What was Shakespeare's attitude to Semitism? The Introduction to this edition of The Merchant
of Venice opens by addressing this vital issue raised by the play and goes on to study the
sources background and date including a discussion of Sigmund Freud's essay on `The Three
Caskets'. Professor Halio interprets the play's contradictions inconsistencies and
complementarities especially as these relate to the overarching theme of bonds and bondage. A
survey of the play's stage history ranges from discussions of its early staging to important
twentieth-century productions and performances outside England particularly in Israel. The
text based on fresh examination of the early editions is presented in modernized spelling and
punctuation. Unfailingly lucid and helpful this is an ideal edition for students actors and
the general reader.
