were to offer more ducats than this city is worth, it would not satisfy me: Gold: ‘Who so chooseth me shall finde that he deserveth’ I would rather have what my bond says is mine’. The lady Silver: ‘Who so chooseth me shall finde that his nature of Belmonte comes disguised as a lawyer to plead his case. desireth’ She rules that the Jew can only take a pound of flesh from Lead: ‘Who so chooseth mee, shall finde that God hath Ansaldo, but cannot take any of his blood: ‘if you take more disposed for him’ or less than a pound, I shall have your head struck off...if one (Kellscraft Studio, 2006) drop of blood is spilt, I shall have you put to death...’. The Emperor cautions her: ‘If thou choose one of these, The Jew is taunted by those present at the trial: ‘He who wherein is profit to thee and to others, then shalt thou have thought to ensnare others, is caught himself’, and tears up the my son. And if thou choose that wherein is no profit to thee, bond in rage. nor to any other, soothly thou shalt not marry him’ (Kellscraft Studio, 2006). Useful Sources The maiden petitions God to help her make the right choice Extract: Brown (ed.), J. R., 1955. Arden Shakespeare The (Kellscraft Studio, 2006).She correctly chooses the lead Merchant of Venice. Walton-on-Thames, Surrey: Thomas vessel, obtaining gold, precious stones and the emperor’s Nelson. son (Brown (ed.), 1955, pp. 172-173). The ‘moral’ is that Christians are to lead simple, unadorned lives, storing up their Full text version: Appendix 4: Il Pecorone. merchantofvenice. treasures inside and in heaven (Brown (ed.), 1955, p. 174). weebly.com/uploads/1/4/2/6/1426390/il_pecorone.pdf [Accessed 2013 August 2013]. Full text: Kellscraft Studio, 2006. Tales from the Gesta Romanorum. http://www.kellscraft.com/MediaevalTales/ MediaevalTales03.html [Accessed 19 August 2013]. Extract: Brown (ed.), J. R., 1955. Arden Shakespeare The Merchant of Venice. Walton-on-Thames, Surrey: Thomas Nelson.

08 Shakespeare’s Sources The Merchant of Venice – Teacher’s Notes Zelauto, or the Fountaine of Fame The Orator by Alexandre Sylvain by Anthony Munday (1580) (English translation - 1596)

Anthony Munday (1560?-1633) was a London writer and a Alexandre Sylvain (or Alexander Silvayn) (c.1535-1585) was contemporary of Shakespeare’s. Like Shakespeare, he also a Flemish moralist and poet. He published a series of debates started off as an actor. His story Zelauto, or the Fountaine of on moral issues in 1581, which was translated into English in Fame was published in 1580. 1596 as The Orator (Gillespie, 2004, p. 465).

