ENG150Y1 Lecture Notes - Scapegoating, Black Sheep, Social Order
Document Summary
Problematic because: presented as a comedy, but depicts real conflicts, emotions and feelings that are more appropriate for a. Shakespearean tragedy: motif of pound of flesh representation of shylock; is it anti-semantic or not; binary thinking. Genoa and venice were the main trade routes during the 16th century; routes reached islamic lands. Europe looked at contacting with not only the south mediterran area, but also the new world too; like john. Cabot and christopher columbus who were from venice and genoa respectively. Venice is the international city; much multicultural contact, problems of multiculturalism emerge; city of urban trade, mercantile elite. Portia"s suitors of northern europe don"t want to take the venetian risk of the three caskets. The fact that portia cannot speak english, shows that all the characters are depicted as italians; the play rejects the language it was written in. There is a distancing effect; audience is led to judge italians; they are different from the elizabethan.
