The Merchant of Venice: The State of Play

by M. Lindsay Kaplan (Editor), Ann Thompson (Editor), Lena Cowen Orlin (Editor)

Overview

The Merchant of Venice is one of Shakespeare's most controversial plays, whose elements resonate even more profoundly in the current climate of rising racism, antisemitism, Islamophobia, anti-immigrant sentiment, queerphobia and right-wing nationalism. This collection of essays offers a 'freeze frame' that showcases a range of current debates and ideas surrounding the play. Each chapter has been carefully selected for its originality and relevance to your needs. Essays offer new perspectives that provide an up-to-date understanding of what's exciting and challenging about the play.

Key themes and topics include:
· Race and religion
· Gender and sexuality
· Philosophy
· Animal studies
· Adaptations and performance history

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781350110229
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	05/14/2020
Series:	Arden Shakespeare The State of Play
Pages:	288
Product dimensions:	5.00(w) x 8.00(h) x 0.69(d)

About the Author

M. Lindsay Kaplan is Professor of English at Georgetwon University, USA, where she teaches courses on Shakespeare, early modern drama, race and religion. She is author of Figuring Racism in Medieval Christianity (2018), editor of The Merchant of Venice: Texts and Contexts (2002) and has published essays on The Merchant of Venice in Shakespeare Quarterly, Shakespeare Studies, and various volumes of collected essays.

ANN THOMPSON is Emeritus Professor in English at King' s College London UK.

LENA COWEN ORLIN is Professor of English at Georgetown University, USA, Washington DC, and Executive Director of the Shakespeare Association of America.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations

Notes on Contributors

Series Preface

Introduction:
Recent Trends in Merchant of Venice Criticism, M. Lindsay Kaplan (Georgetown University, US)

Chapter One: ‘Lend it rather to thine enemy’: Accentuating Difference in The Merchant of Venice, Miriam Gilbert(University of Iowa, US)

Chapter Two: Dangerous Border Crossings: Nicolas Stemann's Merchant in Munich,
Benjamin Fowler (University of Sussex, UK)

Chapter Three: Thomas Jordan's 'The Forfeiture', A Mercantilist Rewriting of Shakespeare, Katherine Romack (University of West Florida, US)

Chapter Four: Jessica, Women’s Activism, and Maurice Schwartz’s 1947 Shayloks Tochter,
Sara Coodin (University of Oklahoma, US)


Chapter Five:'Wooly Breeders': Animal Generation and Economies of Knowledge in The Merchant of Venice, James Kearney (University of California, Santa Barbara, US)


Chapter Six:'The means whereby I live’: Deep Play in The Merchant of Venice Jeanette Nguyen Tran, (Drake University, US)



Chapter Seven:‘Qualities of Breeding’: Race, Class, and Conduct in The Merchant of Venice,
Patricia Akhimie (Rutgers University – Newark, US)


Chapter Eight:Jessica, Sarra and Ruth: Three Jewish Women Confronting Shylock, Shaul Bassi, (Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, Italy)


Chapter Nine:‘Tainted wether of the flock’: Repurposing Fiorentino’s Doting Godfather in Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice,” Thomas Cartelli, Professor of English & Film Studies (Muhlenberg College, US)

Chapter Ten:'Epistemology of the Early Modern Closet, or, The Merchant of Venice Unlockt,'
A. Eliza Greenstadt, (Portland State University, US)

Notes
References
Index

Editorial Reviews

This new collection responds to [the] political climate by exploring topics, such as, performance, adaptation, race, queerness, and the philosophies of risk in relation to the play, bringing the discourse up to date ... [A] diverse selection of papers that update or extend several areas of study in relation to Merchant.” —Shakespeare

From the Publisher