ABSTRACT
In The Merchant of Venice, Shylock delivers a startling comment on his arch-enemy, Antonio. However, like the term "value" itself, which encompasses the meanings of monetary worth as well as moral standards, the world of Venice in the play displays a troubling tendency to superimpose one set of values on the other. The importance of sprezzatura, of producing a facade of effortlessness in all one says and does, is linked to the primacy accorded to first impressions. Shakespeare recognised the importance of grace and style as a form of cultural capital, one that offered a means of access to gentility. In a society obsessed with status and social climbing, the theatre provided scripts for spectators who were keen to learn elite modes of deportment and the art of wit from the courtly scenarios presented to them.
