Jessica (The Merchant of Venice) and happiness. For the Jessica–Shylock relationship, John Drakakis, the editor of The Arden Shakespeare's third series edition, highlights the verbal connection between "The Merchant of Venice" and "The Jew of Malta" with Barabas's words when Abigail rescues his gold and Shylock's at Jessica's theft of his Ducats. Another version of the play's plot can be found in Anthony Munday's "Zelauto: The Fountain of Fame Erected in an Orchard of Amorous Adventures" (1580). In this version it is Munday's Jessica analogue, Brisana, who pleads the case first in the courtroom scene, followed by Cornelia, the Portia analogue. But the Jessica–Lorenzo plot
James S. Shapiro James S. Shapiro James S. Shapiro (born September 11, 1955) is Professor of English and Comparative Literature at Columbia University who specialises in Shakespeare and the Early Modern period. Shapiro has served on the faculty at Columbia University since 1985, teaching Shakespeare and other topics, and he has published widely on Shakespeare and Elizabethan culture. Shapiro was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, where he attended Midwood High School. He obtained his B.A. at Columbia University in 1977, Master's degree in 1978 and Ph.D. at University of Chicago in 1982. After teaching at Dartmouth College and Goucher College, Shapiro