Titled ‘The Amourous lyfe of Strabino a Scholler, the brave Declamation 95 is headed: ‘Of a Jew who would for his debt behaviour of Rodolfo a martiall Gentleman, and the right have a pound of the flesh of a Christian’. The Introduction reward of Signior Truculento a Usurer’ (Brown (ed.), 1955, reads: p. 156). The story is set in Verona and revolves around Strabino, who is in love with Cornelia, the sister of his friend A Jew unto whom a Christian Marchant ought nine hundred Rodolfo. Truculento, a usurer (but not Jewish), is also trying crownes, would have summoned him for the same in to woo Cornelia. Turckie : the Marchant, because he would not be discredited, promised to pay the said summe within the tearme of three It is Cornelia’s idea for Strabino to borrow money from months, and if he paied it not, he was bound to give him Truculento to buy a jewel. Truculento is pleased and flattered a pound of the flesh of his bodie. The tearme being past by Rodolfo’s request for a loan of 4,000 ducats on behalf some fifteene daies, the Jew refused to take his money: the of his friend. The condition is that ‘if by the first day of the ordinarie Judge of that place appointed him to cut a just month ensuing, the whole sum be not restored: eache of pound of the Christian’s flesh, and if he cut either more or your lands shall stand to the endamagement, besides the lesse, then his owne head should be smitten off: The Jew losse of bothe your right eyes’ (Brown (ed.), 1955, p. 160). appealed from this sentence, unto the chiefe judge... (Internet Truculento’s daughter, Brisana, is Rodolfo’s mistress. Rodolfo Archive, 1917) also flatters Truculento into agreeing to their marriage At the trial, the Judge rules that, according to the law, the The text contains a speech believed to relate to Shylock’s at usurer is right to claim the forfeit. Brisana steps in and says the trial, including some of the arguments used by the Jew to she went to Truculento’s house to return the money, but justify his demand for his bond (British Library, n.d.): Truculento was not at home (Brown (ed.), 1955, p. 166). ...in the Roman Commonwealth, so famous for laws and Cornelia adds that the bond is to be redeemed but only if armes, it was lawfull for debt, to imprison, beat, and afflict Truculento executes it himself: ‘If in pulling foorth their eyes, with torments the free Citizens: How manie of them (do you diminishe the least quantity of blood out of their heads... you thinke) would have thought themselves happie, if for a you shall stand to the losse of bothe your owne eyes’ (Brown small debt they might have ben excused with the paiment of (ed.), 1955, p. 167). a pound of their flesh? Who ought then to marvile if a Jew requireth so small a thing of a Christian, to discharge him of a The judge says the bond money is to be given to Strabino and good round summe?... Rodolfo as compensation. Truculento also accepts Rodolfo as ‘his lawfull sonne, and put him in possession of all his ...I might also say that I have need of this flesh to cure a lyuinges after his disease’ (Brown (ed.), 1955, p. 168) friend of mine of a certaine maladie, which is otherwise The story is thought to be Shakespeare’s inspiration for incurable, or that I would have it to terrifie thereby the Lorenzo and Jessica. Christians for ever abusing the Jewes anie more hereafter... (Gillespie, 2004, p. 466) Useful Sources Full text available on Questia: Munday, A. & Stillinger, J., Small extract: British Library, n.d. Shakespeare Quartos: 2013. Zelauto: the Fountaine of Fame, 1580. questia.com/ The Merchant of Venice. http://www.bl.uk/treasures/ library/1275716/zelauto-the-fountaine-of-fame-1580 shakespeare/merchant.html [Accessed 27 June 2013]. Extracts from: Internet Archive, 1917. The Arden Shakespeare: The Merchant of Venice. http://ia700301. us.archive.org/29/items/merchantofveni00shakuoft/ merchantofveni00shakuoft.pdf [Accessed 19 August 2013]. Gillespie, S., 2004. Shakespeare’s Books: A Dictionary of Shakespeare Sources. London: Continuum.

09 Shakespeare’s Sources The Merchant of Venice – Teacher’s Notes A New Song: Shewing the Crueltie of Gernutus a Jew (date unknown)

Gernutus is a Renaissance ballad (exact date unknown), ‘Shewing the crueltie of Gernutus a Jew, who lending to a Merchant a hundred Crownes, would have a pound of his flesh, because he could not pay him at the day appointed’ (Brown (ed.), 1955, p. 153)

A Jewish moneylender living in ‘Venice town’ lends a merchant one hundred crowns, with a pound of the merchant’s flesh as bond:

Jew: And this shall be the forfeyture; Of your owne fleshe a pound. If you agree, make you the bond, And here is a hundred crownes. (Gernutus, the Jew of Venice)

A court case ensues in which the Judge says the moneylender may have his bond, provided he does not shed a drop of the merchant’s blood:

Judge: For if thou take either more or lesse To the value of a mite, Thou shalt be hanged presently As is both law and right. (Gernutus, the Jew of Venice)

The Jew leaves, crying out against the ‘cruell judge’ (Gernutus, the Jew of Venice).

Full text: Gernutus, the Jew of Venice. http://www.exclassics. com/percy/perc31.htm [Accessed 19 August 2013].

Other Possible Sources Used by Shakespeare

There was a Jewish merchant from Venice living in London 1596-1600 who could be a possible model for Antonio (Popkin, 1989, p. 330)

1567 lawsuit between Jew Abraham Abencini and Christian/ crypto-Jews Gaspar and Giovanni Ribeira over 3000 ducats, even though Jews were not allowed to lend more than 3.

