* This is one of Shakespeare’s most musical plays, with more
rhyming verse than elsewhere in his canon, particularly in Belmont .
How does this affect how we read and experience the play? Does it make even a
dark play sound more ‘comedic’? Is the music meant to smooth over the rough
edges of the play?
* Why does Shakespeare give Lancelot, the clown, such a big
role in this play? Unlike Wagner or Robin in Dr. Faustus, he has long
speeches (Act 2, Scene 2) that more or less derail the play. Since Shakespeare’s
fools often have a truth-telling role in his tragedies, what role do they seem
to perform in his comedies? (if this is a comedy)
* Is there more than one Shylock in this play? Is he more
consistent than Barabas in The Jew of Malta, who appears sometimes as a
master of verse, elsewhere as a fake French musician? Is he also a “dissembler”
like his predecessor? Note that in Act 3, Scene 3, the Quarto designates him
only as the “Jew,” and not Shylock, almost as if he’s a stock character. Is he
less himself in this act?
* Where do we hear echoes of The Jew of Malta in this
play? Why does Shakespeare include them? Is he parodying the earlier play? Or
performing an act of homage? (look at Act 2, Scene 8, for example)
* Why do you think we get the scenes with Morocco
and Aragon in
Act 2? Since both choose unwisely, why have them at all? What do they add to
the play, and how might they be important if this play is a comedy?
* Why is Shylock’s famous speech in Act 3, Scene 1 in prose?
It contains some of the most famous lines in Shakespeare...so why isn’t it
glorified in imabic pentameter?
* How does Portia emerge as a character, and perhaps a foil,
to the men in the play? What aspects of her character seem to most interest
Shakespeare?
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