The Merchant of Venice live in a ghetto protected by Christian guards. Shakespeare's play may be seen as a continuation of this tradition. The title page of the Quarto indicates that the play was sometimes known as "The Jew of Venice" in its day, which suggests that it was seen as similar to Marlowe's "The Jew of Malta". One interpretation of the play's structure is that Shakespeare meant to contrast the mercy of the main Christian characters with the vengefulness of a Jew, who lacks the religious grace to comprehend mercy. Similarly, it is possible that Shakespeare meant Shylock's forced conversion to Christianity to
Kittredge Shakespeare Much Ado About Nothing" Released posthumously: "Henry V, The Merchant of Venice" Kittredge died in July 1941 at age 81, and was working on the original series of these books until shortly before he passed. In 1945, Arthur Colby Sprague, of Bryn Mawr College, edited volumes for "Henry V" and "The Merchant of Venice" from Kittredge's explanatory notes. "Sixteen Plays of Shakespeare", with a preface by Arthur Colby Sprague, was released as a single volume in 1946. This collection includes the full introductions and all of the notes, textural notes and play glossaries found in each individual volume. Between 1966