10 Shakespeare’s Sources The Merchant of Venice – Teacher’s Notes Useful Sources

Books Websites

Cerasano (ed.), S., 2004. A Routledge Literary Sourcebook on Facing History and Ourselves, 2013. http://www.facing.org/ William Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice. New York and [Accessed 7 October 2013]. London: Routledge. Jewish Museum London, 2009. British Jewish History Timeline. http://www.jewishmuseum.org.uk/british_jewish_history_ Chojnacki, S., 2000. Women and Men in Renaissance Venice: timeline%20[copy]. Twelve Essays on Patrician Society. Baltimore, Maryland: Marotous, G., 2012. The idea of Venice in Shakespeare’s John Hopkins University Press. England. http://resources.mhs.vic.edu.au/merchantofvenice/ Gross, J., 1992. Shylock: Four Hundred Years in the Life of a historical/venice.html [Accessed 13 August 2013]. Legend. London: Vintage. The Shakespeare Globe Trust, 2013. Shakespeare. [Online] Katz, D. S., 1996. The Jews in the History of England, 1485-1850. http://www.shakespearesglobe.com/about-us/history-of- Oxford: Clarendon Press. the-globe/shakespeare [Accessed 6 August 2013].

Pritchard, R., ed., 1999. Shakespeare’s England: Life in University of Mary Washington, 2008. Venice: an online Elizabethan and Jacobean Times. Stroud, Gloucestershire: exhibit. Sutton Publishing. http://venice.umwblogs.org/exhibit/early-modern-venetian- clothing/trade/. Ravid, B., 2001. The Venetian Government and the Jews. In: R. C. Davis & B. Ravid, eds. The Jews of Early Modern Venice. Baltimore: The John Hopkins University Press, pp. 3-30.

Shapiro, J., 1996. Shakespeare and the Jews. New York: Columbia University Press.

Journal Articles

Allen, A. L. & Seidel, M. R., 1995. Cross-Cultural Commerce in Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice. American University International Law Review, 10(2), pp. 837-859.

Bassi, S., 2002. ‘The Venetian Ghetto and Modern Jewish Identity’. http://cjs.ucsc.edu/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/ Bassi.pdf [Accessed 20 August 2013]. Howard, J. E., 1988. Crossdressing, The Theatre and Gender Struggle in Early Modern England. Shakespeare Quarterly, 39(4), pp. 418-440. Meyers, W., 1996. Shakespeare, Shylock, and the Jews. Commentary, 101(4).

11 Useful Sources The Merchant of Venice – Teacher’s Notes Bibliography

Abulafia, A. S., 2013. Notions of Jewish Service in Twelfth- Cerasano (ed.), S., 2004. A Routledge Literary Sourcebook on and Thirtheenth-Century England. In: S. R. Jones & S. C. William Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice. New York and Watson, eds. Christians and Jews in Angevin England: The London: Routledge. York Massacre of 1190, Narratives and Contexts. Woodbridge, Suffolk: Boydell and Brewer, pp. 204-221. Chojnacki, S., 2000. Women and Men in Renaissance Venice: Twelve Essays on Patrician Society. Baltimore, Maryland: John Adelman, J., 2008. Blood Relations: Christian and Jew in The Hopkins University Press. Merchant of Venice. Chicago: Chicago University Press. Clemson Shakespeare Festival, 2007. Why “Shakespeare and Allen, A. L. & Seidel, M. R., 1995. Cross-Cultural Commerce the Black Experience”. [Online] in Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice. American University Available at: http://www.clemson.edu/caah/shakespr/ International Law Review, 10(2), pp. 837-859. pastfestivals/1998desc.php [Accessed 1 October 2013]. Anon., n.d. Appendix 4: Il Pecorone. [Online] Available at: http://merchantofvenice.weebly.com/ Cohen, S. A., 1994. “The quality of mercy”: law, equity and uploads/1/4/2/6/1426390/il_pecorone.pdf ideology in “The Merchant of Venice”. Mosaic (Winnipeg), [Accessed 2013 August 2013]. 27(4).

Anon., n.d. Gernutus, the Jew of Venice. [Online] Cosgrove, M. F., 1970. Biblical, liturgical and classical allusions Available at: http://www.exclassics.com/percy/perc31.htm in The Merchant of Venice. [Online] [Accessed 19 August 2013]. Available at: http://archive.org/details/biblicalliturgic00cosg [Accessed 20 August 2013]. Anon., n.d. Timeline of Jewish Persecution. [Online] Available at: http://whatreallyhappened.com/ Costantini, V., n.d. Venice and Its Lagoons. [Online] WRHARTICLES/HistoryPersecution.htm Available at: http://www.venicethefuture.com/schede/ [Accessed 12 June 2013]. uk/313?aliusid=313 [Accessed 20 June 2013].

