Shylock: A Legend and Its Legacy

By Joe Gross and John J. Gross

Book Overview

With brilliant historical perspective and insight, theater critic John Gross explores the complex and influential history that has given Shylock a life beyond the play and established him as a figure of world mythology.

Illuminating Shylock's evolution on the stage, his importance to writers and psychologists, and his enduring influence on society and culture, John Gross sheds as much light on our own shifting attitudes and beliefs as on the rich and disquieting figure Shakespeare created.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0671883860
• ISBN13: 9780671883867
• Release Date: January 1994
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster
• Length: 384 Pages
• Weight: 0.50 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 5.5" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

Shylock in Context

John Gross' work is very readable, yet also very scholarly. We learn about the real situation of Jews in Venice, the real role of "usury" (despite official attitudes to it) in Elizabethan England. The ties to traditional dark Medieval myths about Jews are explained. Also we are told about famous performances of Shylock, including by Jewish actors. Anyone interested in the stage, Shakespeare, great characters, or Jews and the myths about them ... will want to own this book.