De Koopman Van Venetië

De Koopman Van Venetië
Translated by L. A. J. (Leendert Alexander Johannes) Burgersdijk
The most unsettling of Shakespeare's comedies. A merchant borrows money from a Jewish moneylender to help his friend win a wealthy heiress. The contract demands a pound of flesh if the debt isn't repaid. What begins as a tale of love and commerce curdles into something darker: a meditation on prejudice, mercy, and the cost of demanding justice. Portia, clever and disguised as a lawyer, must navigate the letter of the law versus the spirit of mercy. The play's enduring power lies in its uncomfortable questions. Shylock's famous speech about Jewish humanity cuts to the bone, even as the play uses him as a villain. Three centuries later, the work still challenges audiences to confront anti-Semitism, the nature of mercy, and whether the final "merry" ending is anything but.
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“You speak an infinite deal of nothing.””
— William Shakespeare
“With mirth and laughter let old wrinkles come.””
— William Shakespeare
“All that glisters is not gold;Often have you heard that told:Many a man his life hath soldBut my outside to behold:Gilded tombs do worms enfold.””
— William Shakespeare
“How far that little candle throws his beams! So shines a good deed in a weary world.””
— William Shakespeare
“If you prick us, do we not bleed? if you tickle us, do we not laugh? if you poison us, do we not die? and if you wrong us, shall we not revenge?””
— William Shakespeare
“I am not bound to please thee with my answers.””
— William Shakespeare
“The devil can cite Scripture for his purpose.An evil soul producing holy witnessIs like a villain with a smiling cheek,A goodly apple rotten at the heart.O, what a goodly outside falsehood hath!””
— William Shakespeare
“The quality of mercy is not strained.It droppeth as the gentle rain from heavenUpon the place beneath. It is twice blessed:It blesseth him that gives and him that takes.'Tis mightiest in the mightiest. It becomesThe thronèd monarch better than his crown.His scepter shows the force of temporal power,The attribute to awe and majestyWherein doth sit the dread and fear of kings,But mercy is above this sceptered sway.It is enthronèd in the hearts of kings.It is an attribute to God himself.And earthly power doth then show likest God’sWhen mercy seasons justice. Therefore, Jew, Though justice be thy plea, consider this-That in the course of justice none of usShould see salvation. We do pray for mercy,And that same prayer doth teach us all to renderThe deeds of mercy. I have spoke thus muchTo mitigate the justice of thy plea,Which if thou follow, this strict court of VeniceMust needs give sentence 'gainst the merchant there.””
— William Shakespeare
“love is blindand lovers cannot see the pretty follies that themselves commit””
— William Shakespeare
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Shakespeare, William. De Koopman Van Venetië. Lex, lex-books.com/book/de-koopman-van-veneti-5b232a00-22df-4c24-92cc-d4f7fc7d7c76.Shakespeare, W. (n.d.). De Koopman Van Venetië. Lex. https://lex-books.com/book/de-koopman-van-veneti-5b232a00-22df-4c24-92cc-d4f7fc7d7c76Shakespeare, William. De Koopman Van Venetië. Lex. https://lex-books.com/book/de-koopman-van-veneti-5b232a00-22df-4c24-92cc-d4f7fc7d7c76.


































