Robert Alter, in Commentary (July1993),American Jewish Committee, 165 East 56th St., New York, N.Y. 10022.
The Merchant of Venice may not be Shakespeare's best comedy, but historically it has been his most popular. Not only has it been produced thou- sands of times on both sides of the Atlantic, it was the first of Shakespeare's plays to be per- formed in Armenian, the first entirely in Chinese, and the first a Japanese Kabuki troupe. Why all this should be is a bit of a puzzle. There are livelier...