"A Jew, who does not on this occasion conduct himself as a Gentile-man"

The sorting shelves, when I was through with 'em.
Creative Commons.

Today, I got lost in one of the library shelves. I think I might have had a breakthrough.

"Shylock the Jew, easily one of the most controversial characters in Shakespeare, has rankled and resonated with audiences throughout the centuries and across the globe. Examining how he has been adapted and appropriated by various cultures provides vital insights into the cultures themselves."

Keep reading for a better explanation of these ideas, as well as a description of my process.


To be a little more specific, I was looking through a book, when, on a nearby shelf, I noticed a book about Spanish productions of Shakespeare. I had been looking for books on production history and hadn't found much, so this sparked my interest.

WOW.

I spent probably an hour going through three shelves, pulling down a good third of the books (to whoever works the sorting shelves, I'm sorry). I found references to all kinds of adaptations, including:

• A Victorian-Era comedy, thick with puns and written in rhyming couplets (the title of this post is taken from this production; note the pun on "gentleman" and "gentile-man")
• A 1992 adaptation set in a modern Venice; modern businessman Shylock uses a cellphone and has a laptop computer, and is initially seen with Tubal, his rabbi
• Two separate rewrites of the play, done in the 1960s
• A mention of a Maori-language Merchant of Venice
• The full text of a Restoration-era rewrite of the play, popular for over 40 years
• More information about the Nazi productions, including specific information about changes made

This got me started on ideas, not about production history (i.e. minor differences in stagings, portrayals, etc.) but adaptation history: looking at how Shylock is preserved or altered when directors don't feel restrained by Shakespeare's original texts.

I'm wondering what other sources I can find; after finding things like The Dick and Jane Hamlet, The Facebook Hamlet, and Better Myth's "Hamlet Is Very Bad At Revenge," (STRONG language warning on that last one) I want to see if I can find a humorous adaptation of The Merchant of Venice on the internet somewheres. That could provide some really interesting views on how we view the play today.

What do you guys think? Is this an interesting enough angle? I'm not entirely sold on my (new) potential thesis. Any feedback?