 The Merchant of Venice
This play is a comedy by the renaissance definition in that there are multiple marriages and no one dies. And then in the middle there we have the trial scene, or what might otherwise be entitled “Butchery or Baptism?” Like the nature of the setting, these characters change as the waters and no one is exactly what they seem. Well, no one but Shylock. Shakespeare never leaves us alone with Shylock. He has no asides and so we truly get the impression that he is never playing a part. He is who he says, a man who has been spurned, a man whom we see abandoned by the only other people who live in his house – his daughter and his servant. It is no wonder he wants to lash out at the world, and, as Anthony Hecht writes in an essay, “Shylock’s fealty to his oath has a dark and lonely courage about it, a kind of inverted nobility that would be heroic if it were not perverse” It is ironic that he chooses to use his considerable wit and intelligence to pursue such a losing battle. In the end, what would be gained if he were to cut up Antonio in revenge for his wrongs? Are there really winners where revenge is employed? The relationship between Shylock and Antonio is a “bond” indeed in that they are forever locked together in hatred. Shylock ultimately (again, ironically) becomes what he sees in Antonio, hating without exactly knowing why.
Over the centuries, this play has evoked much passionate discussion, to say the least. I encountered a fair amount of disbelief when I said I was doing this play with teenagers. “But isn’t that the anti-Semitic play?” people would ask me. “Wonı’t the kids be offended?” First of all, I believe that if we don’t give teenagers a chance to discuss these tough subjects then they don’t have opportunities to explore their own position on these subjects. Adolescence is a period of great potential to develop intellectually, emotionally and spiritually right alongside the obvious physical developments. If we give teens meaningful opportunities for expression and exploration they will learn to make choices and speak for themselves and hopefully they will be speaking from their own open hearts.
In response to concerns about anti-Semitism and Shakespeare, however, I believe that this play is actually Shakespeare’s social commentary against exclusion (similar to Merry Wives of Windsor although that has a gentler message). It is Shakespeare holding a mirror up to his society to show his audience that when a group of so-called “right-thinking” people excludes another person that they perceive as “alien” no one comes off looking good. There are no winners in Merchant of Venice, no shining examples of good. Yes, this made this play extremely difficult for these young actors to work on because we all want to believe in right and wrong and get behind the good guy, but sometimes in the gray areas there are many lessons to be learned.
So, is this a comedy? Yes, in the way that we tend to laugh at that which makes us uncomfortable. (John Candy making fat jokes and such or am I dating myself?) And the laughter allows us to stay in our seats just long enough to listen, even if we don’t fully face the message until after we’ve gone home.
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