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Shakespeare's engagement with anti-Semitic tradition is a notoriously disturbing feature of The Merchant of Venice. Douglas Lanier carefully shows how Shakespeare shuttles between language that emphasises irreconcilable differences, and language that emphasizes common humanity, and how you can productively analyse this language for yourself.The language of business–of monetary value, money-making, profit and loss, risk and reward–invades nearly all other issues and themes in The Merchant of Venice, and can also be challenging to grasp. This guide shows how to unpick this linguistic nexus, so that you can understand how economic ways of speaking and thinking drive the characters' actions and emotions in ways they may not fully understand but that we come to see.
Each chapter's "Writing Matters" section gives you ideas and guidance for building your own critical response to the play, while the final chapter leads you through effective strategies for essay construction. Including an extensive list of print and online resources, this volume will equip you to articulate your views on The Merchant of Venice with greater insight and confidence.
