{"product_id":"the-merchant-of-venice-9780300115642","title":"The Merchant of Venice","description":"\u003cb\u003eThe Annotated Shakespeare series enables readers to fully understand and enjoy the plays of the world's greatest dramatist\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e In this lively comedy of love and money in sixteenth-century Venice, Bassanio wants to impress the wealthy heiress Portia but lacks the necessary funds. He turns to his merchant friend, Antonio, who is forced to borrow from Shylock, a Jewish moneylender. When Antonio's business falters, repayment becomes impossible--and by the terms of the loan agreement, Shylock is able to demand a pound of Antonio's flesh. Portia cleverly intervenes, and all ends well (except of course for Shylock). \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e This fully annotated version of \u003ci\u003eMerchant of Venice\u003c\/i\u003e makes the play completely accessible to readers in the twenty-first century. Eminent linguist and translator Burton Raffel offers generous help with vocabulary, pronunciation, and prosody and provides alternative readings of phrases and lines. His on-page annotations give readers all the tools they need to comprehend the play and begin to explore its many possible interpretations.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBurton Raffel\u003c\/b\u003e (1928-2015) was Distinguished Professor of Arts and Humanities emeritus and professor of English emeritus at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. Among his many edited and translated publications are \u003ci\u003ePoems and Prose from the Old English, Clig?s, Lancelot, Perceval, Erec and Enide\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eYvain\u003c\/i\u003e. \u003cb\u003eHarold Bloom\u003c\/b\u003e (1930-2019) was Sterling Professor of Humanities at Yale University and Berg Professor of English at New York University. His many books include \u003ci\u003eThe Western Canon, Shakespeare: The Invention of the Human\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eGenius: A Mosaic of One Hundred Exemplary Creative Minds\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Yale University Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50533644566802,"sku":"9780300115642","price":6.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_a726e7ec-1c40-472d-8ffd-0808aed45da9.jpg?v=1748517363","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/the-merchant-of-venice-9780300115642","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}