9781779317551_

This book argues that The Merchant of Venice is not an anti-Semitic work but the exact opposite. It is Shakespeares tongue-in-cheek, brutal satire about a society which is the antithesis of what it claims to be. Kombe eloquently shows us how Shakespeare takes us on an inspiring excursion into a magic world of smoke and mirrors where nothing is as it seems.

The plays Venice is not the desirable dream destination that its PR touts it out to be. It is, in fact, a horrible place to live in. Shakespeares Venice practices systemic discrimination based on the grounds of race, colour, creed, sex, gender, and place of origin. Differences among people are weaponised and demonised in Shakespeares Venice as a way of leveraging political advantage for economic supremacy. Jews are forced to live in the ghetto where they are locked up at night like animals. Women are barred from certain professions such as practicing law, for instance. Similarly, Jews are barred from all business opportunities apart from money lending. In order for money lending to be profitable the Jews have to charge interest, a practice much frowned upon in the Venice of the play. Homoerotic attachments are considered a mortal sin in Shakespeares time and there are reverberations of this in Shakespeares play.

Kombe examines many other intriguing themes in this multifaceted, luxuriant work of artistic genius. There are, for example, such themes as: the role of chance and circumstance for good or ill in how peoples lives progress; the effect of parents on the lives of their offspring and vice versa; the difference between law and justice in a rogue governance system; and the efficacy of evolutionary change as a coping strategy in times of stress and uncertainty. The Merchant of Venice is a work of immense complexity, distinguished language, and intense irony, and Kombe does not disappoint in his elucidation of its thematic wealth.

Shylock, far from being the offensive, traditional, caricature, Judensau is the most living breathing human being in the whole drama. He is the one that drives the plot to unexpected destinations. Portia is not lacking in agency, at all, neither is Jessica, and Bassanio is the avatar of irony. In Understanding The Merchant of Venice Kombe takes us on an enthralling treasure hunt of timeless ideas hidden in plain sight by the master playwright and uncovers them for discussion in an elegant, human, and humorous read that will serve students of Shakespeare, English Literature, and Drama at all levels.

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Howard Kombe