The Merchant of Venice: Shakespeare: The Critical Tradition

by William Baker (Editor ), Brian Vickers (Editor )

The Merchant of Venice has always been regarded as one of Shakespeare's most interesting plays. Before the nineteenth century critical reaction is relatively fragmentary. However between then and the late twentieth century the critical tradition reveals the tremendous vitality of the play to evoke emotion in the theatre and in the study. Since the middle of the twentieth century reactions to the drama have been influenced by the Nazi destruction of European Jewry. The first volume to document the full tradition of criticism of The Merchant of Venice includes an extensive introduction which charts the reactions to the play up to the beginning of the twenty first century and reflects changing reactions to prejudice in this period. Material by a variety of critics appears here for the first time since initial publication. Reactions are included from: Malone, Hazlitt, Jameson, Heine, Knight, Lewes, Halliwell-Phillips, Furnivall, Irving, Ruskin, Swinburne, Masefield, Gollancz and Quiller-Couch.

480 pages, Hardcover

First published August 1, 2004

About the author

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William Baker lives on the West Coast with his wife, son, and their two cats, Tiger and Panther. An avid reader across genres, he gravitates toward mystery and thrillers. Writing from childhood onward, he later trained as an economist, but storytelling endured, eventually drawing him back to writing for good.