ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book discusses the debate over parent-child similarity and difference and youth's struggle for independence in The Merchant of Venice. It offers that historical readings of a selection of early modern plays in order to illustrates how the theatre negotiated one of the culture's most pressing problems. The book considers the battle between the young and the old in The Merchant of Venice, a play that often receives attention for its religious rather than its generational politics. It argues that the tension between the young and the old in The Merchant of Veniceis couched in terms of the tension between "blood" and "manners" or, put another way, between biology and behavior. The book asserts that elders' power over the young can be achieved through their nearness to death and can extend even from beyond the grave.
