There is no way to read William Shakespeare’s “The Merchant of Venice” as being anything short of antisemitic. A significant part of the play is people expressing their disdain for Shylock not for any character flaw — of which he has many — but solely for being a Jew. As an Ashkenazic man who was raised Jewish, I found myself curious as to what is so great about this play that it is worth disparaging an entire people just to stage it so I went to the Shakespeare Tavern to see Atlanta Shakespeare Company’s performance directed by Laura Cole.
Continue reading →