Impeaching the Justice of the State: Comedy and the Credit Economy in Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice
This article considers The Merchant of Venice in the context of the early modern credit economy, a space in which shared trust and values mediated transactions. Shakespeare’s play depicts a version of this economy while revealing its limits. Because religious differences and mutual animosity prevent...
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Interlibrary Loan: | Interlibrary Loan for the Fachinformationsdienste (Specialized Information Services in Germany) |
| Published: |
2022
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| In: |
The sixteenth century journal
Year: 2022, Volume: 53, Issue: 4, Pages: 943-965 |
| IxTheo Classification: | KAH Church history 1648-1913; modern history KBF British Isles NCE Business ethics XA Law |
| Further subjects: | B
Economics
B Tragedy (Drama) B International Trade B Merchant of Venice, The (Play : Shakespeare) B Venice (Italy) B Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616 |
| Summary: | This article considers The Merchant of Venice in the context of the early modern credit economy, a space in which shared trust and values mediated transactions. Shakespeare’s play depicts a version of this economy while revealing its limits. Because religious differences and mutual animosity prevent them from forging an informal agreement, Shylock and Antonio agree to a binding contract enforceable by law. When Antonio defaults, the state must enforce the terms of the bond to protect Venice’s status as a hub of international trade. As communal relations falter and the state fails to intervene effectively, the play seems to veer toward tragedy, but nevertheless arrives at a "happy ending" thanks to Portia’s machinations and duplicity. By imposing a comic resolution onto serious subject matter, Shakespeare dramatizes the inability of both the credit economy and the state to regulate financial activity and resolve attendant conflicts in increasingly commercial and cosmopolitan societies. |
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| ISSN: | 2326-0726 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: The sixteenth century journal
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