Abstract

Theatre

This article presents a brief information on the on the play "The Merchant of Venice." There is the story of Antonio, the merchant, whose assets lie in the cargo of his ships. To Antonio comes his friend Bassanio, a charming never-do-well, to borrow money to finance his courtship of the gilded heiress Portia. Antonio is eager to aid his friend but he has no available cash. He must borrow it from Shylock, who, being outside the rules of the Christian church, is permitted to lend money at interest. The problem for the director and the company which present the play, is to make a meaningful whole of the play's two aspects. It is true that in writer William Shakespeare's time the Antonio-ShyIock conflict was something between farce and melodrama because a Jew hadn't been seen in England for several generations and Shylock could be treated as a sort of laughable demon.