Merchant of Venice, The

Synopsis
A personal view of the play presented by Wolf Mankowitz. The series aims to develop a greater understanding and appreciation of the plays by placing them in their social and historical context and by stressing their relevance for modern audiences. Mankowitz presents evidence that Shakespeare, in developing the character, was pandering to the racial prejudice of his day. He discusses how accusations of involvement in ritual murders of Christian children and other similar atrocities fed the usurious image of the Jew, and how that image was used by the Nazis to justify the Holocaust.
Series
Shakespeare in Perspective
Language
English
Country
Great Britain
Medium
Television; Video
Technical information
Colour / Sound
Transmission details
15 Dec 1980 at 19:45 (Channel: BBC2)
Duration
25 mins
Availability
Sale

Credits

Director
Barbara Derkow; David Wilson
Producer
Victor Poole
Contributor
Wolf Mankowitz

Additional Details

Production type
Documentary/Educational/News
Plays
Merchant of Venice, The
Subjects
Drama
Keywords
drama in English; Shakespeare, William (1564-1616)
Related items
Merchant of Venice, The
Merchant of Venice, The

Notes

History
The series was produced specifically to accompany the transmission of plays in the ‘BBC Television Shakespeare’ series.
Textual information
The edited transcripts of the television talks on the individual plays are collected in Roger Sales’ Shakespeare in Perspective , Vols. 1 and 2 (London: Ariel Books/British Broadcasting Corporation), which were published in 1982 and 1985, respectively.

Production Company

Name

BBC

Notes
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

Distributor (Sale)

Name

BBC Active Video for Learning - now BBC Learning

Contact
Carolina Fernandez Jeremy Wilcox (CF - for educational enquiries JW - channel sales manager)
Email
BBCStudiosLearning@bbc.com
Web
https://www.bbcstudioslearning.com/ External site opens in new window
Phone
+44 (0) 20 8433 1009
Address
BBC Studios Limited
Television Centre
101 Wood Lane
London
W12 7FA
UK
Notes
The BBC Active company has now been absorbed within BBC Learning, a division of BBC Studios. It was originally a joint venture between BBC Worldwide and Pearson Education. Formerly known as ‘BBC Worldwide Learning Studies’ and before that as ‘Videos for Education & Training’

How to cite this record

Shakespeare, "Merchant of Venice, The". https://learningonscreen.ac.uk/shakespeare/search/index.php/title/13940 (Accessed 30 Dec 2024)