Shakespeare and the Jews

Rating:
Summary: The Jews and English Identity in Shakespeare's England
Review: I learned a great deal from this book. It is well written, serious cultural history. I would recommend it strongly to anyone interested in the period, the Merchant of Venice,and English attitudes toward Jews.

Rating:
Summary: Little that's new
Review: I was really looking foward to this book, not knowing it is really just a broad introduction to the subject, with little original thought. It must also be said that the writing is sometimes a bit clumsy and woefully pretentious. A better examination of the image and 'role' of the Jew in Shakespeare's work and times remains to be written.

Rating:
Summary: Incredibly well documented.
Review: The information in this book will astonish one regarding how deeply the English were obsessed with Jews. Because Jews were absent from England for three centuries the English had only the bible and their imagination to inform them about Jews. The Christian bible promoted negative attitudes and the belief that the messiah would come when all Jews became Christians brought up interesting complications that to this day disturb the Vatican! Christianity, the religion of love certainly produced plenty of hate. The analysis of Shylock is extremely interesting and contrary to what we learned in school. The author supplies verses from the original which are usually excluded from present day performances. I now have new insights into Shakespeare and English history.