The Merchant of Venice is one of Shakespeare’s most beautiful plays a nd, conversely, his ugliest. Juxtaposed within the same conceptual frame are heavenly a nd musical harmonies, romantic love, materialism, a nd racism. This No r ton Critical Edition has been carefully edited to make The Merchant of Venice , its surrounding histo r y, a nd the histo r y of its critical reception a nd rewritings accessible to readers. The text of this edition is ba sed on the 1600 First Quarto, with light editing a nd substantial explanato r y annotations by Leah S. Marcus. ",Sources a nd Contexts", largely focuses on the character of Shylock a nd the issue of anti-Semitism in the play. Materials included are diverse, a nd at times contradicto r y, allowing readers to draw their own conclusions. Examples include seventeenth-century anti-Semitic literature, an essay fr om the same period defending Jews a nd arguing fo r their repatriation in Engla nd, an examination of the Christian theology of the play, a nd readings of The Merchant of Venice as exclusionary fo r Jews, women, a nd people of colo r . ",Criticism", collects twenty-one diverse interpretations. In addition to Shylock a nd the question of anti-Semitism, these essays address The Merchant of Venice in the context of postcolonial, feminist, a nd queer theo r y a nd explo r e relevant issues of economic status a nd o r ganization. ",Rewritings a nd Appropriations", includes excerpts fr om dramatic, musical, a nd other literary adaptations of The Merchant of Venice , as well as a se lection of poems, most of them fr om the twentieth century, on the character of Shylock. A se lected Bibliography is also included. أقرأ أقل