Venice in Italy

The Merchant of Venice is one of William Shakespeare's best-known plays, written sometime between 1594 and 1597. Although it is sometimes classified as a comedy and shares certain aspects with the other romantic comedies, it is perhaps more remembered for its dramatic scenes (particularly the trial scene) and is best known for its portrayal of the Jew Shylock, which has raised questions of anti-semitism.

The title character is the merchant Antonio, not the more famous villain, the Jewish moneylender Shylock, who is the play's chief antagonist. Though Shylock is a tormented character, he is also a tormentor, so whether he is to be viewed with disdain or sympathy is up to the audience. The play is accordingly sometimes classified as one of Shakespeare's problem plays.

The Merchant of Venice (2004 film)

The Merchant of Venice is a 2004 movie based on Shakespeare's play with the same name.

It follows the text very closely, only missing lines here and there. The director, Michael Radford, believed that Shylock was Shakespeare's first tragic hero, who reaches a catastrophe due to his own flaws: thus the film does not show Shylock purely as a villain, but partly also as a victim. It begins with text and a montage of how the Jewish community is cruelly abused by the bigoted Christian population of Venice. One of the last shots of the film also brings attention to the fact that, as a convert, Shylock would have been cast out of the Jewish community in Venice, no longer allowed to live in the ghetto.