Sofa Spotlight - The Merchant of Venice, William Shakespeare

 I was looking forward to reading this play as lines from it are often quoted by my Dad. So it’s about time that I got around to reading it. And it didn’t disappoint. This is one clever play. Not that Shakespeare’s other plays are not clever but I appreciated this one so much more.

The plot revolves around Antonio who has defaulted on a debt to Shylock the Jew. Shylock wasn’t a fan of Antonio to begin with and is in a mood because his daughter has become a Christian and run off with Lorenzo. As soon as Antonio defaults on the debt Shylock is after blood – well a pound of flesh. It’s a bit harsh because Antonio seems to be a nice chap and the victim of a lot of bad luck. But Shylock is typical villain and comes after him.

Of course, there is the usual amount of characters going about in disguise and resolving the sticky situations people find themselves in. Which begs the question – would more of life’s problems be resolved if more people went around in disguise?

Anyway much enjoyed, and on my recommendation list.