Bassi, S., 2002. The Venetian Ghetto and Modern Jewish Identity. Cressy, D., 1997. Birth, Marriage and Death: Ritual, Religion [Online] Available at: http://cjs.ucsc.edu/wp-content/ and the Life-Cycle in Tudor and Stuart England. Oxford: Oxford uploads/2009/09/Bassi.pdf [Accessed 20 August 2013]. University Press.

Bell, D. P., 2008. Jews in the Early Modern World. Plymouth: Davis, G., 1989. The Text of Magna Carta. [Online] Rowman and Littlefield. Available at: http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/ magnacarta.asp [Accessed 26 July 2013]. British Library, n.d. Shakespeare Quartos: The Merchant of Venice. [Online] Dobson, M., 2011. Shakespeare and Amateur Performance: A Available at: http://www.bl.uk/treasures/shakespeare/ Cultural History. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. merchant.html [Accessed 27 June 2013]. don Quijote Salamanca S.L. , 1996-2013. The Spanish British Museum, 2012. Crowns and ducats: Shakespeare’s Inquisition. [Online] money and medals. [Online] Available at: http://www.donquijote.org/culture/spain/ Available at: http://www.britishmuseum.org/about_us/ history/spanish-inquisition.asp [Accessed 12 June 2013]. news_and_press/press_releases/2012/crowns_and_ducats. aspx [Accessed 29 July 2013]. Edelman, C., 1999. “Which is the Jew that Shakespeare Knew?”. Shakespeare Survey: Shakespeare and the Globe, Brown (ed.), J. R., 1955. Arden Shakespeare The Merchant of Volume 52, pp. 99-106. Venice. Walton-on-Thames, Surrey: Thomas Nelson. Encyclopedia Britannica, 2013. Lord Chamberlain’s Men. Brown, H., 2011. Queen Elizabeth: Shakespeare’s Patron. [Online] [Online] Available at: http://www.shakespeare-online.com/ Available at: http://www.britannica.com/shakespeare/ biography/patronelizabeth.html article-9022312 [Accessed 25 July 2013]. [Accessed 25 July 2013].

Bryant, J., n.d. Casket Mythology. [Online] Fishburn, J., 2007. The Jewish Experience. London: Fishburn Available at: http://userpages.umbc.edu/~rfarabau/ Books. engl250h/wiki/index.php?page=Casket_Mythology [Accessed 20 August 2013].

12 Bibliography The Merchant of Venice – Teacher’s Notes Folger Shakespeare Library, n.d. Elizabeth I and Shakespeare. Confrontation, and Provocation. Journal for Cultural and [Online] Religious Theory, 8(3), pp. 7-19. Available at: http://www.folger.edu/template.cfm?cid=1263 [Accessed 25 July 2013]. Howard, J. E., 1988. Crossdressing, The Theatre and Gender Struggle in Early Modern England. Shakespeare Quarterly, Folger Shakespeare Library, n.d. Lesson Plans Archive. [Online] 39(4), pp. 418-440. Available at: http://www.folger.edu/eduLesPlanArch.cfm?C FID=51538475&CFTOKEN=69497151#47 Humphreys, A., 1987. The Jew of Malta and The Merchant [Accessed 5 August 2013]. of Venice: Two Readings of Life. Huntington Library Quarterly, 50(3), pp. 279-293. Freeman, J., 2002. ‘’Fair Terms and a Villain’s Mind’’: Rhetorical Patterns in The Merchant of Venice. Rhetorica: A Hurrell, J. D., 1961. Love and Friendship in The Merchant of Journal of the History of Rhetoric, 20(2), pp. 149-172. Venice. Texas Studies in Literature and Language, 3(3), pp. 328-341. Freud, S., 1913. The Theme of the Three Caskets. In: The Standard Edition of the Complete Psychological Works of Imrie, C., 2011. The Happy Hoofer. London: Hodder and Sigmund Freud. London: Hogarth Press, pp. 291-301. Stoughton.

