This edition is edited, introduced and annotated by Cedric Watts, M.A., Ph.D., Emeritus Professor of English, University of Sussex, as part of the Wordsworth Classics’ Shakespeare Series, which presents a newly-edited sequence of William Shakespeare’s works, with textual editing that takes account of recent scholarship while giving the material a careful reappraisal. One of Shakespeare’s most popular comedies, The Merchant of Venice nonetheless remains deeply controversial: the text can read as anti-Semitic, yet performance after performance has drawn out a different nature in it. Vanquished in the law-court, Shylock frequently triumphs in the theatre, his intensity dominating the play and challenging its romantic and lyrical affirmations head-on, producing a bitter-sweet drama. Alongside the traditional pleasures of romantic comedy, the play exposes the workings of prejudice – which is why Shakespeare remains our contemporary.
ISBN 13: 9781840224313
Author: William Shakespeare
