William Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice

William Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice

Introduction

The three versions of the Merchant of Venice which I have watched are:

1. Channel 4 television version for their Schools Broadcasting

Programmes

2. Trevor Nunn's version

3. National Theatre Company version directed by Jonathan Miller and

starring Laurence Olivier as Shylock

Act IV scene 1 is an intense scene in the play where we see many of

the play's main themes such as justice and mercy, money and status,

revenge, loyalty, love and prejudice and tolerance.

Shakespeare presents a harsh character in Shylock the Jew, but the

fact that he also gives him the chance to speak more than any other

European playwright preceding him would suggest that his portrayal is

not conventional but much more complex for example in his words in Act

III scene 1, lines 57-58: "I am a Jew. Hath not a Jew eyes? Hath not a

Jew hands, organs, dimensions?" Much of Shakespeare's enduring appeal

has been in his amazing portrayal of the complexities of the human

condition for example Hamlet or Macbeth. Traditionally Jews were the

evil villains of Elizabethan drama, frequently Machiavellian or greedy

but unlike his contemporaries Shakespeare's characters were never

simply 'good' or 'evil' but embody the complex mix within each of us

that makes us human.

The main dilemma in staging this play today is in the consideration of

Shakespeare's possible anti-semitism and/or sympathies towards his

character and indeed whether Shylock only represents the Jewish people

or whether he is symbolic of oppression of minority races in general.

Through Shylock's forced conversion in this scene we...

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...d used traditional

Shakespearean costumes. Lighting and music were used effectively and

the setting gave the impression of a real courtroom. I felt some

sympathy for Shylock in this version

The Trevor Nunn version was simplistic, with most actors dressed in

dark suits. It gave me the impression of rival mafia style gangs.

The final version, which was done by the National Theatre Company, was

my favourite. Laurence Olivier portrayed Shylock as a strong confident

character who moved around the room making him appear more arrogant

than in the other two versions but also eliciting sympathy. I felt

this version was the best as it succeeded in conveying the

complexities of Shylock's character. We saw both arrogance and frailty

and I thought it conveyed the story as Shakespeare was trying to put

it across in the text.