ABSTRACT
We have now arrived at one of the most famous plays of the world’s most famous dramatist. There is certainly no need to begin this chapter with an abridged account of the plot of The Merchant of Venice; everyone knows that story about Shylock, the Jew, and his pound of flesh. Yet the story is not always accurately remembered. The merchant of Venice designated by the title as the play’s main character is not Shylock, the Jew, as so often supposed, but Antonio, the Christian. No one ever forgets the pound of flesh, but not everyone remembers why it was so important, because it was a legal point, the Law being the real theme of the play. Relationships between Jews and Christians in Venice are vitally connected with the main theme. And the play’s marvellous poetry reaches a supreme climax at the end, when Jessica, the Jewess, now a Christian, and wedded to the Christian,
Lorenzo, gazes in Venice at the night sky, brilliant with stars, and hears her lover’s exposition of the universal harmony.