Frye, R., 1963. Shakespeare and Christian Doctrine. Princeton, Internet Archive, 1917. The Arden Shakespeare: The Merchant New Jersey: Princeton University Press. of Venice. [Online] Available at: http://ia700301.us.archive.org/29/items/ Geanakoplos, J., 2013. Financial Theory: Shakespeare’s merchantofveni00shakuoft/merchantofveni00shakuoft.pdf Merchant of Venice and Collateral, Present Value and the [Accessed 19 August 2013]. Vocabulary of Finance. [Online] Available at: http://www.academicroom.com/video/ Jewish Currents, 2013. June 15: The Magna Carta and the Jews. financial-theory-shakespeares-merchant-venice-and- [Online] collateral-present-value-and-vocabulary-finance-lecture-7-26 Available at: http://jewishcurrents.org/june-15-the-magna- [Accessed 1 October 2013]. carta-and-the-jews-5776 [Accessed 19 June 2013].

Gillespie, S., 2004. Shakespeare’s Books: A Dictionary of Jewish Encyclopedia, 2011. Domus Conversorum. [Online] Shakespeare Sources. London: Continuum. Available at: http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/ articles/5271-domus-conversorum [Accessed 29 July 2013]. Goldstein, P., 2012. A Convenient Hatred: The History of Antisemitism. Brookline, MA: Facing History and Ourselves Jewish Historical Society of Britain, 2013. A Chronology of the National Foundation. Jews in Britain. [Online] Available at: http://www.jhse.org/rsrch-chrono Gray, T. A., 1998. A Shakespeare Timeline Summary Chart. [Accessed 19 June 2013]. [Online] Available at: http://shakespeare.palomar.edu/timeline/ Jewish Museum London, 2009. British Jewish History Timeline. summarychart.htm [Accessed 6 August 2013]. [Online] Available at: http://www.jewishmuseum.org.uk/british_ Grebanier, B., 1962. The Truth About Shylock. New York: jewish_history_timeline%20[copy] [Accessed 19 June 2013]. Random House. Jewish Museum London, n.d. Anthony Sher - Shylock Interview Gross, J., 1992. Shylock: Four Hundred Years in the Life of a Transcript. s.l.:s.n. Legend. London: Vintage. Johnson, P., 1995. A History of the Jews. London: Phoenix Grub, J. S., 2002. Elite Citizens. In: J. J. Martin & D. Romano, Grant. eds. Venice Reconsidered: The History and Civilization of an Italian City-State, 1297–1797. Baltimore: The John Hopkins Jokinen, A., 2007. Anthony Munday. [Online] University Press, pp. 339-364. Available at: http://www.luminarium.org/renlit/munday.htm [Accessed 19 August 2013]. Hamilton, D. B., 2001. Anthony Munday and The Merchant of Venice. Shakespeare Survey 54: Shakespeare and Religions, Katz, D. S., 1996. The Jews in the History of England, 1485-1850. Volume 54, pp. 89-99. Oxford: Clarendon Press.

Hendricks, M., 2000. Surveying ‘race’ in Shakespeare. In: Kau, A., 2013. The Jew of Rome? Munday’s English Romayne S. Wells & C. M. Alexander, eds. Shakespeare and Race. Life as a Historical Source for a Sympathetic Shylock. [Online] Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 1-22. Available at: http://nq.oxfordjournals.org/content/ early/2013/07/17/notesj.gjt131.extract Horowitz, A., 2007. “Shylock after Auschwitz: The Merchant [Accessed 19 August 2013]. of Venice on the Post-Holocaust Stage—Subversion,

