A Conversation for Shylock and the Role of the Jew in Elizabethan Culture
Edward I and the Jews
manolan Started conversation Oct 30, 2000
Probably worth mentioning that Edward didn't expel the Jews until he had borrowed all they could lend to finance his war with the Scots. While they were useful, they stayed.
Also, Shylock only hits on the idea of the pound of flesh after he has been taunted (or worse? Such a long time since I've read/seen the play).
And Portia's speech is one of the most beautifully expressive in Shakespeare:
"The Quality of Mercy is not strained, it droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven upon the place beneath... and earthly justice doth then show likest God's when mercy seasons justice."
Edward I and the Jews
Anya Posted Nov 2, 2000
Ah, yes, the Christians of the day forced Jews into a reviled role and then exploited them for all that they were worth....it is not, perhaps, all that well known that while in Europe, Jews were degraded and massacred (Anyone familiar with the massacres attendant on the First Crusade, in the Rhineland?) they were, in the Muslim society, great scientists and philosphers, physicians and poets.
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Edward I and the Jews
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