One of Shakespeare’s most controversial plays, The Merchant of Venice provides an exciting opportunity to get students talking about some of the most difficult issues of our day—the tension between people of different cultures and religions—tensions that are as explosive today as they were in Shakespeare’s time.  The director of the major feature film (2004), Michael Radford, decided to take on this play because, he says, “The Merchant of Venice I saw as a piece that basically spoke not just of Jews and Venetians. But, using the epoch of the 1500s, it spoke of a very modern situation—that is, two cultures that don’t understand each other in terms of customs and beliefs”.

Written by William Shakespeare around 1597, The Merchant of Venice is a “comedy” about a bitter and detested Jewish moneylender, Shylock who seeks revenge against a Christian merchant, Antonio, who has defaulted on a loan.

The Merchant of Venice’s controversial and painful subject matter has earned it a reputation as a “problem play” that continues to ask a series of difficult questions 400 years after it was first staged:

• Does the play endorse the anti-Semitic attitudes of its Christian characters?
• Does it critique the kinds of prejudices it portrays on stage?
• Or does it merely dramatise racial and religious intolerance without taking a stance one way or the other?

Before we can even address these questions, it’s important to know about the historical circumstances of the play so spend some time reading and thinking about the play’s historical context.

The purpose of this website is to provide a variety of contexts in which to read the play and to see the film. The material is flexible and easily adapted to a variety of uses for teaching and learning. The tasks provide the opportunity for active student involvement and passionate argument.

Website designed, constructed and maintained by
George Marotous (Contact). English Faculty. Melbourne Hgh School. 2012.

This website has been made possible with the support and contribution of the following:
Helen Bekos and Geore Marotous and the Year 9 English Support Team: Melody O'Meara & John McMahon.
Wendy P. Cope. A Teacher’s Guide to the Signet Classics Edition of William Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice.
Mary E. Cregan. William Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice Official Teacher’s Guide.
Pearson Education. Penguin Readers Teacher Support Programme.