Mid-Term Paper (note the corrected date)

[NOTE: The reading for Tuesday is below this post] 

Mid-Term Paper: “The Question of Genre”

Shakespeare & Co.

YOU are the director for ECU’s upcoming production of The Jew of Malta or The Merchant of Venice (your choice). But a momentous decision lies before you: do you stage it as a comedy or a tragedy?  Your decision could completely change how the actors interpret the roles and lines, and what it means for the audience. Choose wisely...

OPTION #1 COMEDY: “The Merchant of Venice is a comedy. Comedies traditionally end in marriage, and on the way they examine the social networks in which marriage is involved...we may conclude that happiness is all the more precious for being hard-won, and all the more believable for the play’s acknowledgment that love is part of the traffic of the world” (Legatt, The Merchant of Venice: A Modern Perspective”)

Though both The Jew of Malta and The Merchant of Venice deal with revenge, death, and stereotypes, it’s hard to take them completely seriously. Barabas is quick with one-liners and Marlowe constantly makes fun of even the most ghastly outcomes. Similarly, Shakespeare never makes the stakes too high for his characters, and even when Antonio is about to lose a pound of flesh, he’s rescued at the last minute. Not to mention the fact that in this play, Jessica, Shylock’s Daughter, gets married and escapes with her lover (not even Marlowe can allow that). So for this option, argue that one of these plays should be staged as a comedy, full of humor, high spirits, and fortuitous outcomes. While you don’t need to ignore the darker aspects, try to show us how the playwright balances them with a more optimistic or lighthearted viewpoint. Discuss how you would stage 2-3 scenes in the play and use close reading to show their comedic, rather than tragic, potential.

OPTION #2 TRAGEDY: “though we have seen that play received and acted as a comedy, and the part of the Jew performed by an excellent comedian, yet I cannot but think it was designed tragically by the author. There appears in it such a deadly spirit of revenge, such a savage fierceness and fellness, and such a blood resignation of cruelty and mischief, as cannot agree either with the style or characters of comedy” (Nicholas Rowe, 1709)

Though The Merchant of Venice is clearly a comedy (no one dies!), that doesn’t mean it’s still a comedy for us, particularly in our post-Holocaust and anti-immigration world. The humor of this play can be seen as quite mean-spirited, and the manner in which Shylock is debased and converted seems more tragic (even racist?) to modern ears. Similarly, The Jew of Malta for all its humor is full of death and revenge, with no marriages and nothing of a happy ending in sight. So for this option, discuss your reasons for staging one of the plays as a tragedy: define what a tragedy is, and examine how you would stage 2-3 scenes in the play and use close reading to show their tragic, rather than comedic, potential.

REQUIREMENTS

• Definition: you must define comedy or tragedy according to a scholarly source (not Webster’s Dictionary, the American Heritage Dictionary, Wikipedia, etc.)
• Close Reading: You must examine 2-3 specific scenes in detail to support your reading
• Sources: You should have at least 2-3 outside sources to assist you in your reading
• Production: Try to use at least one prior production of the play as a reference (can be either a film or a stage production); this can count as one of your sources
• Length: Should be at least 6-7 pages double spaced (though you can do more!)
• Due date: THURSDAY, MARCH 9th BY 5pm