This Shakespeare play is my 9th classic in my Back to the Classics Challenge for 2016. This play is for the category A classic which includes the name of a place in the title.
This play was definitely in the comedy section of my Shakespeare Anthology, however I did not find it very comedic. I suppose for the time period it probably was, but I didn't get it. In fact it was in this weird realm between comedy and tragedy. I don't think anyone actually died if I remember correctly, but there was a lot of sinister plotting to kill people, in particular the merchant of Venice for whom the play is named.
There was certainly some witty banter in the play and a level of cleverness in the end to help resolve a horrible predicament, which I believe is what put it in the comedy genre. But a lot of the situations throughout the play were minor tragedies in a sense. It was interesting to see how the characters weaved together. I also appreciated the riddle given to the suitors of Portia to solve in order to marry her. So there were elements that I liked, but this was not my favorite play of Shakespeare's. Maybe I will read it again and appreciate it more, but it will likely be awhile.
3 Stars for this Shakespeare play.
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