The Distance that Separates us from Shakespeares Merchant of Venice Es

The hold that Separates us from Shakespeares Merchant of Venice Without a doubt, Shylock of Shakespeares The Merchant of Venice has been a posit of much controversy and debate for scholars and critics worldwide. Specifi refery, an element of his character that has been thoroughly reviewed is the rigourousness with which he proposes his bond with Antonio. As contemporary readers of the pound of flesh drool we are naturally mortified by the fact that Shylock would call for such barbarous terms. What many of us do not ensure is that while we might feel horror about the idea of the bond, the aforesaid(prenominal) is not necessarily true for an Elizabethan audience. This story has been a study source of misunderstanding for many of its readers, as it is often interpreted as a demeaning reflection of the nature of the Jew. However, a more close look at this story, where it whitethorn arrest originated, and what it may have meant to a 16th century audience, may cause us to reva luate this very prodigious element of the play. The tracing of the possible sources of the story and the examining of the history of usury as well as its position in Elizabethan society may actually serve as testimony on behalf of Shylock and his Judaic identity. A careful look at the textIn nightclub to begin a comprehensive analysis of the pound of flesh story, it is burning(prenominal) to first compare our reactions with those of the other characters in the play. Examining how Shakespeare has his characters respond can signalise us a lot about how his audience most promising would have reacted to the same thing. If Shakespeares purpose for the bond was indeed to personate the Jew as vulgar and shockingly inhuman, then he would not have had his characters respond so calml... ...n our ages, the differences must be insisted upon. He eloquently acknowledges the outgo that separates us from Shakespeare and asserts that is, When we disregard that distance, tha t the static of our desire to claim his as our contemporary disrupts his voice, and we listen less to his concerns than to his anticipations of our own. Works CitedCharlton, Henry. Shakespeares Jew. Manchester The Manchester University Press, 1970.Friedlander, Gerald. Shakespeare and the Jew. London George Routledge & Sons LTD., 1921., Grebanier, Bernard. The Truth nigh Shylock. New York Random House, 1962.Greenblatt, Stephen Cohen, Walter Howard, Jean Maus, Katharine. The Norton Shakespeare . New York, London W.W. Norton & Company, 1997. Watson, Alan. The Law of the past Romans. Dallas Southern Methodist University Press, 1970.