13 Bibliography The Merchant of Venice – Teacher’s Notes Kellscraft Studio, 2006. Tales from the Gesta Romanorum. Meyers, W., 1996. Shakespeare, Shylock, and the Jews. [Online] Commentary, 101(4). Available at: http://www.kellscraft.com/MediaevalTales/ MediaevalTales03.html [Accessed 19 August 2013]. Misiura, L., 2007. The portrayal of Jews in Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice and Marlowe’s The Jew of Malta. [Online] Kramer, C. H., n.d. She giveth and she taketh away: Portia, Available at: http://www2.cedarcrest.edu/academic/eng/ masculinity, and power. [Online] lfletcher/venice/papers/lmisiura.htm Available at: http://www.christinehoffkraemer.com/ [Accessed 19 August 2013]. merchant.html [Accessed 1 October 2013]. Misterova, I., 2010. An Archetypal Figure of the “Villainous Jew” Langis, U., 2011. Usury and Political Friendship in The Merchant in English Renaissance Literature. [Online] of Venice. [Online] Available at: http://www.inter-disciplinary.net/wp-content/ Available at: http://www.academia.edu/1360853/Usury_ uploads/2010/08/Misterova-paper.pdf and_Political_Friendship_in_Shakespeares_The_Merchant_ [Accessed 19 August 2013]. of_Venice [Accessed 18 September 2013]. Morris, M. & Farrell, T., 2003. The Merchant of Venice: Teacher Laven, M., 2002. Virgins of Venice: Enclosed Lives and Broken Resource Book. Cheltenham: Nelson Thornes. Vows in the Renaissance Convent. London: Penguin. Muir, E., 1981. Civic Ritual in Renaissance Venice. Princeton, Levy, M. A., 1960. Did Shakespeare Join the Casket and Bond New Jersey: Princeton University Press. Plots in The Merchant of Venice?. Shakespeare Quarterly, 11(3), pp. 388-391. Munday, A. & Stillinger, J., 2013. Zelauto: the Fountaine of Fame, 1580. [Online] Mabillard, A., 2000. Sources for The Merchant of Venice. Available at: http://www.questia.com/library/1275716/ [Online] zelauto-the-fountaine-of-fame-1580 Available at: http://www.shakespeare-online.com/sources/ [Accessed 19 August 2013]. merchantsources.html [Accessed 19 August 2013]. Mundill, R. R., 2002. England’s Jewish Solution: Experiment and Magri, N., 2003. Places in Shakespeare: Belmont and Expulsion, 1262-1290. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. thereabouts. [Online] Available at: http://www.deveresociety.co.uk/articles/essay- Newman, K., 1987. Portia’s Ring: Unruly Women and belmont.pdf [Accessed 19 August 2013]. Structures of Exchange in The Merchant of Venice. Shakespeare Quarterly, 38(1), pp. 19-33. Mahood, M. M., 1987. Shakespeare’s use of the Bible in The Merchant of Venice. In: M. Mahood, ed. The New Cambridge Novelguide, 2012. The Jew of Malta: Essay Q&A. [Online] Shakespeare: The Merchant of Venice. Cambridge: Cambridge Available at: http://www.novelguide.com/the-jew-of-malta/ University Press. essay-questions [Accessed 19 August 2013].

Marlowe, C., 1997. The Jew of Malta. [Online] Ostovich, H., 2008. Staging the Jew: Playing with the Text of Available at: http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/901 The Merchant of Venice. [Online] [Accessed 20 August 2013]. Available at: http://www.academia.edu/1067943/_Staging_ the_Jew_Playing_with_the_text_of_The_Merchant_of_ Marlowe, C., 2002. The Jew of Malta. [Online] Venice_for_Shakespeares_Comedies_of_Love_eds_Ric_ Available at: http://www2.prestel.co.uk/rey/jew.htm Knowles_and_Karen_Bamford_UTP_2008 [Accessed 20 August 2013]. [Accessed 28 August 2013].

Marotous, G., 2012. The idea of Venice in Shakespeare’s Popkin, R. H., 1989. A Jewish Merchant of Venice. England. [Online] Shakespeare Quarterly, 40(3), pp. 329-331. Available at: http://resources.mhs.vic.edu.au/ merchantofvenice/historical/venice.html Pritchard, R., ed., 1999. In: Shakespeare’s England: Life in [Accessed 13 August 2013]. Elizabethan and Jacobean Times. Stroud, Gloucestershire: Sutton Publishing. McLean, S., 1996. Prodigal sons and daughters: transgression and forgiveness in “The Merchant of Venice”. Papers on Pullan, B., 1997. The Jews of Europe and the Inquisition of Language and Literature, 32(1). Venice, 1550-1670. London: I.B. Taurus and Co..

Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art, 2013. Venice’s Principal Ravid, B., 2001. The Venetian Government and the Jews. In: Muslim Trading Partners: the Mamluks, the Ottomans, and the R. C. Davis & B. Ravid, eds. The Jews of Early Modern Venice. Safavids. [Online] Baltimore: The John Hopkins University Press, pp. 3-30. Available at: http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/vmos/ Rhodes, N., 2004. Both Sides Now. In: Shakespeare and the hd_vmos.htm [Accessed 20 June 2013]. Origins of English. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

14 Bibliography The Merchant of Venice – Teacher’s Notes Roberts, M., 2007. The Story of England’s Jews: The First University of Mary Washington, 2008. Venice: on online exhibit. Thousand Years. [Online] [Online] Available at: http://www.jtrails.org.uk/cms_file/?file_id=97 Available at: http://venice.umwblogs.org/exhibit/early- modern-venetian-clothing/trade/ Rogers, J., 2005. Shylock and History. [Online] [Accessed 20 June 2013]. Available at: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/ merchant/ei_shylock.html Van Pelt, D., 2009. “I stand for sovereignty”: Reading Portia in [Accessed 12 June 2013]. Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice. [Online] Available at: http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/etd/65/ Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, 2013. Creative Approaches to [Accessed 11 July 2013]. Teaching Shakespeare’s Life, Times and Legacy. Stratford-upon- Avon: Shakespeare Birthplace Trust. Victoria and Albert Museum, 2013. Elizabethan Theatre. [Online] Shakespeare’s Globe, 2007. The Merchant of Venice Available at: http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/e/ Programme. London: Shakespeare’s Globe. elizabethan-theatre/ [Accessed 25 July 2013].

Shakespeare, W., 2001. In: H. H. Furness, ed. The Merchant of Visit-Venice-Italy.com, n.d. 16th century Jewish Ghetto in Venice. Philadelphia: Classic Books Company. Venice. [Online] Shapiro, J., 1996. Shakespeare and the Jews. New York: Available at: http://www.visit-venice-italy.com/ghetto- Columbia University Press. venice-italy.htm [Accessed 20 June 2013].

Shaughnessy, R., 2013. Student Resources: Interactive Timeline. Waddington, R. B., 1977. Blind Gods: Fortune, Justice, and [Online] Cupid in The Merchant of Venice. English Literary History, Available at: http://cw.routledge.com/textbooks/ 44(3), pp. 458-477. shaughnessy/timeline.asp [Accessed 6 August 2013]. White, M., 2013. Il Pecorone and The Merchant of Venice. SimpleToRemember.com - Judaism Online, n.d. Jewish [Online] Persecution: Timeline of Judaism - History of AntiSemitism. Available at: http://suite101.com/article/il-pecorone-and- [Online] the-merchant-of-venice-a203762 Available at: http://www.simpletoremember.com/ [Accessed 19 August 2013]. articles/a/HistoryJewishPersecution/ White, M., 2013. The Gesta Romanorum and The Merchant of [Accessed 12 June 2013]. Venice. [Online] Smith, N., 2011. Prejudice in Shakespeare’s Othello and The Available at: http://suite101.com/article/the-gesta- Merchant of Venice. [Online] romanorum-and-the-merchant-of-venice-a204172 Available at: http://www.articlemyriad.com/prejudice- [Accessed 19 August 2013]. othello-merchant-venice/ [Accessed 20 August 2013]. Wilson, R. T., 1997. Censorship, Anti-Semitism and “The Spinosa, C., 1993. Shylock and Debt and Contract in “The Merchant of Venice”. The English Journal, 86(2), pp. 43-45. Merchant of Venice”. Cardozo Studies in Law and Literature, 5(1), pp. 65-85.

Stemp, R., n.d. Teachers’ notes: Venice as trading centre. [Online] Available at: http://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/learning/ teachers-and-schools/picture-in-focus/teachers-notes/venice [Accessed 20 June 2013].

The Shakespeare Globe Trust, 2013. Shakespeare. [Online] Available at: http://www.shakespearesglobe.com/about-us/ history-of-the-globe/shakespeare [Accessed 6 August 2013].

The Shakespeare’s Globe Trust, 2013. Rebuilding the Globe. [Online] Available at: http://www.shakespearesglobe.com/about-us/ history-of-the-globe/original-globe [Accessed 09 September 2013].

15 Bibliography The Merchant of Venice – Teacher’s Notes Partners

jewishmuseum.org.uk Social History Curator and Collections Manager: Elizabeth Selby

Professor David FeldmanDirector of the Pears Institute for the Study of Antisemitism

16 Partners The Merchant of Venice – Teacher’s Notes