Abstract
If The Merchant of Venice were a piece of music, it would open out of key. We pick up a conversation that’s already under way; Antonio says that he doesn’t know why he’s so sad. The tone gives us his character: melancholic, brooding, puzzled, uncertain. It’s a state he’s resigned to; as he says, the world is:
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A stage where every man must play a part,
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And mine a sad one.
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(1.1.78-9)
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© 1998 Richard Gill
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Gill, R. (1998). The Merchant of Venice. In: Mastering Shakespeare. Macmillan Master Series. Palgrave, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-14551-5_8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-14551-5_8
Publisher Name: Palgrave, London
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