Introduction

In this lesson, students will explore the ways in which Michael Radford represents the Jews of Venice in his 2004 film adaptation of Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice. 

Shakespeare’s play provides no context about the political, social, and economic environment faced by Jewish residents in Venice in the late 1500s. Instead, everything the reader comes to understand about restrictions on or attitudes toward Jews arises from the play’s dialogue. 

Director Michael Radford, however, adds a crawl, or scrolling text, at the beginning of his film that provides context for the viewer. These sentences present the challenges faced by Jews in Venice in 1596, the year in which the movie is set. The crawl is interspersed with scenes that provide visual representation of the written words.  

For this assignment, students will first review what they recall from the text about the treatment of Jews in Shylock and Antonio’s Venice. Then they will watch selected scenes from Michael Radford’s The Merchant of Venice to understand Radford’s approach to exploring and developing the treatment and perception of Jews in the film version.

Materials

  • The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare
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  • The Merchant of Venice directed by Michael Radford

Lesson Objectives

1. Students will review and briefly discuss the treatment of Jews in The Merchant of Venice. 

2. Students will discuss how the film’s opening sequence presents a political, social, and economic context to the treatment of Venetian Jews. 

3. Students will compare the film’s opening sequence to the treatment and presentation of Jews as seen in specific scenes throughout the film.

Instructional Sequence

This activity is designed to be completed after students have finished reading The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare. 

1. Pass out the worksheet The Representation of Jews in Michael Radford’s The Merchant of Venice. 

2. As a class, review what students learned from the text about the treatment of Jews in Shylock’s Venice. Instruct students to record these ideas on their worksheet. 

3. Show the opening sequence of Radford’s film to the class (00:37–3:05). (Note: At 01:35, there is a very brief shot of female nudity. You can skip this quick shot if preferred.) Instruct students to jot down the main ideas presented by the crawl in the chart on their worksheet and note how the visual details and actions in the accompanying scenes support these ideas.  

4. Then show students the following scenes: 

05:03–05:48: Shylock visits a synagogue. 

39:19–39:59: Shylock has dinner with Bassanio. 

43:32–45:26: Shylock discovers Jessica has run away. 

1:17:38–1:18:50: Shylock insists on having his bond. 

1:41:21–1:42:34: Shylock prepares to take Antonio’s pound of flesh. 

After each scene, have students take notes on the chart in their worksheet about how closely the scene hews to the opening sequence and how Shylock is presented. Does each scene reflect the main ideas presented in the opening sequence? Then have students respond to the questions on their worksheet. 

5. As a class or in small groups, have students share what they’ve recorded in the chart on the worksheet and discuss their responses to the questions before writing their answers: Does the rest of the film, or what you’ve seen of it, uphold the ideas presented in the opening sequence? Based on these scenes, what is your perception of Shylock? How does Radford present him? Does he seem deserving of the treatment heaped upon Jews as depicted in the opening sequence?

Differentiated Instruction

This activity can be modified to help all students access learning.
Decrease difficulty

After viewing the opening sequence, have students write down one word that explains what each section of the crawl is about. 

For the remaining scenes, have students write down a one-sentence summary of what happens.

Increase difficulty

Have students create a storyboard showing a sequence they would put together if they were the director—with crawls, scenes, and visual details—that shows how Shylock interacts with the Christians in Venice.

Downloads

  • The Representation of Jews in Michael Radford's The Merchant of Venice