The Complete Merchant of Venice
An Annotated Edition Of The Shakespeare Play
by
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SALANIO 15 Believe me, sir, had I such venture forth, Venture: “speculative commercial enterprise” (Riverside, 288) 16 The better part of my affections would Better: “larger” (Raffel, 4); affections: “thoughts and feelings” (Riverside, 288) 17 Be with my hopes abroad. I should be still Hopes: “wishes, expectations (i.e., the risks were great, but the profits would be much greater)” (Raffel, 4); still: “constantly” (Riverside, 288) 18 Plucking the grass, to know where sits the wind, Plucking the grass: “in order to toss it into the air (literally, to throw it to the winds)”; where sits: “from which direction blows” (Raffel, 4) 19 Piring in maps for ports and piers and roads; Piring: “peering, prying”; ports . . . roads: “harbors, and landing / unloading places, and sheltered places / roadsteads / anchorages near the shore” (Raffel, 4) 20 And every object that might make me fear Object: “obstacle, hindrance” (Raffel, 4) 21 Misfortune to my ventures, out of doubt Out of doubt: “undoubtedly” (Riverside, 288) 22 Would make me sad.
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About the Book
The Merchant of Venice is problematic. Not only does it present the disparate and unrelated stories of the caskets and the trial for a pound of flesh, but it challenges contemporary audiences to evaluate the treatment of Jews and what constitutes justice. The character of Shylock, although presented as an object of ridicule and even comedy to Shakespeare’s patrons, might even be considered tragic to one sensitive to injustice. In fact the implied definition of justice is challenging: what justice is represented by a forced conversion from one belief to another? The definition of friendship between Antonio and Bassanio is itself quite satisfying; Bassanio at one point says he would sacrifice his wife for the friendship (IV.i.292-97) which naturally Portia bridles at. The character of Portia, herself, is also challenging. While intelligent, rich, and beautiful, she behaves questionably when she deliberately entraps Bassanio—her affianced lover—into ostensibly betraying her by giving away her ring and then apparently treating the whole incident as a joke. Surely Bassanio is entitled to a modicum of resentment if not anger. Additionally, she entices Nerissa to do the same with Gratiano. While this scene (V.ii) would evoke great laughter from an audience who is in on the joke, to a modern-thinking person, it smacks of sexism: ridicule the male at his expense and make fun of him for his resentment. Of course, the groundlings would pay no attention to such an offense. It seems clear that The Merchant of Venice today demands re-interpretation and re-definition.
About the Author
The Complete Merchant of Venice is the sixth in a series of conflated editions of Shakespeare’s plays. As he continues to teach, Donald J. Richardson also anticipates completing the remaining plays. “The work is satisfying and instructive,” he says. “The Calvinist in me revels in the work.”